CMI ANNUAL SUMMER LECTURE Tuesday 3RD JUNE 2008

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CMI ANNUAL SUMMER LECTURETuesday 3RD JUNE 2008

• Making Sense of Climate Change, Peak Oil and
  Sustainability

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At the beginning of the 21st Century we face the
biggest crisis in history

• But its an opportunity for a better life and a
  better world!

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ITS A WONDERFUL WORLD .

• for many people, in an affluent country like
  ours..
• Things have never been better
• Life is full of possibilities
• We have more choice than ever before
• But cheap, abundant oil which enabled this
  extraordinary affluence is running out

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Now, imagine a world ..imagine London .

• Without abundant cheap oil, petrochemicals and
  plastics
• Our climate has changed dramatically
• Seas have risen by over a metre remember London
  is in a flood plain!
• Food is expensive widespread global food and
  water shortages leading to conflict and migration

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Its much more complex than climate change and
peak oil.

• Our current way of life is unsustainable
• Our growing consumption already exceeds the
  planets capacity
• We are destroying the ecosystem on which all life
  depends
• Developing countries aspire to our unsustainable
  Western way of life
• Ecological degradation, poverty and violence are
  inseparably linked
• Sustainability must embrace global economic and
  social justice and peace

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Were taking more than our fair share

• Londons footprint is 125 times its surface area.
  If everyone consumed like this, we would need
  three planets - five at the Los Angeles rate of
  consumption!
• UKs food and farming footprint is up to 6 times
  our food growing area
• UK and EU people account for 12.5 tonnes of CO2
  (average)per person per year US and Canada some
  20 China 4 India 2 and sub-Saharan Africa less
  than 1 tonne
• Much of developing countries emissions are
  created in making things for us China 25

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SHOCKING DATA

• World population now 6.5bn by 2050 estimated
  9bn 2.5bn sustainable?
• World demand for power set to rise 53 by 2030
  unless
• The move from rural to city 47 city dwellers in
  2000 60 by 2060
• Mega cities (over 10M) 1950 one 2000 19
  2015 23, 15 in Asia - surrounded by poor
•  
• China expects to build 400 new cities by 2010
•  
• Cars China 15.5 m in 2002 156m by 2020 i.e. 20m
  increase per year
•  
• The cost of Oil - militarism Iraq 316bn
  Democrats estimate Iraq and Afghanistan 1-5 trn.
  Lives lost US military over 4,000 civilian
• 100,000 to 650,000 some 2m have left Iraq
  2.2m displaced internally.
• (The true cost of oil 200-00 per gallon
  Ray Anderson, Chair of Interface)
•  

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Continuous economic growth isnt working an
unsustainable dogma

• It fuels climate change, global warming and
  degradation of the earth
• Its far too slow and inefficient in reducing
  poverty
• Until the eighties the poverty gap was closing
• Between 1990 and 2001, for every 100 of growth
  in the Worlds per person income, only 0.60
  contributed to reducing poverty below the 1 - a
  - day level
• UK growth benefits the richest 10 10 times as
  much as the poorest 10
• UK top executives earn nearly 100 times more than
  a typical employee. Ten years ago the
  differential was 39
• More wealth does not more happiness beyond a
  certain point.

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AN UNSUSTAINABLE GLOBAL ECONOMIC MODEL

• Dependent on abundant cheap oil
• Obsessive consumerism and debt fuel
  un-sustainability
• Global sourcing pollutes the planet and is
  destroying the Earths rich ecology
• Trickle down is a myth too slow, it creates
  more poverty
• Works for the rich and enlarges middle classes
  its trickle up
• Mono-thinking, mono-culture, mono-crops causing
  rapid decline in ecological diversity, food
  security, local food and local businesses. Loss
  of land and livelihoods and damage to
  communities. Agribusiness Farmer suicides in
  India well over 100,000 since 1993 debt and
  failed GM crops

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What needs to be done

• The world needs to cut rapidly rising emissions
  to a sustainable average of 3 tonnes per person
• UK and EU, need to get down from 12.5 tonnes to 3
  tonnes by 2050, an 80 reduction some experts
  argue for 2 tonnes, 90 reduction
• Developing countries say rich countries created
  the problem have the technological capability
  need to set an example
• Its time to give something back
• We need a new, sustainable, global economic model
  based on human needs, not corporate power

