1. Sustainable Development and the Earth Charter
Values and Principles for a Just, Sustainable, and Peaceful Global Society in the 21st Century

2. What are the current challenges on Earth?

3. What is common on these issues?

4. Have been produced mostly by un-precautious human activity
Can no longer be solved by scientific and technological means only or resolved in an isolated manner
Under the impact of industrialization, modern technology, the information revolution, and economic globalization, the world we live in is ever more tightly interconnected
No society or nation can effectively address the environmental, economic, and social problems it faces and ensure the security of its people by acting alone

5. Often what happens locally has a significant global impact ecologically, economically, politically, or socially, and global trends and events influence local communities throughout the world
This has led to recognition that the problems facing people locally and globally can only be addressed with holistic thinking and integrated problem solving as well as worldwide cooperation
Humans as individuals and communities should recognize their responsibilities to solve such problems and this may be possible only on the basis of a fundamental shift in their outlook and value attitudes

6. What is “Our Common Future”?
If these trends continue, what will the Earth look like in 50 years?
If we want to alter these trends,
what should we do?
What is the “buzz word”
for these types of activities?

7. It is → Sustainable Development
Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
(Brundtland Commission, 1987)
Improving the quality of life within the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems
(UNEP, WWF, IUCN, 1991)
…a process which enables all people to realize their potential and to improve their quality of life in ways which protect and enhance the Earth's life support systems
(Forum for the Future, UK)
Enough for everyone, forever (Billboard, Johannesburg, South Africa in 2002 during World Summit on Sustainable Development)

9. Sustainable development aims to meet all human needs without harming nature, thereby ensuring all people’s needs are met
This concept demonstrates that social issues are linked to economic and environmental ones
Similarly, local, national and international problems are interrelated
Therefore, the search for solutions to these problems requires an integrated approach
Promoting an environmental culture / sustainable development implies recognizing that our planet’s resources are limited and seeks to generate changes in attitudes, through creating a higher consciousness, and to improve citizen commitment, through their actions and the impact they have on the environment.

10. “Sustainable development” is not simply a synonym for environmental protection. Rather, it is a process which seeks to find convergence points between the needs of social justice, economics and environmental protection
In order to achieve sustainable development, we must remember that:
• Current behavior patterns place our planet’s safety at risk.
• Economic development does not take environmental impacts, social relationships or democratic processes into consideration.
• All of us are part of the problem, and therefore we are all responsible for taking part in the solution.

11. The United Nations Division for Sustainable Development lists the following areas as coming within the scope of sustainable development:
Agriculture, Atmosphere, Biodiversity, Biotechnology, Capacity-building, Climate Change, Consumption, and Production Patterns, Demographics, Desertification and Drought, Disaster Reduction and Management, Education and Awareness, Ecology, Ecosystem, Energy, Systems ecology, Finance, Forests, Fresh Water, Health, Human Settlements, Indicators, Industry, Information for Decision Making and Participation, Integrated Decision Making, International Law, International Cooperation for Enabling Environment, Institutional Arrangements, Land management, Major Groups, Mountains, National Sustainable Development Strategies, Natural resource management, Oceans and Seas, Poverty, Sanitation, Science, Social equity, Sustainable architecture, Sustainable tourism, Technology, Toxic Chemicals, Trade and Environment, Transport, Waste (Hazardous), Waste (Radioactive), Waste (Solid), Water
→ Sustainable development is an eclectic concept, as a wide array of views

12. Conventional Development vs. Sustainable Development
What are the values associated with conventional development?
What are the values associated with sustainable development?
Sustainable development is not a technical term, but an ethical pursuit
So an ethical framework is needed

13. What do we need? global ethics
Partnership, cooperation, and collaboration have become essential to survival and human development
Mutual understanding and agreement on common goals and shared values, an ethical foundation
widely shared among the world's diverse cultures
This will create the trust and sense of shared purpose that makes partnership and collaborative actions possible and effective
global ethics

14. Sense of ethical responsibility flows from an attitude of respect
Humanity has reached a stage in its development technologically and economically where a world community is both possible and necessary
Inner globalization must occur to build global cooperation and community and reverse negative trends that threaten the future
Sense of ethical responsibility flows from an attitude of respect
Humanity must undergo a radical change in its attitudes, values and behavior
Caring for people and caring for Earth are two interrelated dimensions of one great task

15. Ethics?

16. Origin in the Greek word “ethos”, which means the behavior of a group
It is formed by a set of principles that directs the attitudes of a group / society towards the communal property of this community system
Principles are generated by values
They offer norms and guidelines for conduct and relate to reasoning and decisions
Values are related to the importance of something. They are subjective and are the first point that motivates an individual to make decisions

17. what is right and wrong
Ethical issues have to do with the actions that everyone, or at least most reasonable people, agree to be moral
A person’s ethical values reflect what kind of a person s/he chooses to be and what quality of community life s/he chooses to support and sustain
People inherit ethical values from their family and culture
Describes the characteristic of a community
A set of principles that are acceptable for the common good of a community system

