An economy that respects nature

Vision 2050, still out for public consultation, speaks in glowing language of a perennial economic growth as the basic foundation stone underpinning government’s long-term view.

Separately, it also speaks of a commitment to sustainable development. These two arguments are contradictory and ignore the realities we face.

There are limits to growth as the resources of planet earth are finite. You cannot, on the one hand, profess a commitment to sustainable development yet still think in terms of an economic policy dependent on limitless growth.

An eco-centric view of the politics of sustainable development is based on the fundamental premise that mankind forms an integral part of an ecosystem. We have to act in full respect of nature and natural forces, otherwise we have to face the consequences.

There is no bailout from an ecosystem collapse: havoc inevitably follows. This is clearly manifested in nature’s response in the form of natural disasters, in particular through the impacts of climate change. We have witnessed time and again the impacts of drought and flooding, as well as the devastation brought about by extreme weather, which is ever so common.

We have to work in tandem with nature, benefiting from its fruits and products but protecting and restoring nature, as a result enhancing ecosystem services which support food security, climate, the ecosystem and human health.

Our generation has inherited a depleted natural capital and ecological services on the verge of collapse. Keeping to a policy of limitless growth will make matters worse.

The issue of limits to growth has been on the agenda for the past sixty years. The earth’s resources are limited and, consequently, they cannot fuel infinite economic growth. There are practical limits to growth, which is why ADPD – The Green Party, in its alternative to Vision 2050 just published has advocated ending the emphasis on unbridled economic growth.

We should as a nation lay the foundations for tomorrow’s economy, one which delivers prosperity without growth.

It is positive that we have already started on the path seeking alternatives to the use of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a tool to measure the nation’s progress and prosperity.

The GDP measures everything except that which makes life worthwhile. It is just concerned with material wealth, ignoring in the process health, education, the safety of our streets, the social tissue of society, the state of families, the devastation caused by all forms of hatred, and more.

GDP even includes the production of armaments and the destruction of the environment carried out in the name of “progress”.

Sustainable development is one of the most abused and misused terms in the political lexicon. Political discourse continuously fails to project the politics of sustainable development as having a long-term view and continuously factoring future generations in the decision-making process.

Sustainable development is about living in harmony with all that surrounds us, at all times, not just when it suits us.

Governments, in practice, are not tuned to sustainable development as this is not just about today. It is rather about how today’s activity should not prejudice tomorrow and future generations. This is not on the radar of today’s politicians. Their interest, generally, does not span more than five years: that is, until the next general elections.

Future generations are continuously being asked to shoulder today’s burdens. This is not in any way sustainable as it reduces their capability to plan and decide on their own priorities.

Gro Harlem Brundtland, former social democrat Prime Minister of Norway and Chair of the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development, had, in 1987, made the point very clearly in the report entitled Our Common Future, which we refer to mostly by her name. The Brundtland Report, emphasises that: “We act as we do because we can get away with it: future generations do not vote; they have no political or financial power; they cannot challenge our decisions.”

This is why we must get Vision 2050 on the right track. It is about time that economic policy is aligned with the sustainability rhetoric.

An architect and civil engineer, the author is a former Chairperson of ADPD-The Green Party in Malta.