The world commits to protecting the wellbeing of present and future generations at the United Nations
Generation Squeeze had a unique opportunity this week to join world leaders at the United Nations in New York for a global milestone event — the adoption of the first ever Declaration on Future Generations. The Declaration affirms the responsibilities we collectively hold today to those who follow, calling on governments at all levels to “safeguard the needs and interests of future generations.”
After a decade plus of working with our supporters to get generational fairness on the radar of governments, and joining in common cause with international allies, this is a big moment!
Gen Squeeze is adding its voice to the chorus of global optimism about what the Declaration has potential to yield. We’re hopeful it can be the antidote to the short-term thinking that seduces the present to colonize the future. With any luck, it will help bring about the end of a painful era of over-extraction from younger and future generations — and the unaffordable housing, growing debts, and risky climate left in its wake.
The Declaration is especially timely in Canada, coming on the heels of Ottawa’s game-changing budget promise of Fairness for Every Generation. The Prime Minister rightly acknowledged this critical milestone in his remarks to the UN General Assembly, and how it’s driving investment in things like child care, a school meal program, and climate action. But he stopped short of committing Canada to the kind of actions needed to claim a place as a global leader on generational fairness.
Wales has a Commissioner for Future Generations. The European Commission just appointed a Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness. Canada needs one too, because one budget isn’t enough to reverse the deteriorating wellbeing of younger and future generations. Or to restore the intergenerational solidarity we need to make sure Canadians of all ages can thrive.
As we pivot from celebrating the Declaration’s adoption to shaping the best ways to secure practical implementation of its commitments, Canada isn’t alone in seeking to harness current momentum.
In New York, we joined the School of International Futures, Foundations for Tomorrow, and civil society and government leaders from around the world, to explore how to make sure countries live up to the Declaration’s potential. There’s much wisdom on which to draw. Kenya is working towards adopting legislation supported by parliamentary bodies on future wellbeing. Brazil is focusing on engaging younger people in building a futures agenda. Wales is sharing its pioneering wellbeing legislation and Commissioner model.
The adoption of the Declaration by countries around the world affirms that the wellbeing of younger and future generations is a priority that cuts across cultural, linguistic and ideological lines. It’s a bedrock principle for national and multilateral governance — not a short-term partisan goal.
That’s why we hope you’ll join us and other Canadians in calling for an Act to Safeguard the Wellbeing of Present and Future Generations.
Making sure generational fairness remains a focus for all future governments is necessary for Canada to turn the commitments to younger and future generations embodied by the UN Declaration into reality.
Gen Squeeze Senior Director of Research & Knowledge Mobilization Andrea Long at the United Nations Summit of the Future