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Stabilising and reversing global warming
Contraction and Convergence To
reverse the rise in carbon emissions and
stabilise global warming requires action at a
global level. Cannot be achieved by a national
governments alone. One way of bringing this
about is contraction and convergence (CC).
To avoid too abrupt and painful a shift,
emission rights would be allocated based on the
current pattern of world output so that rich
countries would have higher entitlements than
poorer ones. Then, through convergence, emission
rights would move progressively towards an equal
distribution on a per capita basis.
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UK Green Energy Strategy Setting an example
instead of lagging behind

• Decentralised energy revolution
• Microgeneration
• Attractive feed-in tariffs
• Wind, wave, sea turbines, solar power thermal
  and photovoltaic panels ground source heat
  pumps combined heat and power
• Retrofitting
• Substantial incentives sustainable taxation
• Sustainable transport and food distribution
  systems
• Cycle routes
• Consistency
• New Green manufacturing jobs instead of jobs in
  arms

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Why are governments so slow to act?

• The global system is dominated by big
  corporations
• Governments are afraid to put their economies
  at a disadvantage in competing for investment
  and jobs.

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Why dont good leaders do the right thing?

• The problem is the system and its underlying
  values
• Most corporations and governments are
• led by good people, trying to do their best
• Institutions are created by people. Then
  institutions shape our beliefs and behaviour
  and constrain our thinking
• We and our governments have been brainwashed!
• We need to wake up, see the system and change it

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Summing up the SystemBig business out of
control

• Driven by big corporations and powerful elites
• Big business dominates national and foreign
  policy and unrepresentative global institutions
• Belief in rapid, continuous economic growth to
  tackle poverty and having more happiness
• Obsession with GDP as the measure of progress
• Global sourcing
• Externalising social costs who pays?
• Militarism and military economy
• Denial and suppression of truth
• Subverts democracy no choice

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An unsustainable money system

• Debt drives the system.
• Money 97 of our money created by commercial
  banks UK personal debt 1.35trn - exceeds GDP
  1.31trn
• Unstable financial markets about 90
  transactions speculative
• Perverse taxation bears down on poorer people,
  fails to penalise the unsustainable reward the
  sustainable
• Vast avoidance and evasion, tax havens,
  laundering and corruption
• Erosion of due diligence eg sub prime crisis

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Simple Insights

• Corporate social responsibility is an oxymoron
• Corporations are there to maximise short term
  profit and value for shareholders
• Mary Zepernick
• Corporations are designed to externalise their
  costs
• Joel Bakan
• (with acknowledgements to The Corporation film)

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Psychopathic corporations

• Dr Robert Hare, Canadian psychologist, noticed
  similarities
• between the characteristics of psychopaths and
  the
• behaviour of big corporations
•  
• Callous unconcern for the feelings of others
• Incapacity to maintain enduring relationships
• Deceitfulness repeated lying to others for
  profit
• Incapacity to experience guilt
• Failure to conform to social norms with respect
  to lawful behaviour

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Western Epidemics corporate harms?

• Alcohol abuse
• Alzheimers disease
• Asthma
• Cancer one in 2 men will get cancer and one in
  3 women
• Child obesity on a massive scale
• Diabetes
• Heart disease
• Infertility and birth defects
• Obesity
• Dr Samuel Epstein

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GOOD NEWS

• Humans are enormously creative
• There is a groundswell of innovation and bottom
  up change
• Renewable energy technologies zero carbon homes
  passiv haus
• California, other US states and cities adopting
  Kyoto
• China building the first Eco City - Dongtang
• Welsh Assembly Building Woking Borough Council
• Remarkable Ltd. products made from recycled
  materials
• Interface a model sustainable global company
• Transition Towns movement grass roots
  initiatives
• Thousands of NGOs and members lobbying for
  radical change

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THE BAD NEWS

• We are all acting far too slowly

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We need a total change of mindsetLeadership at
every level

• Prepare for a completely different scenario
• See the possibility of a far better world
• Global collaboration instead of competition
• Wellbeing, sustainability, meeting human needs
  and eliminating poverty and violence not
  consuming more and more
• A sense of urgency
• Giving up old ways of doing things
• Otherwise we will not be living on Spaceship
  Earth as we have known it
• Kenneth Boulding

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A new system of Global Governancefocused on
sustainability, human needs and eliminating
poverty and violence

