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Making a decent living
while respecting the environment
Laura Martín Murillo, Director, Sustainlabour
A
t the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment
and Development in Rio, it was agreed that social
progress for all could be achieved within the planet’s
environmental limits if we collectively took charge of the change.
It was a triumph of the ‘real economy’, in all its complexity,
over clearly self-serving, short-sighted or incomplete economic
agendas. Yet twenty years later, governments must firmly seize
the reins in order to stop the rampant destruction of the envi-
ronment and the shameful rise of inequalities, and to create
green and decent jobs.
For several years, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable
Development (Rio+20) has been a topic of reflection and intense work
for Sustainlabour, for various reasons. This symbolic date marks the
20-year anniversary of a summit in which, through abiding by the
rules of multilateralism, the world’s governments were able to achieve
important advances. In particular, they recognized that great challenges
lay before us and they realized the power of concerted global action.
Today more than yesterday
The current global context makes it all the more rele-
vant to draw on the achievements of UNCED. Beyond
the sense that today is a key opportunity which cannot
be lost, known facts demonstrate that coming up with
solutions to known problems cannot wait indefinitely.
Our capacity to take charge and resolve known problems
is time sensitive, so we have a window of opportunity
to lay a new foundation. For example, climate change
scientists have repeatedly warned that there are thresh-
olds beyond which our capacity to manage the change
is greatly reduced; scientists recommend that rises in
temperatures should not exceed 2° C, yet if we continue
along the current path the 2° C limit will be a reality
within decades. It is estimated that the rate of extinction
of species is between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than
it would be naturally and is exceeding the safe limits for
a viable human society. Humanity is overstepping envi-
P
eople
:
social
inclusion
,
green
jobs
,
education
Creating employment is not an excuse for destroying the environment
Image: Sustainlabour