n an era marked by unprecedented global challenges—rising economic inequities, ecological collapse, and growing disillusionment with and fractured trust in an ‘unfulfilled’ multilateralism—the case for systemic reform could not be clearer. Development can no longer be measured in narrow economic terms while fundamental human rights are treated as an afterthought. The G20—which accounts for 80% of global GDP and two–thirds of the world’s population—has the power and responsibility to change this trajectory. Doing so will require a bold systems approach that prioritizes human rights—as a foundation of social justice and prosperity—and the sustainability of our planet over outdated metrics of progress.
Prosperity and Human Rights
Human rights are more than ethical imperatives; they are the bedrock of social justice and economic stability. But rights are lived experiences, not abstract ideals. The G20 is uniquely positioned to champion the urgent systemic change needed to rebalance today’s data:
- Economic inequality. The World Bank estimates that nearly 10% of the world’s population—700 million people—live on less than $2.15 a day, while the wealthiest 1% captured over 60% of all new wealth created.
- Climate vulnerability. Climate change has displaced an average of 21.5 million people annually from 2008–2019, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This disproportionately affects marginalized communities.
- Health inequities. The World Health Organization estimates that 1.4 billion people lack access to basic healthcare.
- Debt trap. Countries with climate vulnerabilities face the burden of accumulating debt to recover from disasters while paying off debt incurred from the previous crisis.
These figures underscore the failure of a development model that prioritizes short–term growth over long–term resilience, one that inadequately measures the total cost of economic activity, and skews incentives towards perpetuating global inequalities and undermining prosperity.
Right to a Stable Planetary Ecology
A groundbreaking development in human rights discourse is the recognition of the right to a stable planetary ecology. The United Nations Human Rights Council’s 2021 resolution recognizing access to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment as a human right is a watershed moment. This acknowledgment connects ecological sustainability directly to human dignity, health, and security.
The implications of this are profound. This right to a stable planetary ecology asserts the rights of all parts of that ecology—human and non–human, individual and collective—to sustainability. This systemic view ensures that no single aspect of development—whether economic growth, social equity, or environmental sustainability—is pursued at the expense of others. For example, resources need to be allocated efficiently and equitable to avoid leaving billions behind (distributional equity); policies are needed to protect biodiversity, regulate emissions, and promote regenerative agriculture (ecological rights); and fairness and equity are necessary to give greater voice to low–income countries at multilateral institutions (governance reform).
Call to Leadership
This is more than just a policy debate—it is a moral reckoning. Human rights and ecological stability are not luxuries. They are prerequisites for a livable future of stable, global prosperity. The G20 must act boldly and help shift the paradigm to align development with human rights and ecological sustainability. By embracing a systems approach, fostering multi–stakeholder partnerships to achieve global outcomes, modulating global governance arrangements, especially at institutions within the global financial architecture, and innovating on purposeful finance, the G20 can lead the world toward a new paradigm—one where development serves people and planet alike, one where prosperity is shared, ecosystems are protected, and justice prevails.
The G20 has already taken some important steps, but needs to be bolder. Here are ten priorities for further G20 action.
- A new anchor (beyond GDP). Start implementing the UN–defined Productive Capacity Function (the existing Productive Capacity Index being a realized variant of the PCF). The UN Pact for the Future calls for indicators that capture additional dimensions of prosperity: environmental health, social equity, and wellbeing.
- Revised objective function. Support the foundational objective of maximizing the UN–defined productive capacity of the planet subject to staying within planetary boundaries to assure sustainability.
- Value nature. Require a more accurate total cost function approach that measures the contribution of each activity to the sustainability of the planet’s ecosystem, creating value for natural assets (afforestation and marine restoration), and incentivizing nature–based solutions for our global challenges.
- Joint responsibility. Embrace a reimagined partnership between public sector, private sector, and civil society focused on multi–stakeholder engagement for charting and implementing mission oriented national goals.
- Reform multilateralism. Advocate actively for governance reforms at all institutions capable of influencing the stability of the planet’s ecosystem, to align inequity reducing strategies and resilience building priorities with this foundational constraint.
- Right-to-ecology frameworks. Support international agreements that embed the right to a stable planetary ecology in development policy, adopting metrics on ecological health and social wellbeing.
- Human rights–ased climate finance: Prioritize the most vulnerable, ensuring that adaptation and mitigation efforts align with the principles of equity and justice. This includes funding for communities disproportionately affected by climate impacts, such as Indigenous peoples and small island states.
- Climate resilience investments. Commit to increase funding on integrated, outcomes–driven climate adaptation and mitigation projects, to achieve net–zero emissions by 2050 and bolster climate resilience.
- State–contingent instruments. Encourage development of state–contingent assets that reward performance on ecological sustainability targets, including strengthening internal resilience capacity of countries.
- Global wealth tax. Advocate for a modest global tax to support resilience ecosystems and social rights (e.g. universal healthcare and educational equity) in countries that are characterized as high–vulnerability and low–resilience.
This integrated focus on human rights, stable planetary ecology, and resilient prosperity triage acknowledges the role of interlinkages in defining the global system as well as the dynamic transitions that sustain the integrity of the system over time. Further, it encompasses a just transition—one that ensures the costs of decarbonization or overall sustainability of the planet are aligned with the principles of justice and sustainability and not borne disproportionately by the world’s poorest.
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G20 must lead on just development, sustainable planet
Access to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment has been recognized as a human right by the UN. Image by Alain Audet from Pixabay
November 18, 2024
The case for systemic reform of our global institutions is clear. Development must be measured not in narrow economic terms, but prioritizing social justice, human prosperity, and sustainability, write Gene Leon and Sarah Saadoun.
