The Environment Canada Policy Research Seminar Series

Dr. James Meadowcroft March 30, 2001

On Friday March 30,  2001, the Environment Canada Policy Research Seminar Series presented Dr. James Meadowcroft in a seminar entitled Implementing Sustainable Development Strategies and Initiatives in High Consumption Societies.  Dr. Meadowcroft graduated with a BA in Political Science from McGill University in 1985. After completing his doctorate at the University of Oxford in 1991, he joined the Department of Politics at the University of Sheffield.   Following is a précis of Dr. Meadowcroft's talk.

"Implementing Sustainable Development Strategies and Initiatives in High Consumption Societies" is a narrowly focused study, concentrating on national governments in high consumption societies. Policy outputs are considered in 10 governments, particularly concerning sustainable development and its implementation.

The study covers such issues as government understanding in interpreting sustainable development and management principles, the pattern of institutional engagement, the involvement of other domestic actors, and internationally oriented initiatives. Sustainable production and consumption, climate change policy, biodiversity policy and their measurement and monitoring are also included.

The governments considered were divided into three categories: enthusiastic, cautiously supportive, and disinterested. Enthusiastic nations included the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. These are countries which notably adjusted their domestic and foreign policy stance in conjunction with the reception of the Brundtland report (1987). They tend to support UNCED and UNCSD strongly, and push for climate change and biodiversity standards. Putting consistent effort into developing new paradigms for environmental policy, they emphasize international environmental diplomacy and solidarity with developing nations. Of the governments studied, these are the ones which have met their UN aid targets (0.7% of GDP), and have achieved some modest form of ecological tax reform. Due to their successes, they also perceive themselves to be leading states in sustainable development implementation.

Governments which were considered cautiously supportive include: Australia, Canada, Germany, the European Union, Japan and the United Kingdom. These governments officially support sustainable development as a national and international goal, however, their resulting initiatives vary across time and issue domains. Germany, for example, had an initial reluctance to accept sustainable development, however in the late 1990's they experienced a growth in concern for sustainable development and for national environmental planning. While these "cautious" governments support UNCED conventions, they are cautious about the pace and direction of their evolution, and have generally failed in their development assistance recommended by the UN.

The only government studied which was considered disinterested in sustainable development is the United States, where sustainable development is largely understood as a problem for the developing world, and as such is not taken up by key government agencies. The President's Council on Sustainable Development has limited influence and there are political difficulties in ratifying the Kyoto protocol and the Biodiversity convention. The international solidarity dimension of sustainable development is not accepted, and consequently foreign direct assistance only equals 10% of the UN target. Environmental policy-making also remains dominated by the conservation and pollution control paradigm.

Among the 10 governments, areas of significant development from 1987 (the Brundtland Report) to 1990 include the integration of economy and the environment in decision-making, strategic plans and monitoring, participation and stakeholder involvement, and the internationalization of environmental policy-making. However, some areas which continue to be problematic are support for the environment and development in the south, and the sustainability of production and consumption.

Biography

James Meadowcroft graduated with a BA in Political Science from McGill University in 1985. After completing his doctorate at the University of Oxford in 1991, he joined the Department of Politics at the University of Sheffield.

Trained as a political theorist, Dr. Meadowcroft has spent much of the last decade researching the politics of the environment and sustainable development. In particular, he has examined the relationship between democratic decision making and sustainable development and the role of public planning in the sustainability transition. Most recently he has collaborated with other scholars to assess how governments in developed countries have implemented sustainable development since it came to international prominence with the publication of the Brundtland Report in 1987.

Dr. Meadowcroft is a general editor of the International Political Science Review and co-editor of the Journal of Political Ideologies. His publications include: Conceptualising the State (Oxford University Press, 1995); Democracy and the Environment (ed., with William Lafferty, Edward Elgar, 1996); Planning for Sustainability (ed., with Michael Kenny, Routledge, 1999); and Implementing Sustainable Development: Strategies and Initiatives in High Consumption Societies (ed., with William Lafferty, Oxford University Press, 2000). He has also published widely in academic journals on the environment and sustainable development.

List of articles and reports by Dr. James Meadowcroft

1. Lafferty, W. & Meadowcroft, J. Implementing sustainable development in high consumption societies : a comparative assessment of national strategies and intitiatives. Sheffield, U.K. : University of Sheffield, Department of Politics, 1997. -- 6 p. http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic/N-Q/pol/susdev.htm  http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic/N-Q/pol/susdev.htm
   
   
2. Lafferty, W. & Meadowcroft, J. Implementing sustainable development : strategies and intitiatives in high consumptive societies. New York : Oxford University Press, 2001. -- 376 p. Commande en cours / On order. -- ISBN : 0199242011. L'éditeur met à la disposition du public un extrait du livre en format PDF (une note au milieu de la page Web) = A sample of this book is made available in PDF format by the publisher (a note in the middle of its Web page) : http://www.oup.co.uk/isbn/0-19-829436-0
   
   
3. Meadowcroft, J. Planning of sustainable development : insights from the literatures of political science. European journal of political research (1997) 31 (4) : 427-454. Dossier-documentation = Vertical file : Meadowcroft.
   
   
4. Meadowcroft, J. Planning democracy and the challenge of sustainable development. International Political Science Review (IPSR) = Revue internationale de science politique (RISP) (1997) 18 : 167-226. Dossier-documentation = Vertical file : Meadowcroft. 
   
   
5. Notes: Meadowcroft, J. Cooperative management regimes : collaborative problem solving to implement sustainable development. International negotiation : a journal of theory and practice (1999) 4 (2) : 225- . Dossier-documentation = Vertical file : Meadowcroft
   
   
6. Meadowcroft, J. The politics of sustainable development : emergent arenas and challenges for political science. International Political Science Review (IPSR) = Revue internationale de science politique (RISP) (1999) 20 : 219-237. Dossier-documentation = Vertical file : Meadowcroft
   
   
7. Meadowcroft, J. The politics of sustainable development : emergent arenas and challenges for political science. International Political Science Review (IPSR) = Revue internationale de science politique (RISP) (1999) 20 : 219-237. Dossier-documentation = Vertical file : Meadowcroft