A report of the Salzburg Global Seminar’s session on A Climate for Change: New Thinking on Governance for Sustainability is now available online, featuring key elements of the session’s discussions.
Written by Jannica Pitkänen-Brunsberg, Clare Shine and Program Director Georgios Kostakos, the report - which is available to read here - includes the Salzburg Statement on New Governance for Sustainability.
The session was attended by 50 emerging and established decision makers, innovators and practitioners of various disciplines from 26 countries. Participants from four continents convened for a four day workshop in June to address the challenges of sustainability and to propose a new framework from which these challenges could be met.
At the beginning of the workshop, short introductory presentations were used on various issues related to sustainability governance to help stimulate discussion. Fresh ideas were then generated as a result of in-depth work within small groups, which were later shared with the rest of the session’s participants.
Within an informal atmosphere, participants were able to express their thoughts freely, some of which can be heard in one-on-one interviews on the Seminar’s YouTube channel. This eventually led to the framing of a call for action, in the form of the Salzburg Statement on New Governance for Sustainability: “Finite Planet, Infinite Potential.”
The Salzburg Statement is addressed to leaders of governments and international organizations, business, religion, civil society, science, education and the media. Participants identified ten priority actions that could transform life chances and opportunities for current and future generations in the world.
These actions included moving beyond short-term thinking, engaging civil society and business in decision-making, and agreeing on common goals to accelerate and measure progress. Two proposals for urgent consideration were also outlined, including the concept of convening open and inspiring exchanges at neutral locations, such as Salzburg Global Seminar, to build trust and confidence between high-level decision makers.
The Salzburg Statement is available in multiple languages, including English, French, German, Greek, Japanese, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian and Spanish.