I
n an era marked by unprecedented global challenges—rising economic inequities, ecological collapse, and growing disillusionment with and fractured trust in an ‘unfulfilled’ multilateralism—the case for systemic reform could not be clearer. Development can no longer be measured in narrow economic terms while fundamental human rights are treated as an afterthought. The G20—which accounts for 80% of global GDP and two–thirds of the world’s population—has the power and responsibility to change this trajectory. Doing so will require a bold systems approach that prioritizes human rights—as a foundation of social justice and prosperity—and the sustainability of our planet over outdated metrics of progress.
Prosperity and Human Rights
Human rights are more than ethical imperatives; they are the bedrock of social justice and economic stability. But rights are lived experiences, not abstract ideals. The G20 is uniquely positioned to champion the urgent systemic change needed to rebalance today’s data:
- Economic inequality. The World Bank estimates that nearly 10% of the world’s population—700 million people—live on less than $2.15 a day, while the wealthiest 1% captured over 60% of all new wealth created.
- Climate vulnerability. Climate change has displaced an average of 21.5 million people annually from 2008–2019, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This disproportionately affects marginalized communities.
- Health inequities. The World Health Organization estimates that 1.4 billion people lack access to basic healthcare.
- Debt trap. Countries with climate vulnerabilities face the burden of accumulating debt to recover from disasters while paying off debt incurred from the previous crisis.
These figures underscore the failure of a development model that prioritizes short–term growth over long–term resilience, one that inadequately measures the total cost of economic activity, and skews incentives towards perpetuating global inequalities and undermining prosperity.
Right to a Stable Planetary Ecology
A groundbreaking development in human rights discourse is the recognition of the right to a stable planetary ecology. The United Nations Human Rights Council’s 2021 resolution recognizing access to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment as a human right is a watershed moment. This acknowledgment connects ecological sustainability directly to human dignity, health, and security.
The implications of this are profound. This right to a stable planetary ecology asserts the rights of all parts of that ecology—human and non–human, individual and collective—to sustainability. This systemic view ensures that no single aspect of development—whether economic growth, social equity, or environmental sustainability—is pursued at the expense of others. For example, resources need to be allocated efficiently and equitable to avoid leaving billions behind (distributional equity); policies are needed to protect biodiversity, regulate emissions, and promote regenerative agriculture (ecological rights); and fairness and equity are necessary to give greater voice to low–income countries at multilateral institutions (governance reform).
Call to Leadership
This is more than just a policy debate—it is a moral reckoning. Human rights and ecological stability are not luxuries. They are prerequisites for a livable future of stable, global prosperity. The G20 must act boldly and help shift the paradigm to align development with human rights and ecological sustainability. By embracing a systems approach, fostering multi–stakeholder partnerships to achieve global outcomes, modulating global governance arrangements, especially at institutions within the global financial architecture, and innovating on purposeful finance, the G20 can lead the world toward a new paradigm—one where development serves people and planet alike, one where prosperity is shared, ecosystems are protected, and justice prevails.
The G20 has already taken some important steps, but needs to be bolder. Here are ten priorities for further G20 action.
- A new anchor (beyond GDP). Start implementing the UN–defined Productive Capacity Function (the existing Productive Capacity Index being a realized variant of the PCF). The UN Pact for the Future calls for indicators that capture additional dimensions of prosperity: environmental health, social equity, and wellbeing.
- Revised objective function. Support the foundational objective of maximizing the UN–defined productive capacity of the planet subject to staying within planetary boundaries to assure sustainability.
- Value nature. Require a more accurate total cost function approach that measures the contribution of each activity to the sustainability of the planet’s ecosystem, creating value for natural assets (afforestation and marine restoration), and incentivizing nature–based solutions for our global challenges.
- Joint responsibility. Embrace a reimagined partnership between public sector, private sector, and civil society focused on multi–stakeholder engagement for charting and implementing mission oriented national goals.
- Reform multilateralism. Advocate actively for governance reforms at all institutions capable of influencing the stability of the planet’s ecosystem, to align inequity reducing strategies and resilience building priorities with this foundational constraint.
- Right-to-ecology frameworks. Support international agreements that embed the right to a stable planetary ecology in development policy, adopting metrics on ecological health and social wellbeing.
- Human rights–ased climate finance: Prioritize the most vulnerable, ensuring that adaptation and mitigation efforts align with the principles of equity and justice. This includes funding for communities disproportionately affected by climate impacts, such as Indigenous peoples and small island states.
- Climate resilience investments. Commit to increase funding on integrated, outcomes–driven climate adaptation and mitigation projects, to achieve net–zero emissions by 2050 and bolster climate resilience.
- State–contingent instruments. Encourage development of state–contingent assets that reward performance on ecological sustainability targets, including strengthening internal resilience capacity of countries.
- Global wealth tax. Advocate for a modest global tax to support resilience ecosystems and social rights (e.g. universal healthcare and educational equity) in countries that are characterized as high–vulnerability and low–resilience.
This integrated focus on human rights, stable planetary ecology, and resilient prosperity triage acknowledges the role of interlinkages in defining the global system as well as the dynamic transitions that sustain the integrity of the system over time. Further, it encompasses a just transition—one that ensures the costs of decarbonization or overall sustainability of the planet are aligned with the principles of justice and sustainability and not borne disproportionately by the world’s poorest.
