Thank you Özge for the question and for the possibility to present civil society’s perspective on this very important topic.
I’m Rianne from the Swiss CSO Platform Agenda 2030 and I’m speaking on behalf of the ECE Regional Civil Society Engagement Mechanism.
Excellencies, esteemed Delegates and civil society colleagues
First, we recognise that there is a need to go beyond GDP. Not only civil society but also academia as well as some business actors are calling for redefining what progress and prosperity means and how it’s being measured.
Also we need this conversation in order to accelerate progress towards the SDGs and our shared values.
However, we don’t want Beyond GDP to be yet another new framework only generating more paperwork.
First of all, we need to make sure that the Beyond GDP framework complements and is linked to human rights obligations and the 2030 Agenda.
We also need to make sure that these indicators and metrics are linked to budget and policy-making processes as well as accountability mechanisms.
In order to do this, we need an inclusive dialogue around Beyond GDP with: civil society of course, but also academia and businesses actors committed to the 2030 Agenda. Another important point is to include people more in decision-making processes and data generation, for example via participatory budgeting, citizens assemblies or citizen generated data.
This inclusive dialogue should allow us to create new shared narrative around growth and build trust in the new framework and indicators.
On your second question / challenging the growth paradigm:
We recognise that Beyond GDP is a very important first step to prioritise a transition to the well-being economy. The Pact for the Future - in Action 53 - recognizes Beyond GDP as an important factor in SDG success.
But we believe it isn’t enough. It’s not only about redefining prosperity or progress but it’s about how to make sure that we move forward on the implementation of the SDGs in line with full respect of human rights and planetary boundaries.
The well-being economy we want to see will prioritise care, social protection, the rights of all to health, education, housing, accessibility, a decent and dignified life for all.
We are at a tipping point:
- Seven out of the 9 planetary boundaries have been crossed, - we are violating human rights on a daily basis, - and we aren’t managing to fight poverty properly
At the same time, a handful of people keep getting richer.
This is not ok.
The growth paradigm has failed, the “make the pie bigger and more people will eat” approach doesn’t work. And even worse, it’s driving fossil fuel expansion driven wars, and rewarding investment in militarisation. We have entered a new imperial time.
There is no time to waste: We need to rethink the current accepted growth paradigm and talk about what role we expect from the economy. The Donut economics model shows us a way forward. Rather than relying on the traditional three pillars of sustainable development, this model focuses on the social and environmental values and economics is merely in service of people and planet.
This will ensure that our human rights and the rights of nature are fully realised. The Roadmap on fighting poverty beyond growth from Special Rapporteur Olivier de Schutter is also contributing to this conversation, recommending a transformation to a human rights economy, which we fully support.
In rethinking the growth paradigm, we also need to better take into account the historical responsibilities of richer countries as well as their negative spillovers abroad. This conversation cannot happen without debt relief.
In sum, we are calling for reforming the well-being economy to be the bedrock for work beyond 2030 and we call upon member states and all stakeholders to have the courage to say Enough! Now we do things differently, we want system change!