The Salzburg Statement on New Governance for Sustainability

We, citizens of many countries and of the world, share our one and only planet with more than seven billion others. We call for leadership, justice and imagination at all levels to find ways to preserve the Earth and enhance prosperity and well-being for all.

We face a daunting future. Unless we change course, we will condemn our children and grandchildren to an uninhabitable planet. We must act with urgency, inspired by individual and collective wisdom, to address critical challenges such as climate change, population growth and biodiversity loss. We have to support and sustain life, now and into the future.

We need innovative approaches to governance that reflect the complexity and interdependence of sustainability challenges and that safeguard human dignity, gender equity and the common good.

This Statement is addressed to leaders of governments and international organizations, business, religion, civil society, science, education and the media, and to individuals. Ten priority actions can transform life chances and opportunities for current and future generations throughout the world:

1. Move beyond narrow short-term thinking and vested interests, especially in decisions concerning food, water and energy security.
2. Encourage and reward social and technological innovation for a low-carbon economy that addresses the needs of all.
3. Support and replicate, on a sound evidence basis, dynamic and inclusive initiatives by cities and local communities.
4. Engage civil society, business, and sub-national authorities in decision-making and partnerships for action.
5. Stop subsidies to polluters, put a price or tax on carbon, and ensure that markets value natural capital.
6. Use economics, finance and trade systems in new ways that compound rather than discount future value, encourage sustainable lifestyles, and enhance global prosperity, equity and resilience.
7. Integrate assessment of climate and disaster risks, and supply chain viability, in infrastructure and other investments.
8. Agree on common goals and indicators to accelerate and measure progress.
9. Invest in exchange of knowledge and best practices, and in education for sustainability at all levels.
10. Embed the rule of law and accountability in all decision-making and implementation, nationally and internationally.

Together, women and men of all nations, races and creeds, we have the knowledge and means to avert the grave threats facing humanity. The global transformation required may not be fast, easy, simple or cheap - but it is perfectly possible. We offer two proposals for urgent consideration:

• Establish innovative, independent and powerful representations for future generations to align today's policies and actions with the long-term common good.


• Convene open and inspiring exchanges at neutral fora, such as Salzburg Global Seminar, to build trust and confidence between high-level decision makers and stakeholder groups, and look for new thinking and breakthrough ideas

Salzburg, June 2013

Please click here for a pdf-version of the statement:

Finite Planet, Infinite Potential: The Salzburg Statement on New Governance for Sustainability

Please click below for translated versions of the Salzburg Statement:

French

German

Greek

Japanese

As the 21st century advances, the world faces worsening challenges to economic prosperity, human wellbeing, and environmental integrity - directly impacting life chances for upcoming generations. We recognize the problems but still struggle to secure fast, fair and inclusive progress towards a more sustainable future.

Salzburg Global Seminar is launching this multi-year initiative at a pivotal moment in the global policy and business landscape. The complex Post-2015 Agendaadopted at Rio+20 aims to combine social justice with new economic approaches to place countries on a more environmentally sound and equitable development trajectory. Working with the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Governance for Sustainability, we will connect a non-standard group of decision-makers, innovators and thought leaders to inject fresh thinking and credibility into this critical change agenda.

Existing governance arrangements - the way we make decisions, allocate resources and account for actions - are clearly not equipped to deliver the long-term decision-making and active public engagement needed to bring this transformation about.

Salzburg Global Seminar sees 2013 as a year of great opportunity. This session is timed to inject fresh systems thinking into the rapidly-evolving sustainability landscape. The event will connect participants and organizations across geographic and sectoral divides to:

• propose elements for a new framework to meet the global public goods challenge;
• identify practical ways to get traction and mobilize resources more effectively;
• build a network of critical thinkers and doers to drive change forward.

Why Salzburg?

Salzburg Global Seminar has over 65 years' experience of convening multiple stakeholders across sectoral, geographical and ideological divides. It brings highly diverse groups together in complete freedom to challenge received ideas and tackle shared challenges with long-term implications for peace, stability and justice. The intellectual creativity and camaraderie fostered by the inspiring setting of Schloss Leopoldskron connects participants long after their seminar ends and encourages the creation of vibrant international networks to deliver concrete change agendas.

(Clare Shine, Chief Program Officer, Salzburg Global Seminar)

"Building on Salzburg's strategic convening power, neutral setting and highly respected track record, this session will lead to a Salzburg Strategy to catalyze generate new thinking on governance for sustainability. The Strategy will be short and practical, setting out concrete recommendations to catalyze progress on priority issues and clear recurrent obstacles and blockages within the ongoing work at the United Nations, the Global Green Growth Forum, the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Governance for Sustainability, and civil society initiatives."

