club of rome sustainable development

8/14/2019 Club of Rome Sustainable Development

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Layout: Marcus Merz, FAW Ulm

The Club of RomeSecretary General:Rissener Landstrasse 193D-22559 Hamburg. GermanyWebsite: www.clubofrome.org

No Limits to Knowledge, but Limits to Poverty:

Towards a Sustainable Knowledge Society On the 30th Anniversary of the First Reportto the Club of Rome: The Limits to Growth

Statement of the Club of Rome to theWorld Summit on Sustainable Development 2002


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Foreword

It is now thirty years since the rst report commissionedby the Club of Rome The Limits to Growth . Thirty yearson, the challenges of sustainable development are all themore pressing and all the more complex. The tremendoustechnological progress of the last few decades has allowedcontinued industrial growth; but the gap between the rich andthe poor has widened and the pressure on our planets complexand delicate systems is greater than ever. Clearly, we cannotcontinue in this development path: It is simply not sustainable.

The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD)in Johannesburg is a key opportunity for political leaders,civil society and the business community to agree on a new

framework of solidarity and development for all people in the world that willrespect the limits of natural resources. The new challenges concern socialequity, cultural diversity, economic stability, ecological protection and theoptimum use of the limited resources of the planet. This WSSD has to graspthe opportunity for a step change in implementation of a global culture of co-operation; to create the c ondition for a continuous and world-wide sustainabledialogue within and among societies.

In the current demographic transition, the world population will still grow toabout 8-9 billion by 2050. The earths ecosystem, of which mankind is part,has a limited capacity to absorb the impact of human activities, But even withinhuman society, the poverty is already beyond any decent limits. Many initiativeshave been taken during the last thirty years, but are by far not enough to changecourse. In the mean time mankind faces another limit: the limit of time. I t is still

a most dif cult task to strike a balance a golden mean between humanitysambitions of growth, social equity and limits on resource use. We must seeknew frameworks for rational use of natural and nancial resources, based oneducation, local values and sustainable practices, consistent with the globalreality, and on access to knowledge for all human beings. We must build asociety with no limits to knowledge.

The Club of Rome brings together a unique combination of politicians,businessmen and leading scientists and the younger generation participates

F or ew or d

The Club of Rome

In early 1968, 36 leading European businessmen and scientists met in Rome. Their aim wasto work across national boundaries and across disciplines to arrive at a deeper understandingof the interactions between the complex network of political, cultural, socio-economic andecological problems, they termed global problematique. In recognition of the place they met

rst, they called themselves The Club of Rome from then on. In 1972 the rst Report to theClub of Rome was published: The Limits to Growth. Because of its provoking scenarios itfound great, to a large extent critical response 12 million copies in 25 languages were sold. Itpointed out for the rst time the necessity to transform ways of thinking about how we handlethe limited natural resources of our planet, and ever since it has become a classical publicationin this eld. The circle of thinkers developed into a world-wide forum, representing today 85members coming from more than 50 nations all around the world. The ideas which they generatecontinue to nd respect amongst the international community until today.

The Club of Rome seeks to present to those who are making decisions in the elds of scienceand politics, in economics and in society, that there is an urgent need for action if we want to havecontrol of our future. Being aware of the slow response of governments and their institutions, the

Club sees a need for non-governmental catalysts to push forward the changes required.

Therefore the Club of Rome is involved in identifying the essential problems facing humankindand, linked to that, in developing problem-solving strategies in global, regional and local contexts.The Club commissions reports and acts as a focus for new ideas. It does not formulate politicalstatements, but promotes dialogue and exchanges of opinion. Commissioned reports (30 reportshave been published since Limits to Growth) have dealt with issues such as internationaleconomy, education and training, intercultural dialogue, the media, the environment, the future ofthe oceans and food provision. At present the challenges how to improve governance and howto overcome poverty are in the focus of the Clubs activities.

The Club is also active in organizing conferences, seminars and other events on a wide range ofthemes. 25 National Associations for the Club of Rome are disseminating the ideas of the Club ofRome in their countries and, with their contributions, are enriching the debates within the Club.

The number of active members of the Club is limited to 100, drawn from the elds of business,science and politics. The Club additionally enjoys the active support of honorary members suchas Mikhail Gorbachev, Jacques Delors, Richard von Weizscker and the King of Spain.

