IF researcher Melissa Bui describes how, by sending our plastic waste abroad, we are effectively exporting intergenerational unfairness to other countries whilst also driving up rates of plastic consumption
Category: Future Generations
Siberia Burns: the politics of heat
The recent heat wave in Siberia poses a serious threat to Russian infrastructure – and to the planet. IF Research Intern Anthony J. Piwowarski shows how successive Russian governments have pursued a politics of ecological ruin. Even now, the current administration remains ambivalent towards its environmental obligations.
A Letter to Future Generations
Rebecca Freitag – Ambassador for the Stuttgart-based Foundation for the Rights for Future Generations and a former UN Youth Delegate for Sustainable Development – has asked herself this question: “How I will explain this historic, COVID-induced opportunity for a new beginning to my children and grandchildren – and how it finally turned out?” She imagines… Read more »
How will future generations remember COVID-19 – if they remember it at all?
Roman Krznaric is a public philosopher who writes about the power of ideas to change society. His new book explores the virtues of long-term thinking – essential for good intergenerational policy. Will the current COVID-19 pandemic be a critical landmark on the three possible paths that lead into the future?
Poverty and homelessness: the risks remain
COVID-19 might have threatened to bring the scourge of homelessness to many more people in the UK. A swift response averted that crisis, but strong action on homes and work-creation is still needed to “Ride Out Recession” and prevent a descent into poverty, says John Bird (Lord Bird), founder of the The Big Issue and… Read more »
Plagues and Intergenerational Justice
The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us that future generations have to be protected by wise precautions – both medically and economically. Jörg Tremmel, professor at the Institute of Political Science at the Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, Germany, shows how intergenerational interests are served by an assertive vaccination policy.
COVID-19 warns us: we need global environmental law
COVID-19 is a warning to us: our behaviour risks the destruction of the planet, and the obliteration of humankind – and we need not just international environmental law but fully enforceable global law to prevent it. Sándor Fülöp is an environmental lawyer who held the office of the first Parliamentary Commissioner for future generations in… Read more »
How much could COVID-19 cost future generations?
After nearly three months of extreme social distancing in the UK, more and more data are beginning to emerge which highlight the severe negative impact that the pandemic is having on the UK economy. Given that we are likely to be paying for the financial cost of fighting COVID-19 for years to come, how big… Read more »
Earth Day in strange times
It’s Earth Day this week, and according to CarbonBrief the first three months of 2020 were the second warmest on record. With COVID-19 understandably distracting the world from conversations about environmental degradation and #climatecrisis, Liz Emerson, IF Co-founder, discusses the huge potential for the greening of the economy post-COVID
Intergenerational Alert: hidden liabilities in the Local Government Pension Scheme
A new report published by IF reveals the hidden liabilities in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). This threatens to become a major intergenerational issue because, unless urgent action is taken, the cost will be passed on to younger and future generations to pay. Here, in a brief summary, the report’s author, actuary Daryl Boxall,… Read more »