Legislating for sustainable development
In 2013-14 the Welsh Government will legislate to make sustainable development its central organising principle. This will be the first piece of primary legislation dedicated to sustainable development in the United Kingdom and has the potential to be a world leader.
This publication explains why legislation to embed sustainable development as a ‘central organising principle’ of government needs to be more than a paper exercise. We are already exceeding the earth’s environmental capacity and it looks increasingly difficult to halt climate change from breaching the +2ºC limit. In taking a lead the Welsh legislation needs to give government, business and civil society clear directions, but in ways that bring partners to the table, builds commitment and stimulates innovation. Key questions posed by the contributors are:
- Can the legislation can help us move beyond the conflict of environment versus economy within our current system?
- Can we develop a new paradigm for economic development that operates within ecological limitations?
Contributors include: former Welsh Government Environment Minister Jane Davidson; the Commissioner for Sustainable Futures, Peter Davies; the Chair of the Welsh Government’s Group on ‘Land Use and Climate Change’, Professor Gareth Wyn Jones; the Head of WWF Cymru, Anne Meikle; Hungary’s Parliamentary Commissioner for Future Generations, Sándor Fulöp; WLGA Director of Regeneration and Sustainable Development, Tim Peppin; Professor of Environmental Law at the Univeristy of Dundee, Andrea Ross; environmental lawyer Peter Roderick; Professor of Environmental Social Science at Cardiff University, Susan Baker; social entrepreneur Andy Middleton; and the Archie Cochrane Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at Cardiff University, Stephen Palmer.
Click here to download Wales Central Organising Principle – Legislating for sustainable development