ICS Estudos e Relatórios Nº1 / 2019

ICS E S T U D O S e R E L A T Ó R I O S 2019 Dr. Olivia Bina , Principal Researcher, Institute of Social Sciences - University of Lisbon “ What if…we never tried?” This contribution is intended as a thought-provoking perspective on some of the framing of commonly held views relevant to UHWB. I built on the description of the Workshop's Panel 1. I sought to raise two main arguments: one around the transformative potential of the sustainability agenda, and the other around the notion of goals as opposed to means. First, I question whether 'The failure of developing sustainably…' is even correct, arguing that perhaps we (rich nations) should start thinking about our performance to date as falling well short of really trying to implement sustainability in our socio-economic and socio-technical systems. To fail, you need to have tried! This allowed me to introduce the whole notion of strong sustainability, of transition and transformation theories, and argue, with many notable scholars, that the time has come to name the 'elephant in the room' of unlimited growth as a challenge that needs to be confronted. Better still, that the unspoken goal of GDP growth, which continues to drive national and local agendas, needs to be reframed into a means, not an end (concerning Herman Daly's Means and Ends Continuum). Fortunately, our gathering coincided with a remarkable return of th e Beyond GDP agenda in the European Parliament . Nonetheless, its noteworthy nature highlights the unsatisfactory progress made to date, even in such a wealthy part of the world. The lack of vision, with reference to the work of Donella Meadows, undermines real progress to a just and ecologically sustainable future. Second, I suggested that the agenda of UHWB could usefully contribute to redressing some of these fundamental critiques, but reframing its focus not (only) as a set of undesired negative impacts, or as indicators of qualities that need to increase (i.e.: 'climate change and the negative impacts it has on human health and wellbeing'), but (also) as an overarching goal. Alternatively, to use Daly's framework: an ultimate goal that informs and shapes our socio-economic, socio-ecological systems. Here the UHWB program would refer to 'all life,' including humans and non-humans. Hence the recommendation would be to add or make explicit this dimension of 'goal' in the UHWB programme and build a vision for the 21st cities that are designed, managed, and lived to fulfil it.