Showing posts with label global sustainable development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label global sustainable development. Show all posts
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Video: Sustainable Economic Development that Works
In April 2011, more than 100 people convened at Boston University for Development That Works, an all-day conference that brought together leading scholars and practitioners to discuss development ideas that have the potential to lead to sustainable and effective growth worldwide.
The fourth and final session brought together a panel of leading economists that examined evidence on economic development. Chaired by Dilip Mookherjee, a CAS professor of economics and director of the BU Institute for Economic Development, speakers included Abhijit V. Banerjee, a Ford Foundation international professor of economics and director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab at MIT; Mark Rosenzweig, a Frank Altschul professor of international economics and director of the Economic Growth Center at Yale University; and Asim Ijaz Khwaja, a professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Panel members discussed the impact of development interventions and highlighted the need for deeper and more systematic enquiries on the matter.
Sponsored by the BU Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future, in collaboration with the BU Global Development Program, the conference was organized by Mookherjee, Kevin Gallagher, a CAS associate professor of international relations, Jonathon Simon, an SPH professor of international health and director of the BU Center for Global Health & Development, and Adil Najam, a CAS professor of international relations and director of the Pardee Center. Panel leaders discussed everything from global development policy to local programs that deliver education, health, and poverty alleviation services to rural villages in Africa and Asia.
Hosted by the Pardee Center for the Study of Longer-Range Future, in conjunction with the Boston University Global Development Program, on March 31, 2011.
© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.
Related Posts
Economic Development is the Only Way Forward
The False Choice Between the Economy and the Environment
Investing in Green Economic Growth
Sustainable Growth Excludes Fossil Fuels
Belief in Global Warming is Tied to the Economy
Global Trends 2025: A Greener World
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Clean Tech Job Trends 2010 Report: Manufacturing Issues and Recommendations

Clean-Tech Manufacturing Issues
Clean-tech manufacturing is creating jobs and, led by China, Asia is booming. China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore are all hiring thousands of factory workers for the solar, wind and battery industries. European clean-tech leaders like Germany and Denmark continue to expand their clean-energy manufacturing capacity.
China and other nations are providing heavy subsidies for their clean-tech manufacturing sectors. In the US, President Obama is attempting to boost clean tech manufacturing with some $50 billion of the $800 billion federal stimulus package, devoted to the development of clean-tech factory jobs.
Thanks in part to the stimulus money, clean-tech manufacturing jobs are being created around the US including nine advanced electric-vehicle battery plants that have opened in hard hit states like Michigan. Thanks to stimulus money previously shuttered, old plants are being reborn and making clean-tech products. Other companies that are helping to grow clean-tech in the US include Colorado based Abound Solar, Spanish wind-turbine generator company Ingeteam and Spain-based Talgo.
Obama is spending billions to keep the US involved in the future of manufacturing for the transportation industry. He understands that there are significant opportunities in profits and jobs for those on the forefront of advanced transportation technology development and product manufacturing. By 2012, the White House hopes to have 39 high performance auto battery factories in the US accounting for 20 percent of the world’s output. The government has also become a major financier of up-and-coming electric car companies. In January, the DOE closed a $465 million loan to electric-car maker Tesla Motors. Three months later, the DOE closed a $528.7 million loan with Fisker Automotive. These loans are intended to create several thousand US manufacturing jobs and save or create thousands more jobs for domestic parts suppliers.
However, it is very hard for the US to compete with overseas labor costs, particularly in the developing world. The report cites the Apollo Alliance estimates that some 70 percent of the content of US clean-energy installations is manufactured overseas. Trade statistics tell the tale. According to a January © 2010 Clean Edge report, the US trade deficit in renewable-energy products soared 1,400 percent to almost $5.7 billion between 2004 and 2009.
The Collaborative Future of Manufacturing
The report also looks forward by saying that, "the global landscape for clean-tech manufacturing jobs won’t always be a clear-cut ‘us vs. them’ search for the cheapest labor costs. Unusual cross-border partnerships, which may be the wave of the future, are starting to form."
They cite the example of the August deal between companies in the Chinese wind turbine industry and the United Steelworkers that will employ up to 1,000 US workers in Nevada. That deal followed a late 2009 agreement between the United Steelworkers and Spain-based Mondragon Internacional to help establish manufacturing cooperatives in the U.S. and Canada.
