Extinction Rebellion and democratic renewal—Blog by Graham Smith
2018 witnessed the emergence of a dynamic, new climate change movement—Extinction Rebellion (XR). The use of mass civil disobedience has a long democratic heritage and makes a significant contribution to democratic culture. But XR has other ambitions to renew democracy: one of its key demands is also democratic reform: “a national citizens’ assembly to oversee the changes, as part of creating a democracy fit for purpose.”
Promoting public involvement in Wales | Blog by Bethan Smith
Bethan Smith is Goal Convenor for Involvement, Office for the Future Generations Commissioner, Wales. . . . Through the 2015 Well-being of Future Generations Act, all devolved public bodies in Wales are legally required to put sustainable development first; that is,...
“You won’t get it right all of the time, but give it a go.”—Sara Parkin in conversation with Peter Davies
Is sustainability in peril?—Peter Davies discussing the state of democracy and sustainable development with Sara Parkin.
Lord John Bird calls for Future Generations Act for the UK
At the inaugural Well-being of Future Generations Commissioner for Wales’ Annual Lecture, The Big Issue founder and crossbench peer, John Bird, called for the long-term thinking approach pioneered in Wales to be rolled out across the rest of the UK. As a prominent anti-poverty campaigner and keen supporter of the work of the first Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, Lord Bird spoke about the importance of tackling today’s crises, as well as working to prevent tomorrow’s.
With democracy becoming an endangered species, is sustainability in peril? | A reflection by Sara Parkin, November 2018
In 2008, Sara Parkin wrote a ‘provocation’ for the Foundation for Democracy and Sustainable Development: “Are Political Parties getting in the way of the sort of collaborative democracy we need to tackle sustainability? If so, what can we do about it?” Ten years later, she revisits her thinking “in the light”, she says “of the corruption of our current democratic systems”.
The Future We Want: Shaping Environmental Politics | Networking event, London 26 Oct 2018
We are delighted to invite you to a joint networking event with the PSA Specialist Group Environmental Politics, GreenHouse Think Tank, and Policy Connect on 26 October 2018 in London. Designed as a space for policymakers, academics and environmental NGOs to discuss environmental policy-making in a shifting political landscape, the programme will feature…
Protecting the Interests of Future Generations — Drawing Lessons from Practice | Paper by Victor Anderson, CUSP
A new paper by the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity, authored by FDSD associate Victor Anderson, considers possible reforms to UK constitutional and political arrangements intended to help overcome the problem of a lack of representation of future generations.
Why we need a Committee for Future Generations in the House of Lords | Blog by Graham Smith
The Foundation for Democracy and Sustainable Development has proposed that the House of Lords establish a Committee for Future Generations to review legislation. It is hoped that such a body would reduce the short-termism that can creep into legislative and executive decision-making. Graham Smith explains why this Committee is needed and how it could work in practice.
Bringing Future Generations into Today’s Politics | A workshop summary by Andrea Westall
On 19 April 2018, FDSD jointly held an event with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries to ask “Will the Future Blame Us?” and how do we bring future generations into today’s politics. Andrea Westall is summarising the workshop.
FDSD calls for a Committee for Future Generations in the House of Lords
FDSD sees the ongoing review of House of Lords committees as an opportunity to try to strengthen long-term thinking in the UK Parliament. Backed by more than 30 peers, we are proposing a new Committee for Future Generations in the second chamber.
All parties for tomorrow: A new APPG for Future Generations
A new All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Future Generations, launched in January 2018, aims to raise the profile of future generations amongst UK parliamentarians and others. . Chaired by Daniel Zeichner, MP, the new group will “raise awareness of long-term issues, explore ways to internalise longer-term considerations into decision-making processes, and create space for cross-party dialogue on combating short-termism in policymaking.”
Partnership and participation: Welsh plans reflect FDSD priorities
When the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales put out a draft strategic plan for consultation last year, FDSD submitted a response emphasising the need for effective partnership and public engagement. We are delighted to find that the newly published final plan includes a strong emphasis on both themes.
Will the Future Blame Us? Bringing Future Generations into Today’s Politics | London, 19 April 2018
The FDSD and the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries are delighted to invite you to a joint evening event on 19 April 2018 in London. Bringing together experts from the policymaking community with academics and those from the actuarial profession and elsewhere in financial services, the interactive evening will examine the potential legislative levers for encouraging the explicit consideration of intergenerational issues in policymaking, including consideration of those not yet born.
Governing Geo-Engineering? | New Report by ETC Group, BiofuelWatch and Heinrich-Böll Foundation
“It is much easier for us to imagine the end of the world than a small change in the political system”, Slavoj Zizek famously said. The same is true for altering the earth climate system according to a recent report by the Canadian ETC-Group, UK’s BiofuelWatch and the German Heinrich-Böll-Foundation: The Big Bad Fix.
New APPG for Cross-Party Dialogue on Future Generations
An All-Parliamentary Group for Future Generations has just been set up in the House of Commons with the aim to “raise the profile of issues affecting future generations in Parliament and explore ways to institutionalise representation of future generations.” It is chaired by Daniel Ziechner, MP.
Citizens, participation and the economy | Interim report from the RSA Citizen’s Economic Council
Following an intense process of public engagement, the RSA Citizens’ Economic Council has published its first interim report, setting out emerging findings, and introducing the Citizen’s Economic Charter.
Harnessing democracy and engagement for sustainable prosperity
As environmental crises become ever more severe, calls for authoritarian solutions are reappearing: Democracy, so the argument goes, has proven to be too slow to respond to urgent threats. In this paper, Marit Hammond and Graham Smith respond to this charge by revisiting the role of democracy within a transition to sustainable prosperity.
Improving data flows to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals
FDSD responded to the consultation by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) on their proposed approach to measuring and reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within the UK. The provision of adequate data on our progress towards the SDGs (both within the UK and our impacts internationally) enables people to be able to hold Government to account, as well as to provide an information baseline and meaningful targets to inform the development of policy and practice by government, the public, civil society and business.