"Beyond the Tipping Point"

Wednesday morning marked the start of the High-Level Segment of CSD-19, with high-level government ministers taking over the CSD negotiations. The morning session began with keynote speakers, including a speech (~minute 26) from Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Dr. Sachs said we have passed beyond the ecological tipping point we have anticipated for decades. He said we are in a “global ethics crisis,” with governments unable or unwilling to address environmental crises or to address the “juggernaut” that is the global pace of resource consumption. While he criticized the United States for inaction and “going backwards, scrambling for resources,” he commended Europe as the only region that has made progress toward a sustainable economy.

To shift to a sustainable world, he envisions a four-part strategy:

(1) Creating a technological road map: Current technologies will not suffice for our future energy challenges. The US oil lobby, however, prevents any negotiation on sustainable energy solutions.

(2) A global carbon levy: Developing countries need assistance to adapt to climate change and we need to fund more research and development relevant to sustainable consumption and production (SCP). Both have been promised by developed countries to developing countries, however these commitments have not been fulfilled.

(3) Regional cooperation: Global solutions are limited as it is difficult to reach consensus on many aspects of SCP. We can look to Europe as a model as they are building the regional scale infrastructure necessary for SCP.

(4) A global knowledge network: Our global challenges are too complex to leave to lobbyists and politicians. A network needs to exist where leading scientists can have access to global negotiations and share their know-how.

After over a week of tedious negotiations and prepared government statements, Dr. Sachs’s candid evaluation of our environmental crises and criticism of government inaction were welcomed with prolonged applause and a standing ovation from more than a few in the audience. But when, if ever, and how will his vision for sustainability be implemented? If we have learned anything from the CSD negotiations, it is that consensus is often elusive in international negotiations. Perhaps regional cooperation will prove to be the more effective forum for decisive action for sustainable development.

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SSC & SSB