Embedding sustainable development across Government, after the Secretary of State's announcement on the future of the Sustainable Development Commission PDF Download

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215555816
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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Book Description
Funding of the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) will cease at the end of March 2011, and Defra's capability and presence to improve the sustainability of Government will be increased. Whilst regretting the Government's decision to stop funding the SDC, the Committee sees an opportunity to reassess and revitalise the architecture for delivering sustainable development. The experience of SDC's work within Government departments to improve their sustainability skills and performance is at risk of being lost, so the Government must ensure that this knowledge and expertise is absorbed by departments. Sustainable development needs to be driven from the centre of Government by a Minister and department with Whitehall-wide influence. They must be capable of holding all departments to account for their sustainable development performance. The Committee does not think Defra is best placed to lead this drive, and recommends that the Cabinet Office assume this role. And the Treasury could use its position to continue to develop 'sustainability reporting' by departments, strengthen the system of impact assessments and the 'Green Book' investment appraisal methodology for policy-making, and embed the results of the Government Economic Service review of the economics of sustainability and environmental valuation into those impact assessments and appraisals. Greater political leadership from the top should be brought to bear. The Government must introduce a full set of indicators to measure sustainable development that can be used to develop policy and must provide a new strategic underpinning for its commitment to sustainable development as an overarching goal of Government policy-making.

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215559883
Category : Sustainable development
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description
Government response to HC 504, session 2010-11 (ISBN 9780215555816)

Author: Andrea Ross
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136515844
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 382

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Book Description
Sustainable development is now widely accepted as a political objective in the UK and elsewhere but to what extent has the UK’s rhetoric on sustainable development become a reality? The aim of this book is to critically examine the UK’s approach to promoting and delivering sustainable development. It begins by providing a detailed account of UK law on sustainable development by reviewing the various policy, institutional and legal mechanisms used by the UK since the 1980s and by devolved administrations since devolution took effect in 1999. Progress has been slow, too slow and, according to the scientists, time is running out. To deal with this lack of progress, the book advocates increasing the status of ecological sustainability and sustainable development through the introduction of a wide range of legal mechanisms which would compel the change needed. The book calls for ecological sustainability, or respecting the Earth’s environmental limits, to be afforded the status of legal principle and argues that with ecological sustainability at its normative core, sustainable development could provide an effective framework for decision making and governance. It argues that to support this approach and ensure consistency, the time has come for sustainable development to receive explicit legal backing. Over and above its symbolic and educational value, legislation can impose mandatory rules on policymakers and decision makers, often with meaningful consequences both inside and outside the courtroom. To this end, the book contributes to the theory on sustainable development governance by suggesting three possible legislative approaches for such intervention. The volume concludes that while a lack of leadership on sustainable development may hinder the introduction of these innovations, once introduced, these innovations would equally provide much needed support for effective leadership towards a sustainable future. Andrea Ross is a Reader in the School of Law at the University of Dundee and has taught and researched in the areas of public and environmental law for over 18 years. Before becoming an academic she qualified as a Barrister and Solicitor in Ontario, Canada. An Earthscan from Routledge book.

Author: Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108851444
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 871

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Book Description
Economic, technological, social and environmental transformations are affecting all humanity, and decisions taken today will impact the quality of life for all future generations. This volume surveys current commitments to sustainable development, analysing innovative policies, practices and procedures to promote respect for intergenerational justice. Expert contributors provide serious scholarly and practical discussions of the theoretical, institutional, and legal considerations inherent in intergenerational justice at local, national, regional and global scales. They investigate treaty commitments related to intergenerational equity, explore linkages between regimes, and offer insights from diverse experiences of national future generations' institutions. This volume should be read by lawyers, academics, policy-makers, business and civil society leaders interested in the economy, society, the environment, sustainable development, climate change, and other law, policy and practices impacting all generations.

Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Environmental Audit Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 0215084160
Category : Environmental policy
Languages : en
Pages : 53

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Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215561954
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 82

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Book Description
This report warns that the planet's environmental problems are now much more urgent than at the first Rio Summit in 1992. Safe limits on the amount of waste, pollution and biodiversity loss that natural systems can tolerate continue to be breached, undermining our ability to use natural resources to support further growth. The forthcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012, 'Rio+20' will take place 20 years after the pivotal Earth Summit there. It will focus on the 'green economy' and the relevant UN institutions. Engagement and discussion between Government and civil society groups, businesses and individuals, about the Summit's objective - to kick-start a renewed commitment to sustainable development - is vital. The Millennium Development Goals, which aimed to improve the quality of life of some of the world's poorest people, are unlikely to be met by their 2015 end-date and do not fully capture the sustainability challenges facing the world. The MPs recommend that new 'Goals' (Sustainability Goals and Consumption Goals) should be agreed at Rio+20, to shift the effort towards the sustainable development and sustainable consumption contributions that the UK and other developed countries now need to make. The Prime Minister should attend the conference in June to show the Government's commitment to the aims of Rio+20 within the UK and beyond. The Government should also appoint a 'special envoy' to engage the public and co-ordinate Government departments' inputs as part of an ongoing process: before, during and after the Summit itself.

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215048387
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 442

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Book Description
On cover and title page: House, committees of the whole House, general committees and select committees

Author: Schoyen, Mi A.
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 1839104635
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License. It is free to read, download and share on Elgaronline.com. This seminal book addresses the critical and urgent question of ‘what makes welfare states sustainable?’ in the era of climate change. Expert authors challenge traditional perspectives on questions of sustainability which have focused on population ageing, global economic turbulence and on containing current and future public social spending.

Author: David Barling
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0128176997
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
Advances in Food Security and Sustainability, Volume Four, takes a scientific look at the challenges, constraints and solutions necessary to maintain a healthy and accessible food supply in different communities. This ongoing series addresses a wide range of issues on food sustainability and security, with this release focusing on The Evolution of Food Security Policy in Lao PDR: Continuity and Change in the Era of the Sustainable Development Goals, Food System Resilience and Diversity, A Pliable Pillar: How the Social Dimension of Sustainability Has Been Framed in UK Public Food Policy, and much more. Contains expertise from leading contributions on the topics Covers a vast array of subjects relating to food security and sustainability Explores challenges related to protecting environmental resources while also meeting human nutritional requirements

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee
Publisher: Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215059093
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
This report looks at progress on improving accessibility since 2003 and ways of improving accessibility. Problems with transport provision and the location of services can reinforce social exclusion by preventing people from accessing key local services and undermines government policies to tackle worklessness, increase participation in education, reduce crime and narrow health inequalities. Insufficient progress has been made since the 2003 Social Exclusion Unit's Making the Connections report, many findings of which are relevant today. There is evidence that accessibility is worsening, driven by tight budgets in central and local government. Accessibility statistics show travel times to key services steadily increasing over time, particularly for access to hospitals. The Department for Transport needs to focus more closely on improving accessibility as well as on supporting the economy. Existing transport funding could be better coordinated and directed to 'accessibility'-focused initiatives, which will have a swifter impact on people's well-being than large infrastructure projects. The social value of transport and accessibility needs to be explicitly considered in policy-making and in the planning system and should no longer be seen as a second-order criterion.The Committee believes it will take time for any improvements to make a noticeable difference. Their recommendations focus on improving how government operates rather than funding. Central government cannot abdicate its role in coordinating action across departmental silos and helping local authorities and service providers to share best practice. Accessibility planning, introduced by Making the Connections, has had limited success and needs to be re-energised.