• New WTO democratic, representative and role
  redefined to meet the needs of people and promote
  sustainability not unsustainable growth
• Wellbeing better measures of progress than GDP
  and unsustainable economic growth
• Sustainable, fair framework for global trade
• Charters for Big Global Corporations and company
  director responsibilities redefined
• Regulation of financial markets
• Localisation vs globalisation new food policy
• Agriculture not agribusiness primacy of local
  food

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Two things you and I need to do

• Lobby be an activist
• Put pressure on government, at all levels, global
  institutions and big business
• Be the change
• Be aware, open-minded, questioning and informed.
• Make your business, life and community
  sustainable
• Reduce
• Reuse
• Recycle
• Avoid non-renewable resources, non-recyclable or
  toxic substances
• Minimise your carbon footprint
• Resources www.brucenixon.com Key Campaigns and
  my book

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Review and Dialogue

• One to one reflection share the time
• My thoughts and feelings
• What made the biggest impact on me
• My vision for London or my community in 5-10
  years time
• What I want to ask or a contribution Id like to
  make
• Share your vision then questions and comments

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Appendices
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Underlying the system

• Belief that more equals happier - the consumer
  society - we have been conned!
• Leadership values - money and power before human
  needs belief in violence word and deed
• Patriarchy an attitude of dominance, not
  exclusively male
• Masculine/feminine imbalance what it is to be a
  leader, how we bring about change
• Lack of respect for diversity in all its forms -
  at the root of exploitation and conflict
  un-people and nature

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What we need instead Focus on human needs and
eliminating poverty

• Agriculture instead of agribusiness
• Fair, not free trade
• Localisation a better balance especially food
  and distribution
• Monetary reform citizens income money issued
  by central, not commercial, banks sustainable
  taxation end tax avoidance
• Non-violent ways of resolving conflict
• Sustainable building, cities, communities and
  transportation
• Unlock Democracy greater power to local
  communities, parliament and people
• Wellbeing better measures of progress than
  unsustainable economic growth and GDP
• Details on www.brucenixon.com and handout

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Key Campaigns

• Agriculture not agribusiness. Local food food
  diversity and security ending the degradation of
  planet earth and bio-piracy. (Garden Organic
  ,Soil Association, Vandana Shiva)
• Company law reform. Charters for Big Cos,
  enabling alternative forms of company ownership
  widening the duties of directors to embrace the
  interests of all stakeholders, the environment,
  society as a whole (New Economics Foundation,
  Centre for Tomorrows Company, Rabbi Lerner).
• Global Governance. Putting human needs and
  sustainability first. Reforming unrepresentative
  global institutions like the World Bank, World
  Trade Organisation and International Monetary
  Fund and the unfair, unsustainable trading system
  they impose. (New Economics Foundation, World
  Development Movement, WWF, Oxfam, Christian Aid,
  SIMPOL - International Simultaneous Policy
  Organisation).
• Localisation, giving power to local communities ,
  local healthy food production and distribution
  restoring high streets and village communities.
  (New Economics Foundation, Local Works, the Soil
  Association, Friends of the Earth, Garden
  Organic, Slow City, Slow Food and Transition
  Towns).
• Reclaiming democracy decentralising, unlocking
  local democracy, more power to communities,
  making Parliament more representative greater
  power to scrutinise, prevent the executive
  withholding information and

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Key Campaigns (continued)

• over-riding the wishes of citizens. (Unlock
  Democracy, One World Trust, WriteToThem.com)
• Sustainable buildings, cities, communities and
  transportation. (Herbert Girardets book
  CitiesPeoplePlanet - Liveable Cities for a
  Sustainable World and website www.underthesky.org.
  uk, Transition Towns Movement , Transport 2000).
• New Economics - From old to new economics,
  reforming the debt money system perverse and
  unsustainable taxation and the power of financial
  markets. (New Economics Foundation, James
  Robertson working for a sane alternative
  www.jamesrobertson.com, Tax Justice Network,
  Christian Council for Monetary Justice).
• Violence - Ending violence as a way of resolving
  conflict - personal, national and international.
  Strengthening nuclear non-proliferation, ending
  nuclear armament, abandoning nuclear power
  generation . (Oxford Research Group, Peace Pledge
  Union, CND, Greenpeace, Oxfam, RoadPeace -
  violence on roads).
• Wellbeing - better measures of progress than GDP
  and continuing, unsustainable economic growth.
  (New Economics Foundation).

