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¶ … Raworth's a Safe and Just Space for Humanity
Reading Response: Raworth, "A Safe and Just Space for Humanity"
Who should determine the dimensions and boundaries of an internationally agreed social foundation and an environmental ceiling, and how?
As Raworth states in the Executive summary to "A Safe and Just Space for Humanity, "human-rights advocates have long highlighted the imperative of ensuring every person's claim to life's essentials, while ecological economists have emphasized the need to situate the economy within environmental limits" (2012), and this dichotomy forms the basis of her visual framework for sustainable development. Raworth goes on to describe her doughnut-shaped framework as a fusion of the goals sought by both human-rights advocates and ecological economists, observing her creation to be "a closed system that is bounded by both human rights and environmental sustainability" before asserting that "the resulting space -- the doughnut -- is where inclusive and sustainable economic development takes place" (2012).
2. What are the implications of this framework for drawing up new global development goals beyond 2015, as part of the MDG and Rio+20 processes?
Raworth devotes the first section of her discussion paper to the concept of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the often convoluted processes used to allocate resources and address poverty on a geopolitical level. In the author's appraisal of the situation "any vision of sustainable development fit for the 21st century must recognize that eradicating poverty and achieving social justice...
As Raworth describes the link between her framework and the MDG and Rio+20 processes, "progressing towards that vision requires clear goals and indicators to act as a compass for the journey ahead & #8230; (and) this Discussion Paper aims to present a framework and explore ideas that could help to provide such a compass" (2012).
3. How could the framework be adapted regionally or nationally to reflect the importance of regional thresholds for many planetary boundaries?
Raworth devotes much of her discussion paper to the concept of addressing humanity's most pressing issues from an inclusive planetary perspective, rather than the traditionally exclusive system in which individual national and regional interests dictate the formation of policies which are inefficient in terms of sustainable development and resource allocation. According to Raworth, humanity's well-being is wholly dependent on nine distinct Earth-system processes, and "because of the global importance of these processes, and because of global trade in resource use, none can be governed at the national level alone, and so a planetary perspective is essential for shaping their governance" (2012). Nonetheless, the author frequently acknowledges how the incredible diversity which defines humanity on the regional and national level can complicate the pursuit of globally…
Recognizing the incredibly complex nature of the geopolitical map -- one which includes nearly 200 nations with distinctly different capabilities in terms of natural resources, environmental regulation, and population demands -- Raworth spends much of the discussion paper's fourth section examining the concept of "fair shares of effort." In the author's estimation "the diversity of natural resource endowments between countries (in terms of their land mass, forests, biodiversity, freshwater, marine resources, and oil and minerals), their very different histories of resource use, and their contrasting levels of economic development, add further dimensions of complexity" (2012) to the ongoing effort to alleviate global poverty in a sustainable manner. To reconcile this divide, Raworth advocates a principle which was enshrined in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992, one in which the framework is extended to recognize that various nations must utilize "common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities" (2012).
6. What are the major policy shifts required to achieve economic development that brings humanity within social and planetary boundaries?
Raworth believes that the traditional metrics policymakers use to assess economic progress -- including Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rates -- have become outmoded in their ability to accurately gauge social issues like poverty, hunger and disease which are inextricably linked to national fiscal policy. As Raworth asserts in the first section of the discussion paper, "mainstream economic policies have so far failed to deliver inclusive and sustainable economic growth, and policymakers continue to rely on economic indicators -- such as GDP growth -- that are not up to the task of measuring what matters for social justice and environmental integrity" (2012). As the author appraises the current situation, policymakers must adjust the metrics used to measure global sustainability, while also becoming "more accountable for the impact of economic activity on planetary and social boundaries, defined both in natural metrics (such as tonnes of carbon emitted) and social metrics (such as the number of people facing hunger" (2012).
Government Policy of Recycling on Campus A cyclical process, as the word itself indicates, the relevance of recycling cannot be overstated. Most importantly, recycling not only helps save energy, but also plays a critical role in the reduction of pollution -- thus helping slow down global climate changes. As a campus policy, recycling makes great sense -- both environmentally and economically. The government should force recycling on campus because it is