18. What is good and bad for us. How are we to live together
What is good and bad for us? How are we to live together? How do we choose what to do?
These are the main questions for ethics – discipline concerned in what is right and wrong
Our propensity as humans to do good and bad actions makes important to have ethics

19. What could be an unethical choice, decision or behaviour?

20. Ethics and sustainability
How ought we to live with/in the Earth?
We are facing ethical dilemmas regarding the damages we are causing to the environment and the current inequities
Approaches to sustainability ethics call for a global responsibility – toward the natural world and to attain global justice

21. Motivational Ethics
Human behavior is deeply rooted in the human, cultural, spiritual, social and ethical values which are the fundamental sources of motivation of the behavior of people and nations
Ethic can motivate people to act in new ways
even against conventional assumptions, including the determination not just to do what is right but also to promote what is right
Motivational ethics need to be both emotionally and intellectually engaging

22. Global Ethics
A global ethic is an ethic which is about universal values and norms and which includes a principle of global responsibility
In this interconnected world / global society (communications, transportation, and economic systems), with global dilemmas, global ethical consciousness is urgently needed to build a just, sustainable, and peaceful world community and to protect the integrity of Earth’s ecological systems
We need something that combines concerns for human well-being with concerns for the environment
So an ethic needs both to contain realizable requirements here and now, and, combined with these, ideals towards which we can strive

23. Universal Responsibility
Fundamental importance in meeting the critical challenges
should not be delegated to any organization or group alone
People and countries have a responsibility for what happens elsewhere in the world – such as extreme poverty, violation of human rights, wars etc
each and every person is equally responsible to the whole Earth community
Civil society has a critical role to play in the transition to sustainable development:
The new global civil society has become a third force along with government and business on the world stage
It can use its soft power together with its political power and its purchasing power in the market place to move the world toward constructive change
However, this will not happen without a unifying ethical vision and a new commitment to education for sustainable development

24. Introducing The Earth Charter Values and Principles for a Just, Sustainable, and Peaceful Global Society in the 21st Century
There is nothing else in global civil society
with the demonstrated power of the Earth Charter
to unite people from across divisions
of culture, religion, and politics ...
background, sector, and profession ...
and inspire them to work together for a world that is
more just, more sustainable, and more peaceful.

25. Key Themes of the Earth Charter
Respect
Equitable Economic Development
Universal Responsbility
Participation
Interdependency
Human Rights
Environmental Protection
Respect for Nature
Sustainable Living
Peace and Non-Violence
Community of Life
Common but Differentiated Responsability
Common Good
Democracy
Transnational Responsibility
Gender Equality
Eradication of poverty 25

26. The Preamble
Explains the global situation, the beauty of our planet as well its current problems
It highlights the challenges we face and the choices each one of us can make
Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of universal responsibility

27. The first principle
“Respect Earth and life in all its diversity” is the foundation for the following three principles as well the remaining principles in the Charter

28. The second, third and fourth principles
deal with the three primary spheres of human relationships and ethical responsibility:
the relationship between human beings and the greater community of life
the relationship between human beings and society and
the relationship between present and future generations 

29. Twelve fundamental principles in Parts II, III and IV describe the meaning of the first four principles in greater detail
The titles of these three Parts Ecological Integrity, Social and Economic Justice and Democracy, Nonviolence and Peace demonstrate the inclusive nature of the vision of the Earth Charter 
Sixty-one supporting principles address important issues and clarify the meanings of the sixteen fundamental principles

30. You can compare the Earth Charter to a tree
It has roots, a trunk and branches
The initial and most important principles are like the roots, the base for those that follow
There are four of these initial principles, and they can be compared to four parts of the roots
The remaining principles are like the trunk, and the sub-principles are like the branches

31. The Earth Charter
The Earth Charter is a declaration of fundamental values and principles for building a just, sustainable and peaceful global society in the 21st century
centrally concerned with the transition to sustainable ways of living and sustainable human development.
It seeks to inspire in all people a new sense of global interdependence and shared responsibility for the well-being of the whole human family, the greater community of life, and future generations.
It is a vision of hope and a call to action

32. Earth Charter as global ethics
Earth Charter is consensus on integrated vision on shared moral values, basic ethical principles and practical guidelines
Expresses common core of attitudes that can unite people in the midst of all their diversity
Recognizing that our environmental, economic, social, political, and spiritual challenges are interdependent
The Earth Charter provides a new integrated framework for thinking about and addressing these issues
The result is a fresh broad conception of what constitutes a sustainable society and sustainable development

33. EC provides a framework, a tool for testing our moral thinking
It challenges people to think about ethical values and to expand their ethical consciousness
A moral ideal – of how people could ideally live with one another and in relation to the natural world
EC provides a framework, a tool for testing our moral thinking
It is important to recognize that the Earth Charter contains general ethical principles as distinct from rules
Rules tell one exactly what to do in a specific situation
General principles tell us what to think about when we are deciding what to do
We also live in a complex world and there will be at times conflict between different ethical principles
There is frequently a tension between individual freedom and securing justice for all
There can be tension between the needs of present generations and the needs of future generations
Also between the short-term interests of people and the long-term health of ecosystems

