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In a world where globalisation has become part of everyday life, our knowledge of the planet has also increased.  We are starting to become aware of development patterns that are leading to ecological and social problems.

 

Tony Blair in September 2004 included in his speech;

“What is now plain is that the emissions of greenhouse gases, associated with industrialisation and strong economic growth from a world population that has increased six fold in 200 years, is causing global warming at a rate that began as significant, has become alarming and is simply unsustainable in the long term. And by long term, I do not mean centuries ahead. I mean within the lifetime of my children certainly; and possibly within my own. And by unsustainable, I do not mean a phenomenon causing problems of adjustment.I mean a challenge so far-reaching in its impact and irreversible in its destructive power, that is alters radically human existence.”

It is important to define what Sustainable development is before we explore the concept of the ecological footprint. There have been many attempts to identify sustainability and I believe the Bruntland Report best defines it:

“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”

Many individuals, groups and communities are now considering the issue of sustainable development; however the institutions and the institutional systems that drive most of our work relations and our civil and economic interactions, both locally and globally are lagging a long way behind.

In 1992 the Earth Summit was held in Rio de Janeiro where 172 governments participated in an agreement on the Climate Change. This international treaty had an aim at reducing emissions of greenhouse gas in order to contract global warming.  This treaty in turn lead to an amendment know as the Kyoto Protocol, which assigned mandatory targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to signatory nations.

The Kyoto Protocol objective is to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Only 164 countries have ratified the agreement, with the notable exceptions of the United States and Australia.

 

President George W.Bush discusses Global Climate Change;

“The issue of climate change respects no border, with its potential to impact every corner of the world, is an issue that must be addressed by the world.   A growing population requires more energy to heat and cool our homes, more gas to drive our cars. Our Country, the United States is the world’s largest emitter of manmade greenhouse gases. The world’s second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases is China. Yet China was entirely exempt from the requirements of the Kyoto Protocol.  India and Germany are among the top emitters. Yet, India was also exempt from Kyoto. Countries that are experiencing rapid growth face challenges in reducing their emissions without harming their economies.  Kyoto is unrealistic; many countries cannot meet their Kyoto targets.  For America, complying with those mandates would have a negative economic impact."

 

If all the nation’s households in the United States used the most efficient refrigerators, electricity savings would eliminate the need for about 10 large power plants.

The recycling of paper reduces air pollution by about 75%. Substituting steel scrap for virgin ore lowers emissions by 85% and water pollution by 76%.

Sustainable interpretations have led many to believe that it is not a rigorous, measurable concept, that the sustainable agenda is a nebulous concept that is impossible to define and even harder to measure.

In 1992 the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) saw the need for sustainability analysis and particularly for indicators of sustainability. It was believed this was a key requirement to implement and monitor the development of national sustainable development plans.

In the 1999 the government published a report known as “A better quality of Life for everyone now and for the future generations to come” Within this the four aims were developed, these aims captured the simple idea at the heart of sustainable development:

Social progress that recognises the needs of everyone.

Effective protection of the environment. Prudent use of natural resources; and

Maintenance of high and stable levels of economic growth and employment.

In the UK, buildings emit 55% of all CO2 emissions, yet many of us fail to “Think global, act local” putting simple sustainable principles into action.

 

When we look at sustainability we are often perplexed by what is required for us to do to make things different. The ecological footprint will help us identify the scarcity of space and how important it is to introduce strategy and raise public awareness of sustainable solutions by identifying the weaknesses. I do not believe there is one single solution, but I do believe the citizens that are made aware of the issues in simple terms can start to make their own judgements and if they wish to adjust and demand a better future.

Each and every one of us can have a footprint; the information provided by its calculation can help identify areas of weakness.  The ecological footprint can put resources such as energy use, waste and food into context. Using this data we begin to pinpoint areas of inefficiency within our own environment.

‘A sustainable city – is a city that works so that all its citizens are able to meet their own needs without endangering the well being of the natural world or the living conditions of other people, now or in the future’

Using the ecological footprint, as an indicator and as an informative tool could bring uniformity amongst boroughs.  Legislation, guidelines and polices can all be influenced by the footprint and help each borough learn from each other’s policies.