Environmental
Space SERI
defines the often exceedingly vague concept of sustainable development
clearly. With the concept of Environmental Space, Friends
of the Earth provides solid pointers as to what is required to achieve
a sustainable society.
Environmental space starts with the assumption that there are limits to
the biophysical capacity of the ecosystem. The environment can only absorb
a limited amount of waste products and provide a limited amount of resources
for human use. Ignoring this fact risks undermining the life-support system
of humanity itself.
Environmental space also argues that - within these limits - every individual
has equal access rights to natural capital. "Each person in the world
has the same right to use an equal amount of environmental space"
(FoE Europe, 1995:6). This principle of equity is the ethical basis of
environmental space and links the quest for less environmental pollution
with the equally urgent cause of global justice.
Based on these premises, environmental space allows for the calculation
of sustainable consumption targets for all key inputs into the economic
cycle (such as land, water, wood or non-renewables). One simply needs
to divide the available natural resources by the current and projected
global populations levels. The resulting figures describe an ideal state;
they specify how many resources each individual could savely consume
indefinitely without exceeding the carrying capacity of the planet.
Friends of the Earth recognises that social change does take time.
These ideal state figures can thus not be achieved over night. However,
by 2050, full sustainability should be a reality. By that point the "ideal
state" figures will have to be achieved, if humanity wants to to
survive on this planet.
Until then, comparing the ideal state figures with the (much higher) current
consumption levels in Europe can provide us with policy targets for resource
reduction. These function as a challenge to our politicians and show them
the true scale of the policy shift that is required. In order for us to
be truly moving towards sustainable development we must, for example,
reduce the consumption of non-renewables by at least 25% by 2010. Everything
else will have to be considered simply not good enough (see table).
| Target |
2010
|
2050
|
Possible Indicators |
| Consumtion of non-renewable Energy (per capita) |
-25%
|
-75%
= Factor 4
|
CO2 Primary energy use |
| Material use (per capita) |
-25%
|
-90%
= Factor 10
|
Total Material Requirement |
| Land Use |
No
increase
|
Total nature protection area and undisturbed nature area Share of organic agriculture Total settlement and infrastructure area (These indicators are still under discussion.) | |
| Biodiversity |
Increase
|
||
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