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The Club of RomePresident: HRH Prince El Hassan bin TalalVice President: Alicia Brcena, Eberhard von KoerberSecretary General: Uwe Mller


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Contents C on t en t s

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1. Thirty Years Nearer the Limits 6

2. The Limits of Poverty and Inequity 7

3. Towards a Sustainable Knowledge Society 9

4. No Limits to Diversity and Creativity 10

5. Ef ciency and Steering Mechanisms;

an Answer to Resource Limits 11

6. Governance in a Finite World 14

through speci c think tanks. This construction allows an interdisciplinarydialogue with the general public. The Statement builds on t he preparatory workof the newly created Brussels-EU Chapter, and has been extensively discussedby the Members, notably in a special meeting in Brussels in May 2002.

It highlights again the need for a holistic approach to reorient technological,economic and social developments for the bene t of all members of the humanfamily. I recommend it to your attention.

Prince El Hassan bin Talal

President of the Club of Rome

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2. The Limits of Poverty and Inequity

Social sustainability can only be achieved by reducing poverty, world-wide. Poverty is now a major threat to stability and an obstacle to further socialand economic development everywhere. It can only be reduced by sustaininga higher rate of economic growth in most of the developing world, but with asubstantial higher level of resource productivity. This will require a new ethics ofsolidarity at the WSSD, with clear growth targets for developing countriesto restore social equity, in partnership with developed countries.

Growing disparities in income are the result of exclusion from global marketsrather than of polarising effects within them. Greater integration of morepeople (and countries) into world trade is therefore the most effective,but still insuf cient, measure against growing inequality. The decision atDoha in November 2001 to launch a further round of trade liberalisation, with

a partnership for development and fuller participation by all has to be activelypursued. There still is too much hypocrisy in the policy of in the North inpressing for open of markets in a globalising economy while protecting theirown markets from competition from the South.

Information and communication technologies are doubly essential - forfaster growth in developing countries and more eco-ef cient growtheverywhere. Reducing the Digital Divide must therefore becomea world-wide priority. Without determined action, uneven growth of thenetworked knowledge economy will increase inequity, its visibility and its socialconsequences. Frustrated young people see the huge difference between thelifestyles in the US and Europe and their own, with migration to these wealthyregions as their only alternative to continued poverty.

The transition to a knowledgesociety is likely to enable morepeople to actively participate increative work. A knowledge infra-structure can provide an opportunityfor local entrepreneurship andwealth-creation, without which theother services could never be

affordable or sustainable.Development policies mustthere fore accelerate and widen

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In 1972, the report on The Limits to Growth launched a global debate onmankinds future and that of our planet. It was followed by Mankind at the Turning Point in 1974, and No Limits to Learning in 1978. In thirty years,over thirty reports have been published in almost all domains of world affairs,ranging from governance, to poverty, to the oceans as planetary resources, tocultural and social cohesion.

In 1972 the world population was 3.2 billion. In 2002, it is over 6 billion, andmay only begin to stabilise near 8-9 billion in the middle of this century. TheWorld Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) must not only reviewprogress and disappointments of the past 10 years, but must now createa stronger momentum in practical measures for real progress in the nextdecade.

Our current model of industrial development is not sustainable. Thecurrent pace and type of growth is leading to economic polarisation andenvironmental degradation. The paradox of industrial growth is that to createenough wealth to eliminate poverty, it has increased inequalities. Voraciousgrowth in use of natural resources is destroying the ecosystem on which it isbased. The objectives of continued industrial growth are incompatible with thelimits of the natural system of the planet. Our planet is already too small toprovide the material standards of the industrialised world to 6 billion people.Rapidly growing resource-use, social tensions, growing inequity, economicmigration and terrorism in ict an increasing economic and environmentalburden on world society. The wealthiest 20% of the worlds population consume86% of the natural resources while half of all people live in poverty. In addition,loss of cultural diversity is increasing political and economic instability. As shown

in some of the scenarios of Limits to Growth, con rmed in recent UN reports,the natural capital of the environment and of natural resources is morethreatened than ever by continued population and economic growth. It isnow more than urgent to change current trends.

