by Peter Davies | Jul 22, 2016 | News and Comment
“What we need are conversations about the future we want,” says the FDSD in response to Brexit, citing the Wales We Want conversation as precedent. As a new FDSD Trustee and the former Commissioner for Sustainable Futures in charge of leading that conversation, which...
by Emily Auckland | Jul 22, 2016 | News and Comment
One month on and questions are still being asked about how we got here. The only thing that’s clear, it seems, is that Brexit suggests a deep division between inward- and outward-facing worldviews: control our borders and attempt to reduce the strain on our...
by Graham Smith | Jul 19, 2016 | Blog, News and Comment
Whether you were for or against Brexit, most would agree that the referendum campaign was far from instructive. It brought out the worst in British politics: primarily two sets of over-privileged, middle-aged white males throwing opinions, thinly disguised as...
by John Lotherington | Jul 18, 2016 | Blog, News and Comment
As everyone woke up to Brexit on 24 June, there was a dawning realization that we were in uncharted territory. The campaign was focused on what we were trying to avoid, not where we wanted to head. That was true of the Remainers, with their increasingly...
by kultur.work | Jun 7, 2016
As the EU Referendum draws closer much has been reported in the media about what leaving the EU would mean for the economy, immigration and travel abroad. But what would leaving the EU mean for Equalities? Would leaving the EU mean more or less protection for minority...
by Andrea Westall | May 30, 2016
Charlotte Burns and Viviane Gravey argue that the EU Referendum debate in the UK has been “surprisingly quiet on the issue of the environment”. They look at three options for the UK from the point of view of their impacts on participatory democracy, as...
by Graham Smith | May 25, 2016 | Blog, News and Comment
Graham Smith is Professor of Politics at the Centre for the Study of Democracy, University of Westminster and a specialist in democratic innovation and citizen engagement, with a particular interest in climate politics and the representation of future generations. He...
by kultur.work | May 20, 2016 | News and Comment
“Global warming is already disrupting the planet’s weather”, a recent New York Times article reads, “now it is having an impact on the courts as well, as adults and children around the world try to enlist the judiciary in their efforts to blunt climate change.” After...
by kultur.work | Feb 22, 2016 | News and Comment
In her recent blog for the Project Syndicate, Anne-Marie Slaughter, former president of the American Society of International Law, offers an optimistic take on the non-binding nature of the Paris Agreement. As she argues: “its deficits in this regard are its...
by kultur.work | Nov 4, 2015 | News and Comment
Following the adoption of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act in April 2015, the Welsh Government has appointed its first Future Generations Commissioner, Sophie Howe, currently Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for South Wales. “Public bodies in...
by Ann Thorpe | Jun 12, 2015 | News and Comment
You’re probably familiar with the United Nation’s (UN)Millenium Development Goals (MDG), adopted in 2000, for improving well being for the world’s poorest. They carried the tagline, “we can end poverty.” It’s estimated that roughly 40% of the eight goals, listed at...
by Andrea Westall | May 29, 2015
Peter Davies, Welsh Commissioner for Sustainable Futures, spoke at the re-launch of FDSD about the innovative 2015 Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act and how it can inspire action and change not only in Wales but across the rest of the UK and beyond. The...
by Ann Thorpe | May 16, 2015
A right to know, a right to be heard, a right to access justice The Access Initiative and the World Resources Institute will launch the first ever Environmental Democracy Index (EDI) on May 20th at the National Press Club. Speakers Avi Garbow (Keynote...
by Ann Thorpe | May 16, 2015 | News and Comment
The Access Initiative and the World Resources Institute are launching the first ever Environmental Democracy Index (EDI) on May 20th. EDI is the first index to measure how well countries’ national laws protect environmental democracy rights, namely, the right of the...
by Ann Thorpe | Apr 27, 2015 | News and Comment
In March the European Environment Agency published its State and Outlook Environment Report (SOER) 2015 (available here). The report highlights innovations in governance needed for long term sustainability. In addition, a section of the SOER website highlights global...
by Ann Thorpe | Apr 24, 2015 | News and Comment
How should we account for the fact that a great deal of environmental damage associated with one’s own country actually occurs overseas? For example, Chinese manufacturers making our shoes, electronics and bicycles emit a lot of carbon on our behalf. Are...
by Andrea Westall | Apr 3, 2015
In 2008, Ecuador codified the rights of nature within its Constitution. Articles 71–74 in particular recognise the rights of nature to respect; the maintenance and regeneration of its functions and processes; its restoration; the limitation or prevention of activities...
by Andrea Westall | Apr 2, 2015
The UK climate act formed the Committee on Climate Change to advise on UK policy (Photo: The CCC) The UK’s 2008 Climate Change Act was one of the first pieces of national legislation to recognise carbon limits and to commit successive governments to binding...
by Andrea Westall | Oct 20, 2014
The Aarhus Convention (UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters) has been ratified by 46 countries and the EU. It is rights-based, enabling current and future people to access...
by Andrea Westall | Oct 20, 2014
The Brazilian Public Prosecutor’s Office comprises public prosecutors at federal and state level. Operating independently of the three branches of government it has been seen by some commentators as a ‘Fourth Power’ of government. As well as prosecuting...