Seminar Format and Key Questions

One-page issue summaries from a number of key entities and public/private sector stakeholders will be invited and circulated in advance to identify critical faultlines and options for future action. These summaries will draw on stakeholders’ practical experience from e.g. climate change and energy transition; food and water security; trade, investment and supply chains; and employment and social protection.

The session will start with leading figures setting out their key priorities for a new governance architecture for sustainability that delivers impact. They will come from very different perspectives and will challenge the group to get beyond standard responses. In-depth work will then include small group meetings and creative break-outs. Participants will identify roles and responsibilities for meaningful progress and propose concrete steps for target audiences at local to global levels. These could form the basis for a Salzburg Strategy – a new vision and means of pratical implementation

The session will bring together around 50 emerging and established decision-makers, innovators and practitioners from all continents. This non-standard group will straddle representatives of intergovernmental organizations, national governments, corporate public affairs/environment departments, SMEs and entrepreneurs, civil society, community initiatives, science, education and media. Every effort will be made to balance participation in terms of gender, age and region.

Salzburg’s intimate setting creates a space for openness in which participants can tackle complexity and talk frankly on issues where debate is currently blocked. Horizon-scanning is enabled through a truly intergenerational and interdisciplinary exchange. The session will offer particular benefits to young and mid-career participants who need to understand how technological shifts are reconfiguring traditional relationships - and thus magnify their personal and professional effectiveness going forward.

"“This Session is not your usual conference for public speaking and predictable exchange of views. It is an interactive retreat that encourages focused discussions, shaping joint understandings and arriving at commonly-agreed solutions to major global challenges. Within the highly diverse group of participants, each individual is expected to contribute her/his dynamism and expertise, good practices and out-of-the-box proposals that will help advance sustainability through collaborative action in the real world."

(Georgios Kostakos, Adjunct Program Director, Salzburg Global Seminar)

Detailed Session Description
Click here to download the extended session description (concept note)
Session Directory
Click here to download the session directory
Pre-Session Document
Click here to download the pre-session document
Session Documents

"Earth IPO: Is the planet an appreciating asset?"Joss Tantram, Terrafiniti

"Finite Planet, Infinite Potential: The Salzburg Statement on New Governance for Sustainability"

"Negotiating Survival - Four Priorities after Rio"Richard N. Gardner, Council on Foreign Relations (1992)

“A Safe and Just Space for Humanity: can we live within the doughnut?”
Kate Raworth, Senior Visiting Researcher, Environmental Change Institute, Oxford University; former Senior Researcher, Oxfam GB, United Kingdom

“Adapting Policies and Institutions to meet the Systemic Challenges of the Modern World”
Martin Lees, Gorbachev High Level Task Force on Climate Change; Vice Chairman, Conference on Affordable World Security, Washington; Senior Adviser, Program on “A New Path for World Development,” Club of Rome; Adviser to the African Union on the Pan African University; United Kingdom

“Driving Sustainability into Education, including Business Schools”
Jannica Pitkänen-Brunsberg, Aarhus School of Business and Social Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark

“Strengthening Rule of Law and other Sustainable Governance Indicators”
Daniel Schraad-Tischler, Senior Project Manager, Bertelsmann Foundation, Germany

“Sustainable Development: Constraints, Austerity and the Role of the State”
Chandran Nair, Founder & Chief Executive, Global Institute for Tomorrow, Hong Kong SAR

“Tackling Barriers to Participation and Engagement”Pichamon Yeophantong, Research Fellow, University College, Oxford

Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI)Liz Thompson, High-Level Consultant to United Nations on the post-2015 development agenda; former Executive Coordinator, Rio+20; former Energy and Environment Minister, Barbados; attorney and journalist, Barbados

Thoughts on: -) Beyond short term visions in polities and business; -) Rediscovering public goods and equity as guides for action; -) Tackling barriers to participation and engagement; -) Connecting to new economic and social actors


Gabriel Quadri de la Torre, presidential Candidate, Mexican General Elections 2012 (for Partido Nueva Alianza); former Chief, External Financing Sector, Bank of Mexico; Advisor, National Institute of Ecology; Founder, SIGEA Environmental Organization, Mexico

Kate Raworth on the "Safe and Just Space for Humanity"
Senior Visiting Researcher, Environmental Change Institute, Oxford University; former Senior Researcher, Oxfam GB

Martin Lees on the Need for Urgency in Tackling Climate Change
Gorbachev High Level Task Force on Climate Change; Vice Chairman, Conference on Affordable World Security, Washington; Senior Adviser, Program on “A New Path for World Development,” Club of Rome; Adviser to the African Union on the Pan African University

"Liberal Democracy is no Panacea to Climate Change"
Chandran Nair, Founder & CEO, Global Institute for Tomorrow

Pichamon Yeophantong on the Challenge of Local Engagement for Sustainable Development
Oxford-Princeton Global Leaders Fellow