Quietly but doggedly, the UK Stakeholders for Sustainable Development (UKSSD) are building a case for the UK Government to accept its domestic responsibilities under the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Last week's UKSSD conference was a low key, but solid and impressive part of that - perhaps a milestone.
Hosted by Pearson, the publishing group including Penguin Books, the conference opened with CEO John Fallon talking eloquently about sustainable development importance and quoting Keynes’ “The Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren”.
Climate envoy Sir David King then gave a strong, largely optimistic speech, which chided the Government for the “tired old colonial view” that sustainable development is all about other countries and “everything is fine back home”. He reminded HMG “we too are an island nation” and had much to learn from countries like Rwanda.
An all-women panel discussion was next - something fellow Local Agenda 21 activist Chris Church reflected was one thing that really had changed since 25 years ago. Kate Raworth of the Environmental Change Institute was the pick of the bunch, speaking with passion and uncompromising clarity about the need to re-write economics in order to achieve the SDG’s. It was good to hear Good Energy chief Juliet Davenport and Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, Sophie Howe, recognise the need to ensure projects have no negative impact on other SDG’s - given the potential harm to a precious Cornish marine environment that mining-related operations could do in order to supply stone for the Swansea tidal barrage they both strongly support.
Next Glenn Everett of the Office for National Statistics, apparently sanguine and calm about the almighty task of preparing for and monitoring UK performance against nearly 170 SDG indicators - probably a prerequisite for his role. Glenn spoke very openly about the challenge, and fielded a multitude of questions ably. It was great to see him accompanied by team members too, and while there must be concern about the lack of meaningful indicators in key areas like sustainable consumption and production, there is little doubt that ONS is a great asset to the UK’s SDG process and a leader internationally. If you do nothing else, ensure you contribute evidence to this before May 27 by responding to a detailed survey on indicators for the 17 SDGs Warning: allow plenty of time - though whatever time you spend will probably be an education.
Prof Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, un-fazed by technology glitches, gave a brilliant keynote speech by Skype, giving a gloriously direct critique of the UK’s performance against the SDG’s - mid-table of developed nations mostly - saving only his most damning indictments for his own country. His conclusion from performance across the board: the UK and US model of the free-market, liberalising economy has run it’s course.
Breakout sessions followed, before closing remarks from Jonathon Porritt. The ones I attended both spoke to one key issue: the next goal must be to get traction - if not with the Government itself, then with the Opposition, or the Lib Dems even - politicians of all hues were conspicuous by their absence. The government may have wanted neither to lend credibility to this work nor to open up a debate about its performance. But universality is what it signed up to and we have to make this meaningful. So traction is also needed with the mainstream media, which as NEF showed, has hardly given the SDGs any coverage at all since the UN sign-off; and with other big NGO’s too: this is about building a broader movement to get the UK to do the right things.
Unfortunately the government must know that the UK is performing at best averagely against most of the indicators, as Jeffrey Sachs so brilliantly set out; and it does not want its dirty washing aired in public, much less picked over, washed and scrutinised - which this conference achieved very effectively. So unless the pressure increases, its default will be to state this is all about other countries, its (admittedly brilliant) overseas aid spending commitment, and the rest is all covered by the manifesto. The apparent refusal to contemplate an action plan specific to the SDGs will not be easy to shift; but we could shame the government and hand a gift to politicians who are anxious to see the UK fulfil its commitments, by drawing up a shadow action plan, showing what should be done.