34. Many of the key principles are capable of different interpretations
The Earth Charter should not be read as a final moral truth but as a tool for promoting international cooperation and solidarity for changes which need to be made in the way we collectively behave
Endorsing it or treating it as one's global ethic is not signing up to everything in it nor should it be treated by others as so doing
It’s an ethical perspective from which one is prepared to think, deliberate and engage in dialogue
Many of the key principles are capable of different interpretations
it should not be seen as the final unambiguous set of moral truths but a best approximation which humans can use and co-operate in using to forge common understandings and develop common goals

35. The Earth Charter
A product of a decade-long, worldwide, cross cultural dialogue on common goals and shared values
Began as a United Nations initiative, but it was carried forward and completed by a global civil society initiative
Was launched as a people’s charter in 2000
The drafting of the Earth Charter involved the most inclusive and participatory process ever associated with the creation of an international declaration
Over 5000 organizations and governments endorses and uses the Earth Charter

36. Why Earth Charter?
It is global in that it is actually accepted by large number of people from all over the globe
a public document available for endorsement by individuals who do so in the knowledge that they endorse something endorsed by hundreds of thousands of others
The values of the Earth Charter are not merely shared in the sense that they are the same for different people; they are shared in the stronger sense of people belonging to a community of shared values
It is global in that it was formed as a result of a wide process of global consultation

37. Why do we need the Earth Charter?
To examine our values and choose a better way
To realize our common ground although we are diverse
To unify us in our work for change
Earth Charter provides a valuable educational instrument in education for sustainable development

38. What Earth Charter can offer
A global citizen who is in search of reasonable global ethic can find it in the Earth Charter
a concrete expression of a global ethic which otherwise might seem too abstract and undefined
Through the Earth Charter can be also found a genuine and real community of like-minded people across the world united in its inspirational power
It is not just an idea in the mind of the global citizen but actually shared by agents from all over the world
The Earth Charter provides one approach for educating and motivating people and governments to act with the necessary sense of universal responsibility
stresses both the inner motivational resources of individuals and the external social structures and institutions

39. The UNESCO General Conference of member states endorsed the Earth Charter in 2003 as “an important ethical framework for sustainable development” and as “an educational tool.”
UNESCO has chosen to emphasize the importance of teaching and learning about the values and life styles that communities must embrace, if they are to make the transition to sustainable development.
In this regard, UNESCO is recommending the Earth Charter as a valuable ethical guide and teaching tool. The Earth Charter is already being used widely in schools, colleges, and universities

40. Conclusion
The principles of sustainable development help us think in terms of the future, so we can leave the planet in a better condition for generations to come
The Earth Charter is a tool which helps us adjust our attitudes so we can create a better world
The Earth Charter is like a map, which helps us get oriented and figure out which way we want to go. It also helps us make good decisions, not only for ourselves, but also for others and for its namesake, Earth
Everything you do impacts this world. The Earth Charter helps us understand that each one of us has a responsibility to take care of our planet

41. “We stand at a critical moment in Earth's history, a time when humanity must choose its future. As the world becomes increasingly interdependent and fragile, the future at once holds great peril and great promise. To move forward we must recognize that in the midst of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms we are one human family and one Earth community with a common destiny. We must join together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace. Towards this end, it is imperative that we, the peoples of Earth, declare our responsibility to one another, to the greater community of life, and to future generations.” —
Preamble
The Earth Charter
2000

42. Charter International Contact Join the Earth Charter Initiative Earth
Earth Charter International Secretariat and
Earth Charter Center for Education for Sustainable Development
at UN mandated University for Peace, Costa Rica
Contact the Youth Facilitator: youthcoordinator earthcharter.org

43. Background reading:
Earth Charter Virtual Library,
The Earth Charter in Action Toward a Sustainable World
Mirian Vilela and Peter Blaze Corcoran
History and Provenance of the Earth Charter Building Consensus on Shared Values
Parvez Hassan A thematic essay on the historical context and significance of the Earth Charter
Earth Charter: An Ethical Lodestar and Moral Force
Abelardo Brenes
A thematic essay on responsibility to the whole Earth community and to promote the common good
Universal and Differentiated Responsibility
Nigel Dower
A thematic essay on global interdependence and universal responsibility
The Earth Charter and Global Citizenship: A Way Forward

44. Steven C. Rockefeller
Interdependence and Global Ethics
The Earth Charter: An Ethical Foundation
Global ethics, international law, and the Earth Charter
McGrady, Andrew G. , Regan, Ethna
Ethics in a global world: the Earth Charter and religious education
Nigel Dower
The Earth Charter and Global Ethics
David Chalmers
Protecting Life from Climate Change
The need for synergies between policy, ethics, and education
Alan AtKisson
Global Warming is an Ethical Issue
Ibrahima Seck Winning the Struggle Against Global Warming