Introduction
Please forgive this standard introduction to people who are coming new to my blog for the first time. I intend to use my website as a repository for information linked to my #futuregen book, so hopefully it will become a resource for campaigners and activists as well as policy professionals and parliamentarians. The book itself contains the links to documentary resources covering the journey from the start of the National Assembly in 1999 to the passing of the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act in 2015 and its subsequent implementation.
The blog is back after a month’s gap – a rather strange COVID and climate affected month in which we have seen the best harvest (following that very warm May) and the worst winds and rain we’ve ever seen in August which led to much of our apples, pears and walnut harvest ripped from their trees before time. We’ve successfully incubated 6 new Aylesbury ducklings – who like teenagers are itching to be let out - and have new pigs and turkeys. The garden is looking fantastic, but our annual party is cancelled and we are in fact currently in self isolation. We’ve seen more visitors than ever before to our usually quiet corner of beautiful west Wales with traffic bedlam as small roads leading to dead ends do not lend themselves to passing or responsible carparking. We’ve seen the town centre of Cardigan pedestrianised, a roaring trade for the regular Tuesday morning St Dogmaels farmers’ market, the market garden, the outdoor takeaways and local restauranteurs – but also more litter than I’ve ever seen before on highways and byways. I’ve taken to giving it back when I see it dropped, which might be a dangerous occupation. Somehow, it all feels a little bit like a last hurrah, before the reality of COVID wave 2 and BREXIT hits us. We’ve also heard a growing number of stories, particularly from parents of young adults, that their incomes will cease when the furlough ends.
I’ve spent years feeling that my generation is a bad ancestor. The post-war generation wanted their children to succeed to make up for their ultimate sacrifice; for us to have lives without war, without want, with opportunity, with full employment, with decent housing. We should have been that standard-bearer, but instead what I see today is young people who are poorer, less likely to be home-owners or to have pensions than my generation. If you’re under 30 now, you have probably acquired thousands in student debt, had your wages held down by austerity and seen public services and opportunities shrink. You and your friends are probably furloughed, with your education on hold, living in poor accommodation and worried about losing your job later this year. More of you are seeking mental health support than ever before. I heard a newscaster say recently, ‘I don’t want to sound apocalyptic, but do we just have to write this generation off?’ Emphatically no, but how on earth did it come to this?
It is government which sets the tone and the agenda in a democracy. A re-set post-COVID 19 must ensure that future generations do not pay a further price for the failings of the current one. The governments of all nations in the UK have been given a once in a life-time chance to build back better. As John Rawls, the American philosopher says, ’do unto future generations what you would have had past generations do unto you.’ This is what my book is about – with its 140 contributors from across the world – and the central tenet that governments the world over should explicitly be looking after the needs of future generations.
In Blog 8, the Vice Chancellor of my own university, Prof Medwin Hughes, opines ‘The quest for a sustainable future for those yet to be born as legislated by the Welsh Government through its far-reaching Act empowers us all in Wales and further afield to critically evaluate our educational systems and plan a ‘futures framework’ that can have a positive impact. He was followed by another university colleague, Barry Liles, who chairs the Carmarthenshire Public Services Board (PSBs) – the new statutory partnerships required by the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act - encouraging the first steps towards delivering societal and economic outcomes differently with a focus on prevention including an ambitious set of new actions linked to climate and procurement mechanisms – ie using the critical mass of public body purchasing. Dr Oliver Balch, journalist, is as excited by the opportunities as I am; ‘A country that is fit for future generations is something that every citizen can unite around, something every community can pursue, something every school can pass on to its pupils. Instil that narrative in the heart of every citizen and the Act is already halfway delivered.’. But, as I’ve found to my cost, over the years, the ambition and engagement can be there, but delivery still needs leadership and community participation ; a view clearly articulated by Victoria Jenkins, from Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Law, Swansea University, who sees the Act ‘as a vehicle to effect innovative, integrated and participative approaches to the well-being of Wales by drawing on the strong commitment of its people to history, culture, community, the Welsh language and the natural environment.. Finally, Mal Williams, from the Zero Waste International Trust called on Wales to demonstrate that ‘In delivering the Well-being of Future Generations Act, Wales must put the emphasis back on quality. It must eliminate all wastes entirely and make sure Welsh carrots are healthy eating’ I second that!