Mexico Well Positioned With a combination of cheap labor and geographic proximity, Mexico "could solidify its permanent foothold in the industry’s labor landscape." Companies like Japan-based Sanyo, BP Solar, Jabil Circuit, and Energy Conversion Devices are all increasing their solar manufacturing presence in Mexico. The wind industry is also increasing its presence in Mexico. German equipment manufacturer Liebherr recently constructed a production facility in Monterrey where it will employ 180 and make driveline components for the North American wind-energy market.
Feed-In Tariffs Spur Job Growth
The report also reviews the importance of government policy to address the fact that newer clean technologies are not yet cost-competitive with the mature and long-subsidized fossil-fuel technologies. The report cites a policy known for creating world-leading markets, it is the performance incentive known as a feed-in tariff, or FIT.
FITs are policy mechanisms that offer stable payment to generators of renewable electricity through long-term purchase agreements. FITs are responsible for approximately 75 percent of global PV and 45 of global wind power development.
The best illustration of the success of FIT is in Germany. Thanks to FITs, Germany is now a world leader in PV production and deployment. Other FIT successes are documented in the UK and Ontario, Canada. According to the report, the FIT policy mechanism has proven powerful and will continue to play an integral role in clean-tech job creation and product deployment.
Energy Efficiency in the US
In the US, with annual electricity consumption rates roughly twice those of the European Union and five times the world average, energy efficiency measures are low laying fruit. Energy efficiency is the most cost-effective way to create jobs on a dollar investment basis.
Five National Policies and Initiatives for Clean-Tech
To help clean tech job creation, the authors of the report suggest five national policies and initiatives:
1. Deploy aggressive national renewable portfolio standards with “teeth.”
2. Support green infrastructure development.3. Implement – and be sure to enforce – efficiency, fuel, and emissions rules and standards.4. Establish green banks, bonds, and funds.5. Implement carbon taxes.
Clean-tech represents a significant opportunity for business creation and long-term competitiveness. Corporate giants around the world continue to embolden their clean-tech activities via investments, new divisions, and M&A activity. While the report clearly states that clean-tech continues to make valuable contributions to the global economy, it is equally clear that some nations are better positioned than others to benefit. Even countries hit hardest by the recession are using the growth of clean-tech to launch themselves back into the black.
Despite the political rhetoric about outsourcing jobs offshore, cost-cutting is king in the world of clean-tech manufacturing. For developed countries, this often means moving jobs to emerging markets with lower labor costs like China and Mexico. However, as the report suggests, there are important steps that can be taken to stake a US claim to clean-tech leadership.
Clean-tech is becoming an increasingly cost-competitive, mainstream offering. Despite the many challenges facing the sector, clean tech offers some of the largest growth opportunities on the global economic horizon. Although President Obama is a clean-tech advocate, the rest of the nation will need to increase its support for clean-tech if it is to cash in on the windfall of profits and jobs.
Source: Global Warming is Real
Related Posts
Clean Tech Job Trends 2010 Report: Global Competition
Oakland's Green Jobs and Energy Initiatives
California's Government Partnerships are Driving the Green Economy
Growing US Corporate Investments are Driving Cleantech in 2010
A Green Jobs Bill Will Have to Wait
The Green Job Market
Green Stimulus: Global Green New Deal
Sustainable Education is Key to Accessing the Green Economy
Green Schools are Bridging the Knowledge Gap
Leading the Green Job Market with a Sustainable MBA
CEIL: Knowledge Center for Green Government
CleanTech Open Conference
Wells Fargo and the Cleantech Open Competition
Codexis IPO Bodes Well for Cleantech
Investing in cleantech: Efficiency Upgrades and Renewable Energy
Investing for a Sustainable Recovery
Earth Day Special: Green Blueprint
Global Social Benefit Incubator
Alternative Energy Investments Under Obama
Clean Tech Job Trends 2010 Report: Growth and Global Competition

Clean Tech Job Trends 2010 offers a comprehensive summary of clean-tech job activity including a survey of compensation levels, market size, competition, and leaders.
Clean Tech Providing Well Paying Jobs
Globally, the report indicates that despite the recent recession and high unemployment, clean energy continues to fuel innovation and growth while delivering economic opportunities and well paying new jobs. The report indicates the following median incomes:
Entry-level insulation worker $33,600
Solar-energy systems installer $37,700
Smart-grid embedded systems engineers $76,500
Senior mechanical engineer for electric vehicles $91,500
The data confirms that clean-tech occupations deliver reasonable wages for new workers in the field, (many of which do not even require college degrees) while also offering financially rewarding opportunities for senior-level operatives.