The present socio-economic model and concept of growth must beprofoundly redesigned. The continuing demographic transition ampli es theneed for a global ethical commitments, as well as for a new socio-economicmodel. //

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1. Thirty Years Nearer the Limits

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3. Towards a Sustainable KnowledgeSociety

Science and technology development is crucial. Sustainable developmentwill only become a reality through innovation and innovative distributionmechanisms. Technologies must be made to work for human development,everywhere. Everyone will need access to knowledge and technology. We mustall invest more in education and training, and in creating and assimilating newknowledge.

The emergence of a networked knowledge society in the next twenty to thirtyyears is a major paradigm-shift from the industrial model of the nineteenthand twentieth century. It can be part of the solution to our problems, orpart of the problem. The hope that the dynamics of information andcommunication technology development within globalising markets alonewill contribute to general wealth andreduce poverty is to simplistic. Withthe right frameworks, it can empowerand integrate billions of people, evenin the poorest countries; offer newaccess to education, information andknowledge even in the most remoteregions; help to eradicate poverty andbuild sustainable communities. Withoutthem, it may simply add to the enormousinvestments and environmental burdenof centralised industrialisation.

As our societies become more complex and interdependent, all dimensions ofsustainable development must be pursued together.

Science and technology have to respond to real needs and accessible andshared by all people. The emergence of a knowledge society is the majorparadigm shift for the next half century. A holistic methodology and approachis imperative to empower a stepwise construction of sustainable societieswith constant elevation of the quality of life for all. //

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the deployment of electronic communications infrastructures, withuniversal and affordable access, and must enable entrepreneurial, socialand cultural use of them. Deployment of infrastructures must be part of apartnership for co- nancing development.

Development aid from the developed countries must certainly be increased.We welcome the commitments in Monterrey, but more is needed: Aid must alsobe untied from donor-procurement, and made more accessible to small-scale,local initiatives for education and entrepreneurship. It will only be effective whenrecipient countries have economic and social policies consistent with sustainabledevelopment, and when it is used in capacity building: To create educationaland institutional infrastructures and to empower people in developing countriesto access, assimilate and use new knowledge and technologies. Indigenousknowledge systems also represent a unique resource of developing countriesand must be integrated in a future world-wide networked knowledge society.

Sustainable development is compatible with an increase of world GDPby a factor of 10 by 2050, if GDP growth is de-coupled from resource useand the rate of use of critical resource is limited to todays level. This

could allow growth rates of 7-8% p.a. for the poorest countries, suf cient tosubstantially reduce poverty and inequality, alongside growth of 3% p.a. for theEU and North America, suf cient to sustain high levels of employment. In thisframework, we must go beyond the Millennium targets for 2015:

to raise adult literacy rates above 90% by 2030, including digital literacy,both verbal and visual;

to create a world-wide science- and technology-based university andresearch infrastructure stimulating local entrepreneurship;

to ensure access to knowledge and education services in over 90% ofcommunities by 2030, to enable people to manage their own localresources;

to develop affordable technologies which are simple to use, diverse in theirapplications, and re ect cultural and linguistic differences.

The eradication of poverty must be the highest priority. It is not acceptablethat more than half the world population is deprived of food and freshwater, shelter and simple health care. Access to information, education andknowledge has to be ensured. Communication and information infrastructure,and greater investment in education in local communities are essential toreducing the digital divide and to participation in the future knowledgesociety. Development aid has to focus these long-term objectives. //

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5. Ef ciency and Steering Mechanisms;an Answer to Resource Limits

The natural capital of the global environment is more threatened than everby continued population growth and the dramatic increase in industrialactivity. We are nearer than ever to limits to growth in resource use. In30 years, some limits have been pushed back by technology development: Weare not currently exhausting some mineral resources and fossil fuels as fast aswas feared, but the impact of their use on the environment is becomingcritical . Economic growth is still tightly linked to growth in resource use, and nowcontributes more than population growth itself.

If industrial growth were suf cient to eradicate poverty in developing countries,resource use would increase beyond environmentally sustainable levels. It wouldoverwhelm the capacity of the biosphere with waste and pollution. Productionand consumption must therefore become much more ef cient. We mustshift to more rational use of resources, to use renewable resources andcycles of production and consumption in which wastes are re-used. Wemust also add much more value to the resources we do use through a shiftfrom material goods to services.

