The One Earth team was in Rio for the United Nations conference. While in Rio, One Earth Director and UBC Professor Emeritus Bill Rees and Global Footprint Network President Mathis Wackernagel were awarded the Kenneth E. Boulding Award and the Blue Planet Prize for their work co-creating the Ecological Footprint. Since, Bill Rees’ article, The Way Forward: Survival 2100, was published in the Solutions Journal. Read his article here.

Bill notes key steps to be taken in the coming decades – systemic, economic – and explores how our unique human capacity can support this transition.  He writes, “Four critical intellectual and emotional qualities distinguish people from other advanced vertebrates. Humans have:

• an unequaled capacity for evidence-based reasoning and logical analysis;
• the unique ability to engage in long-term forward planning;
• the capacity to exercise moral judgment; and
• an ability to feel compassion for other individuals and other species.

…Now the question becomes, What would truly intelligent, forward-thinking, morally compassionate individuals do in response to available data, the historical record, and ongoing trends?”

One Earth Initiative submitted a petition to the Government of Canada in December 2011, which can be viewed on the Auditor General's website. The responses have started coming back from the Government, with the first reply from Foreign Affairs and International Trade. One Earth asks about the Government of Canada’s consultation with the public and provinces in preparing its position prior to the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20). One Earth also seeks clarification about Canada’s withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol, about its future plans and regulations to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, and about its reporting on reductions. One Earth asks the government about its carbon pricing plans and how it measures financial assistance to the oil and gas sector. In addition, One Earth asks whether the government intends to develop and use alternative measures, such as well-being indicators, in addition to traditional measures of economic activity, such as gross domestic product, and if it plans to integrate fair trade concerns into public procurement. The first reply is from Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Environment Canada, Finance Canada, Industry Canada, Natural Resources Canada, Public Works and Government Services Canada, Treasury Board are expected to reply in the coming month.

One Earth was invited to host the BC consultation by the Canadian Environmental Network on behalf of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) and Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future (SF).

The other Canadian hosts are: Secrétariat des organismes environnementaux du Québec, QC; Saskatchewan Environmental Society, SK; Conservation Council of New Brunswick, NB; Whale Release and Strandings, NL; Centre de droit international du développement durable, QC; Manitoba Eco-Network, MB; Sustainability Education in Nova Scotia for Everyone, NS; Alberta Environmental Network, AB; One Earth Initiative, BC; Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy, ON.

• Find out more about the other cross-Canada consultations.

One Earth organized the civil society consultations in preparation for Rio + 20 Earth Summit (UNCSD) 2012, with the Liu Institute for Global Studies (UBC) and the United Nations Environment Programme. The reports are available on the consultation website and were provided to the Government of Canada. One Earth was invited to do so by the Canadian Environmental Network with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) and Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future (SF) The other Canadian hosts are: Secrétariat des organismes environnementaux du Québec, QC; Saskatchewan Environmental Society, SK; Conservation Council of New Brunswick, NB; Whale Release and Strandings, NL; Centre de droit international du développement durable, QC; Manitoba Eco-Network, MB; Sustainability Education in Nova Scotia for Everyone, NS; Alberta Environmental Network, AB; One Earth Initiative, BC; Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy, ON. Find out more about the other cross-Canada consultations.