Headline: Will 2015 Be the Year of Sustainability? IASS Experts at the Conference of the Council for Sustainable Development

SDGs

2015 is an important year for sustainable development. In September the United Nations will meet in New York to adopt a set of global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and in December a new international climate agreement is to be signed at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris. These events place new demands on Germany’s sustainability policies. During the 15th annual conference of the federal Council for Sustainable Development (Rat für Nachhaltige Entwicklung, RNE) on 3 June, Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke about the necessity to improve the national sustainability strategy in response to the SDGs, noting that lifestyles and economies around the world are still far from being sustainable – including in Germany. The SDGs will be binding for everyone and provide a framework that applies to all countries. For industrial nations, the SDGs mean finding new directions: innovative technologies are needed in order to bring about a paradigm change and enable global sustainable development.

Guided by the Post-2015 Development Agenda, the IASS has been investigating what just such a paradigm change might look like; as researchers present their ideas through various publications and events, they become involved in political processes of change. During a forum at the RNE’s annual conference, IASS Senior Fellow R. Andreas Kraemer spoke with moderator Alexander Müller, RNE member and IASS Secretary General ad interim, about “Sustainability Strategies after 2015: Tasks and Opportunities for Germany”. Müller suggested that there are three main questions that arise from this topic: “The first question is: What are the most strategic options in Germany and for Germany? If we take seriously Chancellor Merkel’s statement that we need a paradigm change, we have to implement that paradigm change here in this country as well. Second: What can we as Germans offer to the world? Here one might consider, for example, the development of technologies and systems, such as the energy transition that has been successfully implemented in Germany, which might make it possible for other countries to move towards sustainability. And third: How can Germany as a country make a difference in the world? Sustainability needs to be emphasised more in development cooperation and foreign relations.”

Kraemer: Preserving human dignity and social justice are essential for sustainable development

There are many tasks ahead. Will Germany manage to set an example of sustainable development for the rest of the world? R. Andreas Kraemer took a close look at this question in his talk. There are six central elements of the SDGs: people, dignity, prosperity, justice, partnership, and the planet. At present, dignity and justice are in danger of being neglected, Kraemer said. In Germany, ‘dignity’ is incorporated into the first article of the national constitution. But not all states have yet recognised that offences against human dignity – such as denying women equal access to education – also impede sustainable development. Respect for human dignity and justice as encoded through legal processes has historically been the foundation of prosperity in Germany, Kraemer emphasised. This is another reason why it is important that Germany should dedicate themselves to these topics: “We must make it clear that achieving these things is essential for sustainable development.”

In the discussion about SDGs Germany should make clear that the path to sustainability does not necessarily have to require immense expenditures. Kraemer pointed to the German energy transition as a good example of this: “Germany stopped subsidising renewable energy in 2004. The costs are distributed among the electricity users and the state makes a profit from it.” The state has thus successfully managed to direct the financial flows so that its initial expenses have turned into cost-effective investments. “Today the overall gains from the energy transition are already significantly higher than the costs”, Kraemer concluded.

Broad participation, effective communication, better governance strategies

The discussion following the presentation suggested a number of important considerations, summarised by Alexander Müller as follows:

  • If a paradigm shift is to be successful, Germany must also continue to develop its sustainability strategy and make some fundamental changes to it.
  • In order for this social change towards sustainability to actually take place, participative processes are essential. Sustainability must become a guiding principle for our actions. One way to guarantee an integrated policy approach might be to ensure that a commitment to sustainability is written into the constitution.
  • Germany should dedicate itself to realising all SDGs and thus serve as a role model for other countries.
  • An effective communication strategy must be part of this new sustainability strategy and its implementation.
  • Development cooperation must be adapted to the principles of sustainability. The process must be conducted between equals: the donors must not define or dominate the process.
  • The submitted SDGs are not integrated and it has not been calculated what amount of natural resources are needed to support the world’s population. Therefore the implementation of these goals must be combined with a strategic monitoring and review process that ensures all SDGs remain within the planetary boundaries.
  • In questions of governance it will be necessary to adopt new approaches; participation and human rights must remain a central consideration when implementing the SDGs.

08.06.2015