by Edward Milford
6. February 2009 07:48
What gives a word, particularly an abstract one, a meaning? Philosophers will argue that for ages, but one test is if it can actually inform decision-making. The s-word, sustainability, is one of the most over-used in politics and policy making. Everybody wants to be able to attach the label ‘sustainability’ to their favourite policy. Yet, if everything is sustainable, then the word loses all meaning.
In the UK, the Government has recently given the go-ahead for a new runway at London’s Heathrow airport; it also claims that it is taking the lead on tackling climate change. A new runway will inevitably lead to a growth in the number of flights, and even the most enthusiastic advocates of more efficient air travel acknowledge that this will lead to more CO2 emisisons.
This is the choice; a new runway at Heathrow is simply incompatible with sustainability. A Government can decide to build a new runway with the aim of promoting short-term conventional economic growth whatever the cost in resources (and presumably hope that ‘something may turn up’ to address the longer-term issue of climate change). The same Government, however, can never then claim to be tackling climate change and to have ‘sustainability’ at the heart of its agenda; the s-word would have expired completely if that was the case.