In developing countries, the emphasis must shift from mining their naturalresources to empowering their human capital, with a different concept ofgrowth.

Energy demand can be reduced considerably in industrial countriesby more rational energy use. In developing countries, rationalenergy-use must also be ensured with simple and appropriatetechnologies. These may need to be more labour intensive andmust enable local communities to manage their energy use.

Energy supply has to shift from carbon to renewable and cleansources (reducing greenhouse-gas emissions) and to de-centralisedsupply where feasible. This shift is possible with credible future scienti cand technological developments. However, substantial investment inresearch is still needed. This must be assured by the developed countries,but the results rapidly disseminated throughout the world. Decentralisedproduction of the energy, by local small units, opens new perspectives for ruralpopulations throughout the world.

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4. No Limits to Diversity and Creativity

To avoid a catastrophic clash of civilisations in a multi-cultural world, both culturalidentity and diversity must be accepted as legitimate goals in themselves,alongside respect for fundamental human rights and identi cation with acommon set of human values. Loss of cultural diversity increases political andeconomic instability.

We need culturally diverse, tolerant and vibrant societies in which individualshave the opportunity actively to practice and participate and to pursue andful l their primary need for a sense of identity and a sense of belonging. Weneed a world of multiple modernities , without ideologies but within communities,in which different cultures peacefully co-exist: a world of learning communities in which no culture imposes its values on others, and where indigenisingmodernity and learning from each other are values in themselves.

The networked knowledge society has to integrate the richness of indigenousknowledge, value and integrate an eco-centric and anthropocentric concept of asustainable world society.

Goals must be set: To maintain the diversity of languages actively spoken today;to increase indigenous and independent cultural creativity; to increase culturalemployment; to reduce the risk of manipulation and monopolisation of information;and to ensure affordable access to high-quality cultural activities for all. The mediamust be recognised as a common good for educational and cultural objectives,rather than left as the exclusive domain of business for commercial purposes. Aboveall, we must create a culture of participation, rather than one of consumption.

The speci city of cultural services within the trade policy context needs to be

better de ned during the current Doha-round negotiations. Cultural services,like environmental services, have a broad social function. We must develop aglobal framework that recognises this fact and puts cultural diversity on a par witheconomic growth, social equity and environmental health.

The future world society must be based on local communities embedded intheir cultural heritage and participating in the knowledge society. Respect forfundamental human rights, expressed by a common set universal values,has to be recognised and adhered to by all. The networked knowledgesociety must integrate the richness of indigenous knowledge and practice.Indigenising modernity is a new challenge for all. //

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subsidies and tradeprotection measures in the agriculture, coal and steel sectorsare not only damaging to the dynamic of change in the industrialised countries,but they in ict huge damage on developing countries. Hidden subsidies to roadtransport, and the absence of coherent taxation of aviation fuel, are major obstaclesto the development of more ef cient and more sustainable life-styles and businesspractices.

The ef ciency of resource-use has to be increased immediately anddramatically. The necessary technological innovations are within ourreach. Development of systems for rational energy-use and for renewableenergy supply has to become a higher priority. A policy of decentralisedenergy supply and distribution, as part of a policy of rational energy use,is of strategic importance for all countries, notably for remote areas and

developing countries. It can stimulate local entrepreneurship and enableaccess to information and education networks. Taxation of resource andenvironment use must be profoundly modi ed. Implementation of the Kyotoprotocol must be pursued, and counter-productive and perverse subsidieshave to be eliminated with the highest degree of urgency. //

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i t s Information and communication technology is vital to environmentally

sustainable production, logistics, consumption, and for a mosaic ofenvironmentally sustainable lifestyles. Without availability of these technologiesto the vast majority of people in the networked knowledge society, environmentalsustainability will not be possible. However, neither will a knowledge societyautomatically be sustainable. Only the right frameworks can ensure this.

Population pressure will continue to grow, but more slowly. By 2030, therewill be about 8 billion people. We face major challenges in food and fresh wateravailability, which can only be addressed through intelligent use of informationand bio-technologies, and closed cycles of food production from animals, plants,fungi, algae and bacteria; and more ef cient synergies between them. Watersupply and quality can only be assured through better management.

