Chairholder’s Remarks at the Concluding Session of IDDRI’s 20th Anniversary Conference on Planetary Governance

Concluding remarks on the occasion of IDDRI’s 20^th Anniversary Conference on Planetary Governance

By Professor Shiv Someshwar

Friends,

Thank you for a wonderful, lively at times, thoughtful discussion.* Over the last three days I heard a clear clarion call with two central messages –

1. Governance for sustainability requires institutions from local and national to the regional and global scales.
2. Existing governance arrangements, both economic and environmental, are severely wanting.

Multilateral governance involves dynamics of power and powerlessness over diverse economic, social and environmental flows and assets. It involves matters that for too long have been in the shackles of the nation state. When we change our lens, from one of economic growth to a biocentric one inclusive of well-being of all life forms and of land and marinescapes, it becomes clear that multilateral governance is a (seam filled) web of institutions from the local and national to the regional and global.

The conference has been rich in the discussion of the many ways that existing governance, economic and environmental, has been severely wanting – the asymmetries of power, lack of inclusion and solidarity leading to an erosion of credibility, the real possibilities of fair and decent living being sacrificed for environmental protection, historic responsibilities being forgotten and promises not kept, sacrificing the planet to develop the world, dominance of the politics of belief, the arbitrary scope of ‘just transition’ considerations in Europe and elsewhere, mismatch of institutions to advance the SDGs mandate, the political and environmental repercussions of globalization, the waning of trust between states and the conundrum of seeking consensus from sovereign interests, the trend of unilateral action in the face of failure of multilateralism and so many more. The many ways that the current system has failed and is failing was richly and skillfully mined, time and again over the last three days. And that is for the benefit of all. It is good to be clear eyed of failings, to help us build back anew.

Discussion of ‘how do we go about getting to the world we want?’ was more sparse. When history is clear that power is never voluntarily given up, is too wrested, how do we use our solidarity and knowledge to replace/recreate powerful institutions? How do we make economic institutions accountable to life systems? How do we avoid political catastrophes of unilateral environmental action? How do we collectively enforce voluntary promises of countries and corporations?

A key issue, that was skated over was of trade-offs. The language of win-win, only bested by that of ‘win-win-win’, has led us to blind ends. On hindsight, the win-win often turned out to be phantasms, with winners grabbing even more. I think we should have a moratorium through the end of the century on the use of the term win-win! We should focus on what interests win and what interests lose when a policy or an institutional design is put forward. We must sharpen our focus on safeguarding interests of the socially, economically and environmentally vulnerable, and as well the interests of nature.

What are some next steps from here on? I leave it to the wiser heads at IDDRI and partners to figure that out. Maybe I can suggest one task. It is to challenge the CSOs, the NGOs, activists, universities and think tanks in each region, to collectively invite for a sit-down those institutions bankrolling development and company expansion – the banks, institutional investors, foreign entities, and others active in their expanse. The discussions should be laser focused, to come up with an accounting of promises made – whether of net zero, green and inclusive supply chains, tech transfer or capital. I believe people need accounting systems that make sense to them locally – on ecological, social and economic matters, and hence become credible and accountable, begetting trust. Not accounting systems set up by and for financing institutions and corporations or by entities that are themselves not accountable. One hopeful outcome of such an exercise would be to put on notice the very institutions in power that continue to subvert our sustainable and inclusive futures.

In solidarity, a huge thank you all!

* Remarks in full, prepared for the concluding session. Paucity of time led to a shortened version being presented.