'Poor
people have less choice here, less chances of a better environment.'
Quote
from he MLK Project workshop with young people in Islington
I commissioned this report because I know, as a Green Member of the European Parliament, that the European Union's (EU) approach to providing solutions to social exclusion through employment does not, as a rule, consider the environment to be a central factor. I am arguing that, unless the environment is integrated into all employment and social inclusion strategies, social cohesion and quality of life will not be improved or sustainable and we will not meet our environmental goals.
I am a full time member of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee in the European Parliament. In 2001 I was asked to write the Committee's Opinion on the EU Sustainability Strategy.
My opinion, which was supported by the Parliament, made the following recommendations:
that sustainable development encompasses environmental,
social and economic dimensions;
that the objectives of creating
jobs, economic development and sustainable development are complementary - not
contradictory;
that strategies to improve quality of life
will need to include the development of more and better jobs;
the
need for a comprehensive and coordinated approach to combating poverty and social
exclusion;
that social inclusion is an essential element of
sustainable development and that a minimum income and the ability to have access
to essential services are key elements in such development;
that
the environmental dimension be considered in all training programmes funded by
the EU through the ESF and Community initiatives such as EQUAL ;
that in the indicators used to arrive at qualitative assessments of educational attainment in the EU, the role of education in environmental factors should be included as this provides the basis for an environmentally aware society.
I have been keen to explore this integrated approach. As climate change targets become increasingly ambitious, the means to deliver them become essential. The UK has a poor record of requiring syllabuses to integrate the principles of sustainable development, and lacks a coherent approach to capacity building skills that are so urgently needed for implementing greener technologies. There is a tendency within the UK Government to see economic growth as the end goal in bringing the socially excluded into the work place, rather than a sustainable economy with quality of life for all.
The socially excluded - particularly those
living in poverty - are likely to live in the worst environments. When regeneration
projects aim to move people into work, they need to integrate the physical and
philosophical dimensions of environmental protection and footprint analysis from
the very beginning - not as an add-on. As the report says, this can be illustrated
broadly: from the seemingly mundane, in terms of litter collections, to the fundamental,
such as the choices local businesses make about supply chains and the understanding
of individual responsibility - both as workers and citizens - for the global environment.
Educators know that young people have an interest in improving the quality
of their environment not just through voluntary clean-ups but also through their
working and life decisions. However, many young people, particularly the socially
excluded, feel unable to make the connections as to how they do this, and it is
the responsibility of Governments, funders, trainers and educators to make the
connections clear. Given that the Government works within the overarching policy
guidelines written by the European Commission, the EU has a special responsibility
for setting the strategy.
This report, I hope, will represent a further step in the process of moving London, the UK and the European Union as a whole towards a more sustainable future.
Jean Lambert MEP
Download report: June 2003
(this is the "easy to download" version
without cover or photos. The full pdf version is approximately 7.5MB and available
from jeanlambert@greenmeps.org.uk)