February 2012

Creating the Future We Want at Rio+20 or Earth Summit 2012

We will not achieve sustainable development without addressing inequality...Nor can we live with deterioriating ecosystems...We need fresh ideas and a renewed commitment by all countries to fairly share and protect the global commons. - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

What is Rio+20? — the short name for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development to take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June. It is a historic opportunity to define pathways to a safer, more equitable, cleaner, greener and more prosperous world for all.

Twenty years after the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, where countries adopted Agenda 21 (Agenda 21 defines nine major groups: women; children and youth; indigenous peoples; NGOs; local authorities; workers and trade unions; business and industry; the scientific and technical community; and farmers), - a blueprint to rethink economic growth, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection - the UN is again bringing together governments, international institutions and major groups to agree on a range of smart measures that can reduce poverty while promoting decent jobs, clean energy and a more sustainable and fair use of resources.

Why do we need Rio+20?

• The world now has 7 billion people — by 2050, there will be 9 billion.
• 1 out of every 5 people — 1.4 billion —currently lives on $1.25 a day or less.
• 1.5 billion people in the world do not have access to electricity. 2.5 billion do not have a toilet. And almost 1 billion go hungry every day.
• Greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, and more than a third of all known species could go extinct if climate change continues unchecked.
• If we are to leave a liveable world to our children and grandchildren, the challenges of widespread poverty and environmental destruction need to be tackled now.
• We will incur far greater costs in the future — including more poverty and instability, and a degraded planet — if we fail to adequately address these critical challenges now.
• Rio+20 provides an opportunity to think globally, so that we can all act locally to secure our common future.

“Sustainable development is not an option! It is the only path that allows all of humanity to share a decent life on this, one planet. Rio+20 gives our generation the opportunity to choose this path.” - Sha Zukang, Secretary-General of the Rio+20 Conference

What issues will Rio+20 discuss?

“All the issues that will be on the table in Rio – climate change, demographics, water, food, energy, global health, women’s empowerment – are intertwined. All the pillars that underpin the Rio process - stabilizing the global economy, safeguarding the environment, and ensuring social equity - are parts of a single agenda.” ~ UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon

At Rio+20, countries will seek ways to:

• Make the transition to greener economies while focusing on poverty eradication.
• Protect our oceans from overfishing, the destruction of marine ecosystems and the adverse effects of climate change.
• Make our cities more livable and more efficient.
• Broaden the use of renewable energy sources that can significantly lower carbon emissions as well as indoor and outdoor pollution, while promoting economic growth.
• Better manage forests to provide a broad range of benefits — reducing deforestation by half through 2030 could avoid an estimated US $3.7 trillion in climate change damages from greenhouse gas emissions — and that’s not counting the value of jobs and income, biodiversity, clean water and medicines provided by forests.
• Improve the way we conserve and manage our water resources, in order to promote development and guard against desertification.

Does sustainable development work?

Over the last two decades, there have been many examples of successful sustainable development in fields such as energy, agriculture, urban planning, and production and consumption. Some of these include:

• In Kenya, innovative finance mechanisms have stimulated new investments in renewable energy sources, including solar, wind, small hydro, biogas and municipal waste energy, generating income and employment.
• In Brazil, a project under the Clean Development Mechanism was adopted in Sao Paulo to transform two of the city’s biggest waste dumpsites into sustainable landfills. From 2004 to September 2011, the landfills have avoided the release into the atmosphere of 352,000 tons of methane, which instead have been used to produce over one million megawatts of electricity.
• In Nepal, community forestry — led by local forest user groups — contributed to restoring forest resources after a steady decline in the 1990s.
• In Canada, EcoLogo — one of North America’s most respected environmental certification marks — has promoted thousands of products that meet rigorous environmental standards.

What will happen at Rio+20?

Thousands of participants from governments, the private sector, NGOs and other stakeholders will gather in Rio at the end of May and beginning of June 2012 for a strong push towards sustainable development. In parallel with and between the official events, there will be numerous side events, exhibitions, presentations, fairs and announcements by a wide range of partners.

The official discussions will focus on two main themes:

• How to build a green economy to achieve sustainable development and lift people out ofpoverty, including support for developing countries that will allow them to find a green path for development; and how to improve international coordination for sustainable development.
• Governments are expected to adopt clear and focused practical measures for implementing sustainable development based on the many examples of success we have seen over the last 20 years.

How can I participate or contribute?

It takes more than governments to build sustainable development — partnerships among people, community groups, organizations, businesses and academia are needed. Rio+20 is a major opportunity to form partnerships and to highlight work by all stakeholders.

• The official website provides a platform for civil society, business, academia and NGOs to share their preparatory activities for Rio+20.
• The United Nations has launched a campaign, “Rio+20: The Future We Want” or the website, Sustainable Future. The purpose is to engage the world community in a global conversation to share ideas about life in the future and positive imaging of the future.
• Most recently published in the Rio+20 process is the Zero Draft of the Outcome Document located here. Groups will work from this document as they move toward a final document.
• Individuals from the global community are invited to sign the social protection floor petition.  
• People's Sustainability Treaties is a website that is written from the grassroots perspective as an alternative to the Rio+20 work being done.
• Also check the website to sign up for a newsletter, follow Rio+20 on Twitter and Facebook, and read the blog by Conference Secretary-General Sha Zukang.

