In one way or another, all the recent UN conferences have addressed the deeply problematic relationship between present and future generations. Yet, so far, even minimal systemic changes seem to exceed the maximal political implementation capacity.
Generations
Much useful work has already been done, but institutional blockages have been delaying appropriate action. Decision making is mostly focused on immediate concerns: politicians have their eyes on the next election, and business leaders are fixated by quarterly balance sheets. This kind of short-termism invariably leads to compromised values and ethics.
Another reason why many crucial issues affecting the long-term prospects of humanity have not so far been adequately addressed is the fact that those benefiting most from the status quo are also best able to escape any negative consequences.
Meanwhile it is no longer just low-income countries that are experiencing the worst effects of climate change. Flash floods, forest fires and powerful storms are causing havoc in an ever-wider range of geographies.
What is the state of play in global discussions and negotiations? Recently, in preparation for the UN Summit of the Future, a 60-member UN commission published the ‘Maastricht Principles on the Human Rights of Future Generations’.
The 21-page text summarises existing, binding legal obligations of states and other actors: “The foundations for international law to address the rights of future generations are established in international instruments in an array of subject areas spanning nearly a century; … in the laws, traditions, and cosmologies of indigenous peoples from every continent; and in the doctrine of major faith traditions representing the majority of the world’s people.”
Voices
In one way or another all the recent UN conferences have addressed concern about the well-being of future generations. Yet, so far, even minimal systemic changes seem to exceed the maximal political implementation capacity. The world’s many NGOs must surely play a key role in advancing this agenda.
But the primary issue to focus on is surely the fact that, by and large, global resource depletion and pollution are not accounted for in the economic balance sheets of companies and governments, and environmental externalities barely feature in the price of products available on the market.
In a downward spiral of entropy, we are burdening future generations with ever larger unpaid bills that we are not willing to pay.
Humanity has many powerful tools to harness and, indeed, destroy nature as never before, but ethical considerations regarding the consequences of our actions are barely brought in as an afterthought.
Decisions taken today have longer-term impacts than ever before, yet blinkered short-termism prevails. What can we still do to build a comprehensive framework for a ‘futureproof’ world, assuring a firm ecological base for humanity, as well as fairness in the conduct of world affairs?
I’m haunted by the whispered voices of future generations: what have you done? Surely, in the light of new global awareness, we need to find it in ourselves to make a just and comprehensive peace with the future.
This Author
Professor Herbert Girardet is a co-founder of the World Future Council, and a member of The Club of Rome. His most recent book is Creating Regenerative Cities (Routledge). Professor Girardet is also a trustee at the Resurgence Trust, which owns and publishes The Ecologist.