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Stabilising and reversing global warming. To
reverse the rise in carbon emissions and
stabilise global warming requires action at a
global level. Progress cannot be achieved by a
national government alone. This means setting an
overall limit to emissions now to halt the
inexorable rise setting a clear timetable for
rapid reduction determining how these cuts are
to be equitably allocated globally and then
allocating rights for future emissions, again in
as equitable a way as possible. Contraction
and convergence (CC) .One way of bringing
about the reduction is by contraction and
convergence (CC). First, to avoid too abrupt
and painful a shift, emission rights would be
allocated based on the current pattern of world
output so that rich countries would have higher
entitlements than poorer ones. Then, through a
process of convergence, emission rights would
move progressively towards an equal distribution
on a per capita basis. How to allocate these
rights within a country would be left to each
nation to determine. Cap share (CS ).
Another method is cap share (CS). Under this
system, emission entitlements are not decided by
national governments. Instead each person would
receive an annual entitlement which they could
use as they saw fit. Trading would be part of the
scheme. Individuals who wanted to consume more
would have to buy from individuals willing to
sell. Energy companies would have to buy emission
entitlements to function. This would lead to a
massive redistribution of wealth from richer to
poorer individuals and countries. Such a
redistribution would help bring about global
economic and social justice and eradicate
poverty.
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A New Bottom Line

• A first step.. is to seek A New Bottom
  Line, so that we judge institutions productive,
  efficient and rational not only to the extent
  that they maximize wealth and power but also to
  the extent that they maximize our capacities to
  be caring, ecologically aware, ethically and
  spiritually sensitive, and capable of responding
  to the universe with awe, wonder and radical
  amazement at the grandeur of creation.
• Rabbi Michael Lerner

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Interface A model for sustainable businesses

• Worldwide company - floor coverings, fabrics for
  airliner seats, speciality chemicals and interior
  architectural products
• Do well by doing good says Chairman, Ray
  Anderson
• Sustainability is at the heart of Interface
• Interface aims for a zero footprint and is more
  than
• half way there
• It has helped create a host of sustainable
  companies
• in its supply chain
• But all this is far from being enough or soon
  enough

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Gandhis thinking can help us The world has
enough for everyones need, but not enough for
anyones greed. Mahatma Gandhi

• All rise everyone gains everyone takes
  responsibility
• His key principles truth, non-violence and
  modest living
• Truth meant diligently seeking and speaking the
  truth described his life as an experiment with
  truth
• Non-violence applies to all life on the planet,
  non-violence in thought, word and deed. For him
  it meant resisting oppression non-violently
  through love
• Ends do not justify means no use trying to end
  violence with violence
• Gandhi would argue factory farming, inhuman
  conditions in factories and nuclear energy are
  violence
• Localise and not industrialise - appropriate
  technology

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WHAT IS SUSTAINABILITY?

•  
• Sustainable development is
•  
• Meeting the needs of the present without
  compromising the ability of future generations to
  meet their needs.
• Sustainability must include both the environment
  and creating a
• just, non-violent global society in which
  everyone has enough to
• eat and access to education and health services -
  the two are
• inseparably linked.
• Its about preventing the destruction of the
  planet and the
• diversity of life on it and halting and reversing
  climate change
• which could become irreversible and out of
  control.
• This can only be achieved through global
  collaboration.

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The Sustainable City

• A Just City
• A Beautiful City
• A Creative City
• An Ecological City
• A City of Easy Contact and Mobility
• A Compact and Polycentric City
• A Diverse City
• Adapted from Rogers, R, 1998, Cities for a small
  planet

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We need to focus not on fears and problems but on
possibilities

• The exciting possibility of a better world
  sustainable, just and peaceful!

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Sources of help and getting yourself well
informed

• Getting your house in order http//www.imc.co.uk/n
  ews/professional_consultancy_article.php?item_id6
  54issue18  (scroll down to the bit on 'getting
  your house in order).
• Energy Saving Trust - http//www.energysavingtrust
  .org.uk /
• Envirowise - waste and water - http//www.envirowi
  se.gov.uk/
• The Carbon Trust - energy and carbon -
  www.carbontrust.co.uk
• ACORN - http//www.iema.net/acorn (first steps to
  an environmental management system)
• Good Corporation - wider than just environment,
  an audit-type assessment - http//www.goodcorporat
  ion.com/
• The Big Earth Book, The Corporation DVD and book,
  CitiesPeoplePlanet and Living System - making
  sense of sustainability.