This week’s blog sees contributions from a range of experts in their fields. David Thorpe, author of The One Planet Life, and One Planet Cities, Co-founder and Patron of the One Planet Council and Director of the One Planet Centre also lectures on the Postgraduate Certificate in One Planet Governance at UWTSD. David’s expertise has enabled him to write excellent reference books which I would advocate to anyone wanting to live a one planet life. He would like to see further legislation to deliver as a statutory requirement, ‘periodical ecological budgets that would force public bodies to improve biocapacity and reduce our demands on nature for supplying the resources we use and absorbing our pollution’. Professor Richard Owen, social welfare lawyer and director of a pro-bono clinic at the Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Law, Swansea University, also wants to see further legislation ‘to further strengthen the voice of subordinated communities within local service boards and the formulation of local well-being plans. Paul Allen, Zero Carbon Britain Project Coordinator, at the Centre for Alternative Technology, has made a massive contribution to this agenda over many years. He rightly identifies climate change as a wicked problem requiring a wicked solution and ‘perhaps the most powerful element of this wicked solution is that delivering a zero-carbon future also holds the potential to be one of the most exciting opportunities in human history, offering us the chance to simultaneously resolve many other problems.’ Lyn Cadwallader, CEO of One Voice Wales (the Voice of Community and Town Councils in Wales) says that ‘community and town councils could and should play a transformative role in democratic renewal with additional provisions to the Well-being of Future Generations Act.’ Simon Wright, food writer, broadcaster and restauranteur is lyrical, ‘As a statement of intent, the Act is a very beautiful thing, especially if we view it as the fertile soil in which we will grow our future.’ but steely, ‘It must be a line in the sand from which we can only go forward. This theme is a common one; it must change behaviour in the interests of future generations – and this is robustly taken up by Patrick Holden, who explicitly wants to address the commoditization of farmers, noting ‘that the health and well-being of future generations is completely dependent on rebuilding re-localized and resilient sustainable food systems from the ground up’.
Thanks to you all.
I will notify the specific contributors when your contribution is published, and feed back to you directly if I receive any comments linked to your contributions.
The Contributions
David Thorpe, author of The One Planet Life, and One Planet Cities, Co-founder and Patron of the One Planet Council, Director of the One Planet Centre and Lecturer on the PGCert in One Planet Governance at UWTSD.
My dream legislation
As anyone reading this book will know by now the world is facing a climate and extinction emergency mainly because the awful, external costs to the planet and to society of doing business have not been factored into balance sheets by either businesses or governments. We've taken everything the planet can give us – from the ground, sea and air – as being ‘free’. It isn't. It's there for a reason.
Unfortunately, as anyone with a bank account knows, you can't keep drawing from it forever; there comes a time when you have to pay it back or your house is taken away from you. We're well into overdraft, the planet is our house and we don't have another one.
The revolutionary Well-being of Future Generations Act goes some of the way to persuading public bodies, funded by our taxes and acting in our names, that they should behave within planetary boundaries to safeguard the future. One of the indicators of the Act is the ecological footprint of Wales, which is currently just under three planets – that's what we'd need if everyone in the world were to live like us. This is both unfair and unsustainable.
But the Act lacks teeth. People only really change their bad old ways if they have to. My wish then is that further legislation adopts the principal of contraction and convergence: that by law, every year, the ecological footprint of the country must be reduced until after, say, 20 years, it is down to one planet. That is four times longer than the five years required from those gaining planning permission for a One Planet Development in Wales – as measured by the government’s own ecological footprint calculator!
