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One-Planet Thinking
“Create a shared vision for the future – and stick to it.”Sustainability covers a wide range of topics, disciplines, experiences, and problems; hence it comes with a range of opinions and solutions. This is a key issue for complex problems like sustainability - to undo past damage AND create a better future is a mammoth task that requires collective, concentrated effort. At the moment, we’re all over the place giving attention and funding to a range of problems and initiatives. Caradonna quotes John Ehrenfeld, author of Sustainability by Design, aptly summarising, “sustainability can emerge only when modern humans adopt a new story that will change their behaviour such that flourishing rather than unsustainability shows up in action.” [2]
Ditch the Obsession with Capital Growth
“Move past neoclassical economics, deregulation, and the growth obsession.”The world’s economy is at the highest it’s ever been, but take a brief look at history and it is evident that constant growth has not only not solved social and environmental problems but in fact perpetuated and worsened them. Perhaps capitalism is the problem and we do need a green recovery (although there is a Netflix documentary called Saving Capitalism which I am yet to watch that may argue the opposite…). A newer concept ‘degrowth’ describes the idea of rejecting materialism and consumerism by going local, seeking fewer physical possessions and actively seeking a more modest lifestyle; similar to minimalism. Is this the answer to sustainable development?
Accept and Prepare for the Truth
“Face shortages, become resilient.”Our planet is changing. Rapidly. We need to face up to the facts and realise that we are already experiencing the effects of climate change and unsustainable development – natural disasters, biodiversity loss, deforestation to name but a few. This has a significant impact on social, economic and environmental wellbeing, not only locally but globally, and will only get worse. Gah doom and gloom! Resilience is required in nature and in humans – that is, the ability to cope with change. According to social scientists, there are seven principles to resilience: diversity, modularity, social capital, innovation, overlap, tight feedback loops, and ecosystem services. Taking time to understand these values will increase chance of the human-race’s surviving ecological meltdown. [3]
Closing The Gap of Development
“Harmonize the needs of rich and poor, the developed and the developing.”In line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, it’s important to leave no one behind. Van Jones’ work uses the idea of ‘eco-populism’ and ‘eco-elitism’ as a form of new-age environmental politics. [4] What this means is we need more collective work sharing the benefits of sustainable development with all nations, not simply with those who can afford the technology and infrastructure. The humanitarian, ecological and environmental crisis that is climate change, is a global experience and thus should be treated as such.
Mitigation and Environmental Protection
“Rethink environmental management, safeguard ecosystem services and restore natural capital.”Combating climate change and moving towards sustainable development involves mitigation and adaptation. Not simply creating policies that target the systems of the future but also generating action that un-does the past (where possible). The future of environmental policy is in safeguarding ecological structures and conservation work. We are all interlinked, whether you’re top of the chain, along the web or a pollinator; supporting this ecosystem is called restoring natural capital. Developing research on ecosystems will inform conservation and local activists about what needs protecting. [5]
We’ve Got a Problem…
“Climate change is a gigantic problem…”HUGE HUGE HUGE. Climate change is a huge problem. Temperatures are rising, sea levels are rising, we are in the age of the anthropocene. And yet, some still do not fully understand the scale of the issue. The consequences of climate change include risk of agricultural disturbance, food security, mass migration and ecosystem collapse. This is a big-deal.
Photo by Sushil Nash on Unsplash
…Oh So Many Problems
“…But it’s not the only one.”Climate change is not the only big deal. So whilst we try to push forward with sustainable development and tackling climate change governance cannot lose sight of existing and competing problems: poverty, hunger, inequality, discrimination, and so on. If anything, these issues interlink and exacerbate each other – food waste and food poverty, clean energy and electricity deficit, plastic pollution and access to clean water.
Climate Deniers and Greenwashing
“Fight greenwashing and the denial industry.”One of descriptions I love about this section is TerraChoice’s seven sins of greenwashing – hidden trade-offs, an absence of proof, vagueness, irrelevance, the lesser of two evils, fibbing, and the worshipping of false labels. [6] Greenwashing is the exploitation of good natured individuals and the sustainability movement for the need of a capitalist society – convincing you that you need the next X, Y, Z to be ‘eco’ or labelling something as ‘green’ or ‘eco’ when it’s not better than the ‘un-eco’ version. If you see greenwashing CALL IT OUT!
Political Action without the Politics
“Galvanise public support and political action without getting politicized”Sustainability is a political issue, but it doesn’t belong to one party or the other. It should be a part of all manifestos and enterprise endeavours but alas, if the public don’t demonstrate that this is important to them as voters, political action won’t happen. For sustainability to be large and loud, we need to galvanise public support. Make it an importance of every individual similar to other big topics of discussion like housing, benefits, homelessness, domestic abuse support, immigration, etc. As the book puts it, the sustainability movement needs to be politically active without being politicised.
Give Sustainability the Big Bucks $$$
“Finance the Revolution.”It’s time to green up the economy, baby! But those green buses storming up and down Oxford Road don’t come cheap. A sustainable world is going to take money to transition to, but this is an intense short-term investment with long-term benefits. There is not necessarily money to spare but there are investments that can be shifted, take the ‘divestment’ campaign of People & Planet this last decade. The University of Manchester has now committed to divesting from the fossil fuel industry and pledged to invest in green energy instead. Every purchase, investment and contract places a vote in the future world we want to see.
Photo by Jorge Salvador on Unsplash
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There’s lots to consider moving forwards in sustainability and we will face many of these issues in our working lives; perhaps we will even be key people in overcoming them! Being aware of these things will help guide us in our efforts to push for a sustainable future. Sustainability borrows from the wisdom of the past, the inventions of the present and the possibilities of the future. If you found this post interesting and would like to read more, it’s available at the Main Library!
Author: Holly
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References
[1] Caradonna, J. L. (2014). Sustainability: A history. Oxford University Press.
[2] Ehrenfeld, J. (2008). Sustainability by design: A subversive strategy for transforming our consumer culture. Yale University Press.
[3] Lewis, M., & Conaty, P. (2012). The resilience imperative: Cooperative transitions to a steady-state economy. New Society Publishers.
[4] Jones, V. (2009). The green collar economy: How one solution can fix our two biggest problems. Harper Collins.
[5] Griggs, D., Stafford-Smith, M., Gaffney, O., Rockström, J., Öhman, M. C., Shyamsundar, P., ... & Noble, I. (2013). Sustainable development goals for people and planet. Nature, 495(7441), 305-307.
[6] TerraChoice (2010). The Sins of Greenwashing: Home and Family Edition. Sins of Green Washing.
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