Pope unlocks political stalemate

Jun 26, 2015

Laudato Si’ comes amid a vacuum in global political leadership. However, instead of looking to the Pope as the one who will unlock the global political stalemate, the encyclical is intended as a mirror that reflects responsibility back towards global leaders.

World leaders attending the three summits need to use their political capital to achieve a truly transformative agenda, including an agreement on climate change in Paris that will limit global warming. Staying away for fear of failure, or lack of priority, is not the type of leadership the world needs. For the United Nations, 2015 is a key year. The challenge is to reach potentially transformative agreements following each of three summits that will deliver meaningful change for people living in poverty, and protect the environment.

It is no coincidence that Pope Francis has chosen to release his encyclical ahead of the first of these summits, to be held in Addis Ababa next month, on financing for development.

He will also be addressing the UN General Assembly in New York in September, the second summit, where leaders will sign up to the new Sustainable Development Goals — the successor agreement to the Millennium Development Goals. World leaders will need to agree a deal on tackling climate change at the third summit in Paris at the end of the year.

This trinity of summits has the potential to set out the path toward a more just and sustainable world over coming generations. So, what relevance might the encyclical have for them? Primarily, it keeps the focus on tackling poverty and protecting the environment for both governments and business. It has been clear in the run-up to publication that the thinking behind the encyclical is to focus on human development that is both integral and authentic — about the whole person and about every person. This is development not merely for some, nor even for the many, but for all people, both current and future generations. It is also development that is about respecting and protecting creation. Development is not authentic if it harms the environment, nor is environmental protection enough if it is not also about human development.

Currently, there is strong ambition in the latest draft of the Sustainable Development Goals to “end poverty in all its forms everywhere”, and to consider no target unmet unless it is met for everyone, with goals on ending hunger, providing employment, and health and education for all. Goals are also focused on environmental challenges, seeking to protect oceans, ecosystems and forests. This is a big improvement on the narrower focus of the Millennium Development Goals.

In contrast, the financing for development discussions give insufficient attention to environmental sustainability or poverty alleviation, with a much bigger focus on how much money is needed and where it will come from. The role of the private sector is one of the most contentious issues in all three processes.

Business can make a significant, positive contribution, through providing jobs and supporting local economic development, but is too often still associated with human rights abuses and environmental damage, such as the La Oroya case in the Peruvian Andes, where pollution over nearly a decade has produced extremely high levels of lead in children’s blood, affecting their mental development and opportunities in life.

To ensure that all those in development put both people and planet first, and that all development finance goes to where it is most needed, both business and government need to meet the highest standards. One clear proposal on the table for Addis Ababa is to agree a set of sustainable development criteria and accountability mechanisms for all types of finance, whether public, private or a mixture of both. This would help direct resources towards development that is authentic and in harmony with the environment.