Clean Tech Job Market
Investments in clean tech offer extraordinary returns. The report cites a 2008 study titled Green Recovery that estimated that $100 billion spent on clean energy over a 10-year period could create two million new jobs, compared to just 500,000 jobs if the money were invested in oil and gas-related industries. The Center for American Progress states that “renewable energy and efficiency improvements create twice as many jobs per unit of energy and per dollar invested than traditional fossil fuel-based generating technologies.”
The offshore wind industry is expecting 2010 to be a record-breaking year adding to last year’s 72% growth of annual installed capacity, or more than 2 GW cumulative global capacity. A 2010 Scottish Renewables report estimated that offshore wind could create 28,000 jobs by 2020 in Scotland alone. According to Clean Edge research, the solar PV industry now represents approximately 300,000 direct and indirect jobs globally, while the wind-power sector includes more than 500,000 direct and indirect jobs worldwide.
The Renewables 2010 Global Status Report (2010 GSR), the highly-regarded annual publication from global research group REN21, shows that total jobs in renewable energy industries exceeded three million globally in 2009.
Global Clean Tech Competition
Industrial leaders in the US, China, South Korea, Germany, Japan, and other nations are vying for clean-tech leadership and the jobs that come with it. According to the Renewables 2010 GSR, Brazil and China account for the largest share of renewables employment globally, representing more than 700,000 and 250,000 respectively in the bioethanol and solar hot water industries alone.
Brazil and China are not the only countries investing in clean-tech. Some of the countries hit hardest by the recession see clean-tech as a way to a more prosperous economy. Portugal is on track to get 45 percent of its grid electricity from renewables this year. Clean-energy research firm IHS Emerging Energy Research projects that other countries including Ireland, Denmark, and Britain are on pace to get 40 percent or more of their electricity from renewable sources by 2025. In installed wind power, Europe is the clear leader, it installed 333 MW through the first half of 2010 alone.
From the UK to Denmark, China to New Jersey, regions are positioning themselves to benefit from the continued expansion of offshore wind installations and increased turbine manufacturing demand. The US is also vying for a slice of this Europe-dominated sector. The US Cape Wind installation off the coast of Massachusetts will be the country’s first large scale wind installation project. New Jersey recently passed the kind of legislation that could help it to take the lead in US offshore wind energy.
China is Undisputed World Leader in Clean-Tech
With China based companies poised to dominate as clean-tech employers both domestically and abroad, China is the world’s undisputed leader of clean-tech initiatives. China, which passed Japan as the world’s second-largest economy, now outspends both the US and Europe on clean energy. Clean-energy investments in China reached $34.6 billion last year, more than any other country and almost double the US investment of $18.6 billion, according to a Pew Environment Group report, Who’s Winning the Clean Energy Race.
“China has risen from clean-energy neophyte to global clean-energy powerhouse over the past five years,” says Ron Pernick, cofounder and managing director of Clean Edge. “China is now home to six of the top 10 global clean-tech pure-play employers, up from just three a year earlier. China has become the country to watch, analyze, and, at times, emulate. Ignoring China’s clean-tech ambitions and activities puts one’s own clean-tech initiatives at great peril.”
Source: Global Warming is Real
Related Posts
Clean Tech Job Trends 2010 Report: Manufacturing and Recommendations
CleanTech Open Conference
Oakland's Green Jobs and Energy Initiatives
California's Partnerships are Driving the Green Economy
Growing US Corporate Investments are Driving Cleantech in 2010
A Green Jobs Bill Will Have to WaitThe Green Job Market
Green Stimulus: Global Green New Deal
Sustainable Education is Key to Accessing the Green Economy
Green Schools are Bridging the Knowledge Gap
Leading the Green Job Market with a Sustainable MBA
Wells Fargo and the Cleantech Open Competition
Growing US Corporate Investments are Driving Cleantech in 2010
Codexis IPO Bodes Well for Cleantech
Investing in cleantech: Efficiency Upgrades and Renewable Energy
Investing for a Sustainable Recovery
Earth Day Special: Green Blueprint
Monday, August 23, 2010
UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development

Sustainable development is defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising those of future generations. This simple definition encompasses a complex dynamic that implicates values and value systems as well as interdisciplinary knowledge and experience, and stresses the interdependence of the environment, society and the economy.
In December 2002, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 57/254 to put in place the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD), spanning the years 2005 to 2014. UNESCO was designated as the lead agency for the Decade.
The overall goal of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is the integration of the principles, values, and practices of sustainable development into all aspects of education and learning.
The Decade’s four key objectives are facilitating networking and collaboration among stakeholders in ESD; fostering greater quality of teaching and learning in ESD; supporting countries in achieving their millennium development goals through ESD efforts; providing countries with new opportunities and tools to incorporate ESD in education reform efforts.
The role of the ESD is to help people develop the attitudes, skills, and knowledge to make informed decisions for the benefit of themselves and others, now and for the future, and to act upon those decisions.
ESD is an approach to teaching and learning based on the ideals and principles that underlie sustainability – human rights, poverty reduction, sustainable livelihoods, peace, environmental protection, democracy, health, biological and landscape diversity, climate change, gender equality, and protection of indigenous cultures.
The UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development – Moving into the Second Half of the UN Decade took place in Bonn, Germany from March 31 to April 2, 2009. The Conference was a forum for sharing experiences and best practices, bringing together close to 700 participants representing UNESCO Member States, UN agencies, civil society organizations, youth, and the private sector.
UNESCO’s major areas of activity under the DESD include education, natural and social sciences, culture, and communication.
UNESCO believes that education is a human right and the primary agent of transformation towards sustainable development. To implement education for sustainable development, UNESCO seeks to promote and improve basic education, reorient existing education programs at all levels to address sustainable development, develop public awareness and understanding of sustainability, and provide training.
UNESCO's goal is to promote multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches for the wise use of natural resources and to improve the understanding of human–environment relationships, as well as to promote principles, policies, and ethical norms to guide scientific and technological development that is sustainable.
Culture is also important to UNESCO because it is concerned with the identities and values that shape the way people live, their responsiveness to educational programs, and the degree to which they feel involved in preserving for the future. UNESCO encourages an approach to sustainable development in which people are addressed with a discourse linked to their immediate concerns.
UNESCO acknowledges that communication is virtually instantaneous and this serves as a powerful driver of social transformation. In this context, UNESCO acts as a broker for effective sustainable development by encouraging the sharing of knowledge, information, expertise and best practices, producing and disseminating scientific knowledge, and sensitizing the media to sustainable development issues.
The UN effort to implement education for sustainable development is a long-term process that calls upon all stakeholders, including governments, educational institutions, business and industry, communities, civil society, and individuals to play a role and to embrace the ideas of sustainable development.
_________________________________
Related Posts
Sustainable Education is Key to Accessing the Green Economy
Green Schools are Bridging the Knowledge Gap
Green Memes and Schools
NYC Public School's Green Initiatives
West Michigan's Green Academic Offerings
Leading the Green Job Market with a Sustainable MBA
PhD in Innovation and Governance for Sustainable Development
Columbia University's PhD in Sustainable Development
Prescott College`s PhD in Sustainability
UBC`s PhD in Resource Management and Environmental Studies
Walden University's PhD in Sustainability Online Degree
Commonground University's Online Environmental Classes
CleanEdison's Green Building and Design Courses
Sierra's Top 100 Cool Schools
The Princeton Review Green Colleges Honor Role 2010
Sierra Magazine's Green Schools (2009)
The Princeton Review Green Schools Honor Role (2009)
Top 10 College Environmental Programs (2009)
The Shining Stars of Green Schools (2009)
Green Schools are Cool (2009)
Back to School Environmental Tool Kit (2009)
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Lowering Expectations for UN Climate Negotiations
The climate change talks began with a document called "A Shared Vision for Long-Term Cooperative Action." The problem is, there is no shared vision and insufficient cooperative action. Delegates at the Bonn conference had to contend with a wide range of competing provisions.
Some less developed nations want to see developed nations assume their share of the carbon space. They argue that industrial countries have 16 percent of the world's population, but they occupy 74 percent of the carbon space. They further argue that each country’s historical carbon emissions should be taken into account. Although this would allow poorer countries with large populations to build their economies, wealthier nations have already dismissed the idea. A global deal to limit GHGs is also being impeded by China’s resistance to compliance monitoring.