By 2030, most people will live in cities. To make these sustainable and toensure enjoy better health, access to education, services and social exchanges,we need to re-think how buildings and cities are used. The building stockneeds to be designed with higher energy ef ciency and less car-dependentsociety. Cities must be planned and designed to minimise travel: Land-use

planning must encourage compact, mixed use, accessible development.We need to challenge the prevailing paradigm of work in dedicated of cebuildings, often remote from other urban and social functions.

To meet these challenges, we must use all the steering mechanisms to getthe frameworks of development right:

Taxation systems must discourage resource-use, reward enterprise and value-creation, and give incentives for the substitution of material goods by immaterialservices. A major shift to taxation of material resources, energy, land andtransport facilities is needed.

Market forces alone cannot be relied upon to preserve the natural capital of theplanet, and to generate adequate substitutes for exhaustible resources. We need

to use taxation to protect the Global Commons. Maximum sustainable levels ofuse of critical resources and of pollution must be limited in global economicsystems. Externality costs must be internalised. Greenhouse gas emissionlimitation and emissions trading is only a start. The Kyoto Protocol must be fullyimplemented, and in respect of the precautionary principle, extended to allanthropogenic substances affecting the climate and ocean circulation.

Perverse subsidies must be phased out. The use of Government aid for speci cpurposes will remain a legitimate tool of good governance, but the enormous

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We must also create frameworks, which support green entrepreneurship.Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) must become a ubiquitousrequirement. By 2010 triplebottom line reporting, including on natural, socialand human capital development, should be normal practice for all publicly-quotedcompanies. We must also nd the frameworks for new partnerships betweenglobal corporations and local communities.

The United Nations should have a stronger, top-level Council on SustainableDevelopment , which can ensure the coherence of activities within the UN familyof organisations, in partnership between governments, business and civilsociety. In addition, actions on education and cultural diversity must bestrengthened, with co nancing mechanisms to improve dramatically thedegree of literacy of young and adult persons and to provide training ofskills necessary for assimilation of scienti c and technological progress indeveloping countries by 2030. Education and training programmes must getmuch greater nancial support and in the next decades.

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We need a new ethic of humansolidarity in all global governanceframeworks. Global institutions mustensure the stability of the worldeconomic system and effectivemanagement of the Global Commons.The Bretton-Woods organisationsmust have economic stability andsustainable development as top-levelobjectives, and in business, CorporateSocial Responsibility (CSR) mustbecome a ubiquitous requirement. TheUnited Nations should have a stronger,top-level Council on SustainableDevelopment, and internationalactions in education and culture mustbe strengthened. //

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6. Governance in a Finite World

Governance is at the core of all challenges we are facing. Wherever we lookwe nd political structures with insuf cient performance. This applies especiallyto regions in the world characterised by violence and warfare, where preciousresources of human, cultural, social and natural capital are destroyed. Therefore,strengthening global regimes of con ict management is of crucial importance.The phenomenon of terrorist violence demonstrates again the necessity of acommon security and stability on our planet.

The new global deal in Johannesburg must not be a trade-off betweenprosperity, equity and the environment. Governance frameworks must beredesigned such that everyone can bene t from growth. In Johannesburg,we need a partnership for sustainable development in a new framework ofsolidarity and cultural diversity, based on continued technology development andinnovation, with fair bene ts for all. We need a new ethic of human solidarityto emerge in all global governance frameworks. This requires civil and politicalleadership and responsibility. Governments in the South must deliver theconditions indispensable for their socio-economic development. In the North thebusiness community and the civil society must as well contribute to this equitabledevelopment.

Global institutions must be strengthened to ensure the stability of the worldeconomic system and to manage the Global Commons (atmosphere,oceans, the Antarctic etc.). For this, we need a stronger and better informed globalpublic-policy network, and new frameworks for co- nancing for development.

Our economic system enables the working population to nance the education ofthe young and the care of the old. Sustainable development therefore requiresstability. However, the global networked economy -with new strong linkages- hastremendous potential for chaotic volatility. New ways must be found to controldominant interests, to de-couple subsystems, manage shocks and uctuationsand invest more in knowledge and skills. We must strengthen the systemsability to respond to shocks either by damping them or by diffusing them.Governments and the Bretton-Woods organisations must have economicstability and sustainable development as top-level objectives, and mustbe brought into more coherent and synergetic action. They must also movetowards a more widely-based measurement of development than GDP alone.

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