Like the UK’s equally revolutionary Climate Change Act, an independent commissioner should be set up to produce periodical ecological budgets that would force public bodies to improve biocapacity and reduce our demands on nature for supplying the resources we use and absorbing our pollution. It would make it legally binding upon the country to move towards a closed loop, zero-waste, zero-carbon and equitable society, while at the same time creating new skills, jobs and improving health.
This, scientifically speaking, is I believe the only way that we will have a chance of paying off the ecological overdraft. It's the only way our grandchildren might inherit a world at least as healthy as ours – preferably more so.
Professor Richard Owen, social welfare lawyer and director of a pro-bono clinic, Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Law, Swansea University
For a lawyer working for subordinated communities, the Act will need to deliver fora where all relevant actors who serve the needs of subordinated communities can be brought together and where their voice can be considered and acted upon by all concerned. Too often well-meaning agencies have second-guessed the needs of these communities and in doing so have not met their needs or addressed their concerns. Also, members of subordinated communities often go around in a recursive loop when attempting to get their needs met, referred from agency to agency without getting resolution of their problems.
The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 has provided an infrastructure in the form of public service boards and local well-being plans. The next generation of sustainability legislation will need to find ways to further strengthen the voice of subordinated communities within local service boards and the formulation of local well-being plans. If they do so, this will provide a real opportunity to reduce inequalities. An opportunity for communities to elect their own representatives to public service boards creates an opportunity for them to directly express their needs and set their agenda.
Paul Allen B.Eng (Hons) FRSA, ZCB Project Coordinator, Centre for Alternative Technology
Wicked problems require wicked solutions!
There is no time to spare. In order to deliver the necessary solutions at the scale and speed required, we must fully understand the true nature of the climate problem. Back in 1973, design theorists Horst Rittel and Melvin Webber developed the term ‘wicked problem’ to help us recognize really complex, challenging problems, particularly those with many feedbacks and no single solution. I feel the Well-being of Future Generations Act offers a unique tool to help society acknowledge the climate emergency as a wicked problem and can help society develop the wicked solutions it so urgently demands.
The first reason to see climate change as a wicked problem is that it contains many feedbacks which make it non-linear. As the earth’s climate systems break down, the resulting changes feedback on each other and drive further change. In addition, the root causes of climate breakdown are deeply intertwined. All across our living systems, humanity has become locked into high-carbon ways of doing things; these exert a powerful influence, shaping the choices that define our lives.
The reason we now face an ‘emergency’ is that, despite the climate problem being recognized by science for decades, governments and industries have not acted fast enough. We could have – and should have – accelerated this shift to net-zero carbon many years ago, avoiding many mistaken investments in fossil fuel assets that we simply cannot burn.
Thankfully, our human response embodies some ‘wicked solutions’ that can also accelerate change. CAT’s Zero Carbon Britain project has been working with Welsh Government and the Well-being of Future Generations team to explore how we can connect up the currently available, well-proven technologies to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.
What makes these zero-carbon technology solutions ‘wicked’ is, firstly, the fact they are also non-linear and contain an emerging array of feedbacks, which accelerate both the scale and speed of their deployment. Investment in research means production costs fall and the scale of deployment increases; this triggers further research and investments in manufacturing and costs fall even faster. In addition, when the shift to these new technologies is combined with a ‘just transition’ that offers a more socially just and equitable deal for workers, energy customers or citizens, the process begins to engage more and more people. That is the point of wicked systems thinking – not just looking at one feedback loop, but many.
Fortunately, yet another important wicked solution feedback is now emerging across many countries: new grassroots leadership is calling for climate-emergency declarations, backed by action plans for town, city, regional and national levels. We are now witnessing a seismic shift in the collective action to prevent climate breakdown. It is becoming the new normal.
