Bringing the younger voice to decision making
“We borrow environmental capital from future generations with no intention or prospect of repaying… We act as we do because we can get away with it: future generations do not vote; they have no political or financial power; they cannot challenge out decisions.” - Brundtland Report ‘Our Common Future’ 1987
What if young and future generations did have a say in the decisions that were made about their futures? What if the present generation of decision makers could not get away with acting irresponsibly with the futures of those they are supposed to represent? And what if future generations could challenge the decisions of today?
These issues go the heart of what intergenerational equity is all about and in a paper for the Environmental Law and Management Journal Kirsty Schneeberger has made an attempt to address some of these crucial factors.
She writes:
“Safeguarding the interests of young and future generations is one way of expressing the principle of Intergenerational Equity both in theory and in practice.”
Read more about it here, first published in the February/March edition of the Environmental Law and Management Journal