As the world's largest economy and biggest producer of emissions, the lack of legislation in the US is another major impediment to progress on a climate change treaty. Although the recession and the vote for change inspired unprecedented international cooperation last year, the collaborative international mood was short-lived and has subsequently subsided.
Politically motivated misinformation has eroded American support for comprehensive climate and energy legislation and this has also dampened efforts to find agreement on a global climate change treaty.
Although last year’s Copenhagen Accord made some progress reducing emissions, the accord was never formally adopted and as such, it is non-binding. Developing nations appear to be reversing their positions by suggesting that their Copenhagen carbon reduction commitments were voluntary, while emissions targets for industrial countries are binding.
Tianjin, China will host a final preparatory meeting in October before the summit in Cancun, Mexico at the end of the year. Although we are unlikely to see a global treaty before the 2012 climate summit in South Africa, we can still see agreements on financial assistance and technology transfer.
The Kyoto Protocol is due to expire in 2012 and international disagreements obscure the urgency of binding agreements to manage climate change. Although some delegates have begun considering the possibility of extending the Kyoto Protocol until a replacement can be developed, we also need a binding agreement that addresses the rapidly growing emissions of developing countries.
For three years the world has unsuccessfully pursued an elusive formula that could pave the way for an international climate change treaty. Last year there were high expectations, this year, already low expectations have been lowered further still.
___________________________________
This article was originally published in GWIR on Wednesday 11 August 2010.
Related Posts
Ongoing Deadlock on Climate Treaty Despite Extreme Weather
Rich and Poor Disagree on Climate Change Protocols
UN Chief Asks G20 to Focus on a Sustainable Recovery
G20 Must Cooperate for a Sustainable Recovery
UN Climate Change Initiatives Post Toronto
Resignation of Head UN Climate Change Negotiator
Why We Did Not Get A Binding Agreement At COP15
Obama Salvages 'Meaningful' Agreement at COP15
New Beginnings or Ignoring the Apocalypse?
Copenhagen Accord: Global Emissions Cuts
Canada to Reduce its GHG Emissions by 17%
US Pledges to Reduce GHGs by 17%
COP15: Groups and Subgroups
Post COP15
The Dangerous Diversion of Climategate
Obama Needs the Senate to Succeed on Climate Change
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
A Sustainable World Order

The current economic hardships serve as a catalyst for change. According to William E. Halal, professor emeritus of science, technology and innovation at George Washington University, "the normal level of social resistance and political stalemate is likely to oppose change. Thus, it may take an occasional environmental collapse, global wars and terrorism, or yet unknown calamities to force the move to global consciousness...Even with the turmoil that is sure to follow, this will mark the serious beginning of a unified global intelligence - a fine web of conscious thought directing life on the planet." [1]
Despite the current Conservative government, Canadians have a proud heritage of environmental leadership. Before the dawn of the 21st century Canadians were actively exploring global interdependence and strategies for greater global cooperation. A cynical article entitled "A New World Agenda," written 10 years ago, follows the work of United Nations reformer, Canadian Maurice Strong. He chaired a task force that revealed that the post-cold war period has "become nothing less than a global experiment in international development." [2] He went on to say, Canada "is in a position to make a unique contribution...by committing itself to be a model of sustainable development...It offers the prospect of uniting Canadians behind a new vision of their own future and a new generation of leadership internationally." [3]
As former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien once said, "We are one world. We in Canada feel this deeply. Responsible international citizenship is one of our proudest shared values. And the place we exercise that responsible citizenship is in multilateral organizations the town hall meetings of the world community." [4]
Here is a condensed summary of Canada's past environmental efforts as the planetary meeting ground and sponsor for major sustainable development events.
- Canada co-sponsored the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (the first Earth Conference) held in Stockholm, Sweden.
-The World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), producer of the influential report Our Common Future, convened a special meeting in Ottawa, Ontario in 1986. At this WCED meeting, the idea of a "world conservation bank" was forwarded. The WCED was the key organization promoting the term "sustainable development" in the late 1980's.
-The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer formatted international rules to combat "global warming" and was adopted in Montreal, Quebec.
-The World Environment Energy and Economic Conference (WEEEC) hosted by the Manitoba provincial government and held in Winnipeg in October, 1990. It was attended by over 3000 delegates from around the globe, it's official theme was "Sustainable Development Strategies and the New World Order." [13]
-Canada played an influential role at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. Maurice Strong acting as the summit's Secretary-Gerneral.