But perhaps the most powerful element of this wicked solution is that delivering a zero-carbon future also holds the potential to be one of the most exciting opportunities in human history, offering us the chance to simultaneously resolve many other problems. Acting on climate breakdown with a multi-solving, interdisciplinary mindset can help us also deliver benefits across many sectors. This is exemplified by the seven-goals methodology of the Well-being of Future Generations Act. Maximizing the benefits beyond carbon can help empower diverse constituencies, building the necessary engagement as well as a coalition of support across society. And in the process help us foster a stronger, more resilient society, united in a new sense of collective purpose. To access CAT’s free-to-download Zero Carbon Britain tools, visit www.cat.org.uk
Lyn Cadwallader, CEO, One Voice Wales (the Voice of Community and Town Councils in Wales)
The community and town council sector feel it has much more to offer Welsh society and that the Well-being of Future Generations Act – if developed further – could be a real catalyst to democratizing Welsh society.
What do we mean by this? Community and town councils should be responsible for local community issues or services because the key features of a community and town council, which other models of community governance do not provide, are that they operate at a very local level, are democratically accountable and are able to raise resources. They are uniquely positioned to be pivots of local democratic action and should be resourced to lead, change and influence.
We believe there is scope to be radical in how community and town councils operate in the future. To this end, a number of actions need to be legislated for to enable community and town councils to play a fuller role in the democratization of Welsh society; community and town councils must have the necessary powers for them to undertake the place-based delivery role we envisage for them. Community and town councils have a clear role to improve the well-being of people in their areas and should not be constrained from doing anything they deem required by their community. We are already seeing community and town councils driving change in their communities without the above legislation in place – supporting the development of domiciliary care services, community development activities, community emergency planning and sustainability initiatives. There is so much more they could do if given more powers to drive local change.
So, with the right will to enable the above, community and town councils could and should play a transformative role in democratic renewal with additional provisions to the Well-being of Future Generations Act.
Simon Wright, food writer, broadcaster and restauranteur
As a statement of intent, the Act is a very beautiful thing, especially if we view it as the fertile soil in which we will grow our future. It is not enough of course simply to police public policy to keep us on the straight and narrow and turn us away from the most destructive paths, welcome though that is. It must be a line in the sand from which we can only go forward. The task now is to engage the people of Wales in imagining a future of hope, a different future in which all of us can lead fulfilling, creative lives, healthy in mind and body and in harmony with nature. We must find ways of engaging all the citizens in Wales in painting that picture of a better nation to come, because it is only with that restoration of hope and belief that we will harness the energy necessary to realize that vision.
Patrick Holden, Sustainable Food Trust
For me, one of the most important challenges arising in connection with delivering the Well-being of Future Generations Act from the ground up is to reconnect food produced by Welsh farmers with consumption by the good citizens of Wales, whose health and well-being is without question umbilically connected to the quality of the food they eat. Right now, very unfortunately and through no fault of their own, Welsh farmers have become commodity slaves, producing and selling food to remote and centralized markets, as a result of which their capacity to derive an adequate living from the land and to play their part in a vibrant community and food culture has been utterly compromised. In tandem with this, the majority of food that is sold in Wales is no longer produced in the principality and, as a result of which, public health has been dramatically undermined and the sense of connectedness with the land through farming and food, which used to be the birthright of all Welsh citizens, has been compromised. It follows from all this that the health and well-being of future generations is completely dependent on rebuilding relocalized and resilient sustainable food systems from the ground up.
If you have any comments on this blog, or would like to get in touch, please use the contact form. I’m keen to start guest blogs on the site, so let me know if you’d like to do one, or to review the book for the site. The form also works for the growing number of followers of my husband Guy for his reflections on growing and wildlife in his blog, PatchWork which he aims to update weekly – unless the slugs get the better of him!
#futuregen: Lessons from a Small Country https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/futuregenerations-lessons-from-a-small-country/
Jane Davidson 3/9/20