“Around the world, sustainable peace must be built on sustainable development. That is why I have said that the sustainable development agenda is the agenda for the 21st century.”
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (Above materials comes from the brochure, The Future We Want published by the United Nations)

Human Trafficking and Sporting Events

The U.S. 2012 Super Bowl will be played on February 5 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Many individuals and groups have been working to raise awareness on the issue of human trafficking which frequently occurs at large sporting events. According to the January 2012 issue of Stop Trafficking Newsletter, members of the Coalition for Corporate Responsibility in Indiana and Michigan are working together on an anti-trafficking initiative targeting 220 hotels in a 50 mile radius of Indianapolis. The initiative asks hotels if they have done any training with employees to look for signs of trafficking, if the hotel has a plan in place once trafficking is sighted, if hotel personnel are familiar with other groups working on trafficking in the area, and if the hotels would be willing to place basic information on human trafficking in their lobby and/or guest rooms. Follow-up is being made and information is being shared with the Interfaith Center Corporate Responsibility who lead discussions on trafficking issues with the public and through press releases.  

Actions:

• Pray this prayer to end human trafficking:

Creator of us all, our words cannot express what our minds can barely comprehend and our hearts feel when we hear of children and adults deceived and transported to unknown places for purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor because of human greed.
Our hearts are saddened and our spirits angry that their dignity and rights are being transgressed through threats, deception and force. We cry out against the degrading practice of trafficking and seek ways for it to end.
Strengthen the fragile-spirited and broken-hearted. Make real your promises to fill these our sisters and brothers with a love that is tender and good and send the exploiters away empty-handed. Give us the wisdom and courage to stand in solidarity with them, that together we will find ways to the freedom that is your gift to all of us. Amen. (From January 2012 Stop Trafficking Newsletter, Gen Cassani, SSND) 

• Take a quiz to determine your “slavery footprint.”
• Join the Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS) and encourage hotels to take action to fight the commercial exploitation of children. For instructions and sample letter, click here.
• Become familiar with U.S. companies that have signed The Code.
• Encourage corporations to implement The Luxor Protocol - ethical principles for human trafficking.

The Environment and the Economic Crisis

For many years the prosperity of a country has been based on its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The GDP measures the monetary value of all goods and services that are produced within a nation during a given period and sold to consumers, governments, investors or are exported. In a nutshell this means that the GDP represents the part of the population’s well-being that comes from the consumption of goods and services. In order for the GDP of a country to grow, the people must consume more and more. There are multiple criticisms of the use of the GDP as an indicator of a country’s prosperity. For example, if a country engages in war or suffers from natural disasters monetary transactions will increase, thus leading to a higher GDP. If a small portion of a population spends extravagantly, but many do not have the resources to spend, the GDP may show growth, but at the cost of great inequality. According to Richard Heinberg, “Calculating a nation’s overall health according to its GDP makes about as much sense as evaluating the quality of a piece of music solely by counting the number of notes it contains”.

The GDP takes into account a single bottom line – economic growth. This means that no externalities such as the cost of natural resources, just wages, etc. are taken into account. Many economists, as well as specialists in other fields, are now advocating for the triple bottom line – social, environmental and economic growth (consider Rio+20). A planet with finite resources cannot sustain perpetual growth. This realization, however, implies a total rethinking of the nature of growth and prosperity, as well as a restructuring of the current global financial architecture. Naomi Klein asserts that “the current economic model is based on the faulty premise that nature is limitless, that there will always be more of what is needed, and that if something runs out it can be seamlessly replaced by another resource that can be endlessly extracted.” Environmental economist Tim Jackson makes the choice very clear: “Trash the system or crash the planet.”

The current economic system is no longer viable. It has led to extreme wealth for some countries and individuals at the expense of populations of the least developed countries and some populations of industrialized countries.

The question to ask and reflect upon is “How can people work, individually and collectively, to challenge the current all-pervasive consumer society which is destructive of both people and the planet in such a way that it truly leads to building God’s kin-dom on earth?

United States and the 112th Congress

As the 112thCongress begins its Second Session, the following are issues that we, as faithful citizens, must be watchful of and contact our legislators so that they do as we wish them to do. The first three items were extended this past December and will expire the end of February, so they are likely to be a priority for legislators.  

• Extend Unemployment Insurance benefits for the long term unemployed.
• Extend the Payroll Tax cuts for working people.
• Maintain and increase funding for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
• Fiscal Year 2013 budget funding for the federal government- President Obama usually sends his budget plan to Congress in early February.
• Amidst these priorities and other pieces of legislation will be the November 2012 elections and the actions or lack thereof of federal legislators.

Action:
Be watchful of legislation and alerts related to these. The SCN Family website under the Global Ministries Tab contains updates on legislation.

Contact federal legislators or Congress at 202.224.3121 and President Obama at 202.456.1111 to share your name, address, and views about legislation. (These numbers are not toll free and include a charge)