-The creation of The Earth Council, which is headquartered in Costa Rica. Led by Mr. Strong, The Earth Council [drafted] the global Earth Charter -- a new world-wide Green constitution. [5]
In the words of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, "Canada [was] at the forefront of efforts to ensure that the United Nations is prepared for the challenges of the future." [6] Consider the following quotes from a 1992 meeting of the Canadian Council for International Co-operation.
"We need a unified one world order to replace the collectivity of nation states at the international level. The Euro-American model which now dominates the world systematically disables people, destroys the earth and creates dependency on wage labour." [8]
"In this model, politics loses its left-versus-right conflict and moves instead towards a fundamental concern for the health of the ecosystem...Democracy remains a need within this model, at both local and global levels, but as one part of the whole system. "Participation" becomes more than people's physical presence and deepens to contain a cultural and spiritual dimension...To implement these concepts, we start with bringing the community together and look at the land resources available. We decide how we want the community to evolve and decide who has control of the resources." [9]
Likewise, the following statement from the Canadian federal government to the United Nations contains a similar thread -- a sustainable world order based on complete world management.
"Canada believes the establishment of an international financial and economic system that is conducive to sustainable development must be a cornerstone of efforts to implement Agenda 21. Canada strongly supports efforts to reform international organizations to ensure effectiveness and efficiency in the promotion of global sustainable development." [10]
[An] international tax on world monetary transactions, known as the Tobin tax...would be "a feasible part of a new world order and new world vision," as stated by Lorne Nystrom, member of the Canadian House of Commons. [11] "If there were a 0.1% Tobin tax on foreign currency transactions, that would raise, in 1995 dollars, $176 billion U.S. A Tobin tax of 0.003% would be enough money to fund United Nations peacekeeping around the world. One of the consequences would be the establishment of a global village which would have a common good amongst the nations of the world. There would be a strengthening of international organizations. The United Nations would become a meaningful world government. There could be permanent international peacekeeping forces. There are many things that could be done. How would this be implemented? There are a number of ways of doing it. The International Monetary Fund could be reformed to do it or the World Bank could be reformed to do it. [Or we could create] a new international financial agency to administer the Tobin tax. National governments would collect the tax around the world." [12]
The introduction to the WEEEC's final report [contained] the revolutionary concept of Sustainable Development Strategies as the New World Agenda." [14] The forward to the report explained, "sustainable development principles that will affect policies, plans and the direction of programs in the coming years on a global scale." [15]
Chisman and Holbrook further explained the importance of education, "The overall strategy is to design courses so as to prepare for a 'sustainable development' literate society." [17] [Here we are talking about] the concept of sustainable education, [and] the importance of global "values" for education, including "population control and support," "intercultural tolerance," "the transfer of appropriate technology," and "environmental literacy." [18] The WEEEC educational platform [also included a] presentation on creating a "Global Green Constitution," or "a global perestroika," it was explained that this "revolutionary" global green political machine would encompass a form of "human rights." [19]
The concept of framing a global "green" constitution was directly linked to national education contributions aimed at furthering this new world agenda. As explained in the report, uncooperative nations would not be tolerated.
"[G]reen governments will oppose any culture if it proves to be prejudicial by means of gender, age, colour, race, religion, belief, sexual orientation, mental or physical condition, marital status, family composition, source of income, political belief, nationality, language preference or place of origin." [20]
"Eventually, a public referendum would be held in each nation state with the objective of obtaining a simple majority in favour of enshrining a Global Green Constitution....Every nation's government would ultimately be a signator to the Global Green Constitution. Obligation to do so would come from grass roots pressure within democratic societies. Less democratic nations or dictatorships would be brought on side through sanctions." [21]
"The question is how do we achieve binding agreements in Law complete with effective programs for applying sanctions against non-compliance that would oblige each nation, regardless of size, to abide by a set of principles that are required to guarantee the survival of life on this earth. Perhaps we will find that there is no other alternative to a system of rigid controls that some would equate to a police state. Unfortunately, in order to save the planet from biocide, there have to be very powerful constraints from doing the 'wrong' things. The constraints must transcend national boundaries, be world-around and enforceable. There would be a need for an agency for preventing eco-vandals from acting unilaterally. Enforcement agencies would need the power to act without being invited by the offending nation. Therefore, there needs to be an agency that is acceptable to all nation states on the planet. We can probably accept the fact that there will always be one or more nations that will not go along but there must be effective sanctions in place. If sanctions do not work, then physical occupation and the installation of a World Trusteeship would be imposed upon the offending nations." [22]
As former Prime Minister Jean Chretian said, the United Nations is "the centre piece of Canadian foreign policy." [23] However the author of worries "that this foreign policy, this promotion of "global order," is taking North America down the fast track to international socialism. Hidden under the guise of sustainable development, our two nations are trading freedom for a draconian world agenda."
