It is urgent that humanity work towards equity of consumption
and slow the growth of the world's population or we'll head towards a
"downward vortex" of ruin, according to a report published today.
People and the Planet,
the report from the Royal Society, is the result of a nearly two-year
study. It emphasizes that global population and consumption are linked
and must be seen as such to work for the health of humankind and the
planet.
Sir
John Sulston: "We can choose to rebalance the use of resources to a
more egalitarian pattern of consumption... or we can choose to do
nothing and to drift into a downward vortex of economic, socio-political
and environmental ills..."(photo: James Cridland)
Sir John Sulston, Fellow of the Royal Society and Chair of the report
working group, said, "We can choose to rebalance the use of resources
to a more egalitarian pattern of consumption, to reframe our economic
values to truly reflect what our consumption means for our planet and to
help individuals around the world to make informed and free
reproductive choices. Or we can choose to do nothing and to drift into a
downward vortex of economic, socio-political and environmental ills,
leading to a more unequal and inhospitable future."
Among the report's key findings is that developed countries must
decrease material consumption, and that reproductive healthcare and
family planning must be funded. "To not provide family planning is an
infringement of human rights," Sulston noted.
* * *
BBC: Population and consumption key to future, report says
Over-consumption in rich countries and rapid population growth in the
poorest both need to be tackled to put society on a sustainable path, a
report says.
An expert group convened by the Royal Society spent nearly two years reading evidence and writing their report.
Firm recommendations include giving all women access to family
planning, moving beyond GDP as the yardstick of economic health and
reducing food waste.
The report will feed into preparations for the Rio+20 summit in June.
"This is an absolutely critical period for people and the planet,
with profound changes for human health and wellbeing and the natural
environment," said Sir John Sulston, the report's chairman.
"Where we go is down to human volition - it's not pre-ordained, it's
not the act of anything outside humanity, it's in our hands."
* * *
Royal Society calls for a more equitable future for humanity
The most developed and the emerging economies must stabilise
consumption levels, then reduce them, to help the poorest 1.3 billion
people to escape absolute poverty through increased consumption.
Alongside this, education and voluntary family planning programmes must
be supported internationally to stabilise global population. The new
report, People and the Planet,
is the result of a 21 month study by the Royal Society, the UK’s 350
year-old national academy of science, on the issues around global
population.
Sir John Sulston, Fellow of the Royal Society and Chair of the report
working group, said: "The world now has a very clear choice. We can
choose to address the twin issues of population and consumption. We can
choose to rebalance the use of resources to a more egalitarian pattern
of consumption, to reframe our economic values to truly reflect what our
consumption means for our planet and to help individuals around the
world to make informed and free reproductive choices. Or we can choose
to do nothing and to drift into a downward vortex of economic,
socio-political and environmental ills, leading to a more unequal and
inhospitable future."
"We call on all governments to consider the issue of population
carefully at the Rio+20 meeting and to commit to a more just future
based not on material consumption growth for their nations, but on the
needs of the global community, both present and future." [...]
In addition to concluding that the consumption by those that consume
most must be reduced and that health and voluntary family planning must
be supported, the report features numerous other recommendations
including:
- Population and the environment should not be considered as two
separate issues and demographic changes and the influences on them
should be factored into economic and environmental debate and planning.
- GDP is a poor measure of social well-being and does not account for
natural capital. New comprehensive wealth measures should be developed
that better reflect the value of a country’s assets.
- New socio-economic systems and institutions that are not dependent
on continued material consumption growth must be developed, which will
lead to better targeted governmental policies that are not based on
consumption of resources without consideration of wider impact.
- Increasing population will lead to developing countries building the
equivalent of a city of a million people every five days from now to
2050. Governments should plan for urban growth with reduced material
consumption and environmental impact through the provision of well
organised services.
* * *
The wrong direction (photo: Michael Holden)
* * *
The Guardian: World needs to stabilise population and cut consumption, says Royal Society
The authors acknowledge that it would take time and massive political
commitment to shift consumption patterns in rich countries, but believe
that providing contraception would cost comparatively little. "To
supply all the world's unmet family planning needs would be $6-7bn a
year. It's not much. It's an extremely good investment, extremely
affordable. To not provide family planning is an infringement of human
rights", said Sulston.
The authors declined to put a figure on sustainable population,
saying it depended on lifestyle choices and consumption. But they warned
that without urgent action humanity would be in deep trouble. "The
pressure on a finite planet will make us radically change human
activity", said Pretty [,one of the working group of 22 who produced the
report].
"The planet has sufficient resources to sustain 9 billion, but we can
only ensure a sustainable future for all if we address grossly unequal
levels of consumption. Fairly redistributing the lion's share of the
earth's resources consumed by the richest 10% would bring development so
that infant mortality rates are reduced, many more people are educated
and women are empowered to determine their family size – all of which
will bring down birth rates", said an Oxfam spokeswoman.
No comments:
Post a Comment