Eurostep: Global economic imbalances must be addressed

“Human activity has been the major cause of the environmental, social and economic problems that we face. The present challenges cannot be tackled in isolation and responses must be global,” noted Eurostep in its proposal to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio2012).

“Our current practices are threatening our very existence. The same sense of urgency was expressed 20 years ago at the 1992 Rio conference,” adds the document.

The paper submitted by Eurostep to the UN remarks that “countries have common but differentiated responsibility for contributing to current unsustainable practices, and for the consequence unsustainable use of the world s natural resources.”

If Rio2012 is to become a success, current global economic imbalances have to be addressed and the particular situation of developing countries fully recognized, it warned.

Eurostep points to the need for a radical change in an economic system that continues to produce and reflect sharp economic and social inequalities around the world. “Changes based only on modifications to existing approaches will neither tackle the root causes of poverty nor imbalances within the current macroeconomic system that are central to past unsustainable practice”, the paper reads.

Industrialised countries should change their production and consumption patterns and provide developing countries with sufficient assistance “in order for them to be able to develop sustainably in full respect of their sovereignty and democratically agreed priorities”. High income regions use five times the amount of natural resources than low income countries, according to WWF’s studies mentioned by Eurostep.

The document also points to the need to take into consideration human development and environmental protection aspects if current economic patterns are to be transformed in a truly sustainable approach, and not just rely on economic.

“Eradicating poverty, diminishing inequalities, striving for more inclusive and just society, an adherence and respect for the environment and ensuring accountability should be core pillars and goals of any sustainable development strategy,” adds the paper. “Adherence to human rights, the effective promotion of equitable societies, ensuring better regulation of economic and financial activities to ensure conformity with principles of sustainable development […], protecting the environment and enhancing democratic participation and accountability are key elements for a sustainable world”, and “they should be reflected in the outcome document of Rio2012.”

“We believe that the concept of Green Economy, for which there is no common understanding and conceptualization at the global level, gives too much emphasis to environmental aspects of sustainability, but may fail to address the equally critical questions of social equity, economic justice and political inclusion,” warns Eurostep’s paper. “Changes based only on modifications to existing approaches will neither tackle the root causes of poverty nor imbalances within the current macroeconomic system that are central to past unsustainable practice.”

This contribution to the Rio2012 debate attaches special importance to the concept of “natural capital”, defined as “the stock of natural ecosystems that yields the flow of valuable ecosystem goods or services into the future”. “With this in mind, natural capital must be maintained and managed under fundamentally different economic mechanisms than those we currently have in place. The promotion of recycling and reuse of natural resources as a more sustainable approach for the use of those resources requires regulatory intervention.”

More information
Eurostep: http://bit.ly/co8fhq

Source
Inputs for Rio2012: http://bit.ly/vU64D2