The idea of a world government animates the ghosts of the cold war and inspires the conspiratorial musings of anarchists. But these sinister allegations should be taken as seriously as a man in a monkey suit passing for Sasquatch. That is not to say that we can afford to leave our democracies to our elected officials, quite the contrary, we need to be ever vigilant, for where there is power, there is also room for corruption. But the pressing need for international cooperation demands that we develop frameworks within which we can assume our respective environmental and social responsibilities.
As British PM Gordon Brown said, “This crisis demonstrates beyond doubt that a global capital market requires much stronger global cooperation and supervision. And we need to ensure that we have an effective global early warning system to alert us across continents to economic and financial risk.” [24]
Recession and global warming are the defining crises of our time and these issues are powerful justifications for a system of world governance. As stated by Halal, "Some new form of global order is needed to avert disaster." A sustainable world order is a pragmatic corollary of our efforts to manage the global environment.[25]
____________________________________
Endnotes
1. William E. Halal, Emerging Technologies and the Global
Crisis of Maturity
2. International Development Research and Policy Task Force,
Connecting With The World, p.15.
3. Maurice Strong, Beyond Rio: A New Role For Canada
(External Affairs and International Trade Canada, November 10, 1992), p. 20.
4. Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, Opening Statement
by Jean Chrétien to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, (Speech at
Auckland, New Zealand, November 10, 1995)
5. International Development Research and Policy Task Force,
Connecting With The World, p.39.
6. Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, Inauguration Diner
for the Lester B. Pearson Chair of International Relations, (Speech at Oxford
University, February 22, 1996).
7. These points were taken from a private report by Carl
Teichrib titled, Charting The Sustainable Society: Agendas for Creating a New
Global Future.
8. James Robertson, "Toward a New Economic
Paradigm," Canadian Council for International Co-operation,
Sustainability: From Vision to Reality (Ottawa, ON: Canadian Council for
International Co-operation, February 1992), pp. 5-6.
9. Maximo Kalaw, "A Community-based Model of
Sustainable Development," Canadian Council for International Co-operation,
Sustainability: FromVision to Reality, p. 8.
10. Government of Canada, Report of Canada to the United Nations
Commission on Sustainable Development (Ottawa, ON: Government of Canada, 1996),
p. 25.
11. Hon. Lorne Nystrom, "Tax on Financial
Transactions," (Private Members' Business) Edited Hansard - Number 144,
Wednesday, October 28, 1998, Canadian Federal Government House of Commons, p.
1735.
12.Ibid., p. 1745.
13.Colin N. Power (UNESCO Assistant Director-General for
Education), "Preface," John E. Penick and John R. Stiles (editors),
Sustainable Development For A New World Agenda (A STAM/CASE/ICASE Publication,
Proceedings of the World Environment Energy and Economic Conference, Winnipeg,
Manitoba, October 17-20, 1990) ISBN 962-7532-01-3.
14. Robert Lepischak, "Introduction: Sustainable
Development Strategies...The New World Agenda," Sustainable Development For
A New World Agenda, p. viii.
15.Evhan Uzwyshyn, "Forward: Principles of Sustainable
Development," Sustainable Development For A New World Agenda, p. v.
16.Dennis Chisman and Jack Holbrook, "The Future Direction of Sustainable
Development in the Curriculum," Sustainable Development For A New World
Agenda, p. 237.
17. Ibid., p. 234.
18.Ibid., p. 235.
19.Jim Bohlen, "Towards A Global Green
Constitution," Sustainable Development For A New World Agenda, p. 10.
20.Ibid., p. 11.
21.Ibid., p. 16.
22.Ibid., p. 15.
24. Gordon Brown, Speech on the Global Economy, October 13,
2008
25. William E. Halal, March-April 2009 edition of The
Futurist.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)