Archived press release

Advance Notice: WHITE PAPER ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. What It Will Say: What It Should Say

13 May 1999

OVERALL: Hopeful early drafts have been eaten away by the termites of DTI, MAFF and No 10. The only new commitments will be to new policy appraisal guidance (incorporating health, but not broader social impacts), better reporting against the headline indicators and writing sustainable development into the duties of some new public bodies.

The Government will take the line that they are doing everything they can. With a few extra green tweaks - like new green taxes - business-as-usual is sustainable. It will stress the need for everyone else to 'do their bit' without removing the barriers. Giant corporations (plugging trade and investment liberalisation at any cost) will be pleased to avoid the spotlight, and will happily promise a few thousand pounds to sponsor green initiatives.

For fear of unpopularity, Labour is timid about action to cut traffic, shift agriculture support to organic(GMO-free and pesticide-free), and end fuel-poverty. These are just the first steps we need to take if Britain is to take the path to sustainable development .

KEY POINTS

1.The PM will provide a foreword, but will leave John Prescott to face the press.There will be no commitment to an annual report to Parliament although there will be new reporting mechanisms against the 'headline indicators'.

2.There is no such thing as "sustainability in one country" - international equity is crucial. This means tackling the negative effects of globalisation thus incorporating a sustainable development perspective into policies on trade, investment and debt.
FOE's expectation: The White Paper will have a substantial chapter on international dimensions and will mention international equity in its core principles. It will only 'discuss' debt & trade policy issues.

3.The White Paper should discuss the ecological limits that are central to sustainability - not just those related to climate change, but to other natural resources that are being over-used today such as forests and water.
FOE's expectation: There will be a nod in this direction - mentioning limits in terms of climate and fish stocks as examples, but will not fully accept that this planet's resources are limited - and that humanity is already consuming too much of them.

4.There should be a right to a clean and healthy environment. There should be enforceable

environmental rights for all in the UK - whatever their race, sex, age or income.
FOE's expectation: The language of rights will be totally absent from the document.

5.GDP is not a good indicator of a sustainable economy. There should be a redefined economic objective, which recognises that the purpose of the economy is to meet needs and improve quality of life.
FOE's expectation: There will be discussion of the importance of the 'quality' of growth, but it will conclude, contrary to the evidence, that GDP is a good indicator, and that an economic objective to seek 'high and stable levels of growth' is a sound way of promoting sustainable development.

6.The White Paper should give a new definition of competitiveness that includes environmental productivity and the opportunities for creating jobs and exports through environmental technologies.
FOE's expectation: The White Paper will hardly address this issue at all.

7.The White Paper should recognise the importance of public participation and empowerment, in sustainable development and in policy making at all levels of government.
FOE's expectation: There will be some attention to these issues, but an over-emphasis on voluntary individual action, with little attention to the disempowering obstacles Government policy places in the way of such action.

8.The White Paper should say that the UK will play a leading role in developing an alternative, accountable system of trade and investment rules which deliver social and environmental goals.
FOE's expectation: It will most likely repeat tired rhetoric about the alleged benefits of trade liberalisation and not address investment issues. The UK supports plans to resurrect the Multilateral Agreement on Investment in the World Trade Organisation, which would threaten sustainability in many countries.

9.The White Paper should state that sustainable development will be a framework for policy across Government. This means more than restating the importance of policy appraisal and the Green Ministers - it requires quantifiable targets, indicators and clear accountability.
FOE's expectation: There will be no cross-departmental targets, but a new, improved approach to policy appraisal will be proposed, which could help deliver such an objective, if it is comprehensively applied in all Departments.

10.There should be long-term targets for cutting resource consumption equitably to within environmental limits.
FOE's expectation: The White Paper will mention the possibility of such targets, but will not set any.

11.The White Paper should build on recent progress in the Budget to implement the manifesto pledge to cut taxes on jobs and raise taxes on waste and pollution ( ecological tax reform).
FOE's expectation: It will set out progress to date, and restate commitments for investigation and possible development of further options in areas such as pesticides and aggregates.

12.The White Paper should set targets for increased eco-efficiency (goods and services provided per unit of environmental resources consumed) for the UK economy as a whole, and for specific sectors to stimulate innovation. The goal should be a ten fold, or 'factor-10', improvement.
FOE's expectation: It will refer to '10-fold' improvements as an indication of the scale of the challenge we face, but will (following the line taken by DTI) reject the idea of resource efficiency targets.

13.The White Paper should explain how the precautionary principle will be put into practice -for example in policies on chemicals and GM food.
FOE's expectation: The strategy will outline the Government's approach to the precautionary principle. However it will avoid discussing examples that would reveal the inadequacy of current policy in this respect.

If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust