[Vision2020] Nobel Laureate Symposium on Global Sustainability, May 2011: Planet in a New Geological age, the Anthropocene.

[Ted Moffett]

http://globalsymposium2011.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Memorandum-180511pdf.pdf

http://globalsymposium2011.org/

http://globalsymposium2011.org/news-and-media/memorandum

Text below from third website down:

The Stockholm Memorandum concludes that the planet has entered a new
geological age, the Anthropocene. It recommends a suite of urgent and
far-reaching actions for decision makers and societies to become
active stewards of the planet for future generations.

The verdict from the trial of humanity, which opened the 3rd Nobel
Laureate Symposium, has been incorporated into the Stockholm
Memorandum: Tipping the Scales towards Sustainability (pdf). In
particular, the jury of Nobel Laureates concluded that humans are now
the most significant driver of global change, and that our collective
actions could have abrupt and irreversible consequences for human
communities and ecological systems.

“We are the first generation with the insight of the new global risks
facing humanity, that people and societies are the biggest drivers of
global change. The basic analysis is not in question: we cannot
continue on our current path and need to take action quickly. Science
can guide us in identifying the pathway to global sustainability,
provided that it also engages in an open dialogue with society, ” says
Professor Mario Molina, who acted as judge and received the Nobel
Prize in Chemistry in 1995.

Some of the other key messages of the Stockholm Memorandum are:

- Environmental sustainability is a precondition for poverty
eradication, economic development, and social justice.

- With almost a third of the world living on less than $2 per day, we
must, as a priority, achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

- Develop new welfare indicators that address the shortcomings of GDP.

- Keep global warming below 2oC, implying a peak in global CO2
emissions no later than 2015 and carrying with it a very high risk of
serious impacts and the need for major adaptation efforts.

- Foster a new agricultural revolution where more food is produced in
a sustainable way on current agricultural land.

- Inspire and encourage scientific literacy especially among the young.

The Stockholm Memorandum will be signed by Nobel Laureates on May 18th
and handed over in person to the UN High-level Panel on Global
Sustainability, which is preparing the 2012 UN Conference on
Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro (Rio +20).

“The Nobel Laureate Symposium has answered this emergency call from
the future: environment and development must go hand in hand. Human
pressures are challenging the resilience of the planet, while
inequalities remain high. The only way to move towards fair and
lasting prosperity for present and future generations is along a
pathway of environmental sustainability. The time for procrastination
is over. We cannot afford the luxury of denial, ” says Professor Johan
Rockström, Symposium chairperson and Executive Director of the
Stockholm Resilience Centre and Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI).
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Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett