What is intergenerational equity? It is the principle that assumes that it is our obligation to care for and deliver to future generations a world that offers them the same development opportunities that we had. This principle is directly related to the ethical basis of the environmental order, solidarity and the paradigm that takes it seriously. As it always happens, there are those who eat a taco with their tongue and to whom the subject does not seem relevant; there are those who believe that this is a delicacy and those who have no idea. Ignorance is dangerous and therefore it is necessary to deal with the subject. It is a legitimate concern that strives for a better world, which speaks of high values; although it is also a historical convenience: if we do not take care of them, we are endangering the human being as a species.
Businesses are created, I have always said, from a need, not from good ideas. If this is the case, the need – or the desire – to make a better world, with a better quality of life for people, without any type of social, environmental or economic discrimination, constitutes a window of opportunity that few are appreciating and furthermore , constitutes the basis of sustainable development.
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It is time to talk seriously about the subject. Local public entities, and in particular municipalities, can contribute with their actions to the Sustainable Development of the territory where they operate by being closer to citizens, but also civil and social institutions, corporations, businesses, entrepreneurship projects must take part. In this sense, equity indicators, in their three social, environmental or accounting dimensions, can be used to measure and verify the correct path towards that sustainability.
Intergenerational equity seeks to look to the future, it focuses on those who have not yet set foot in this world. And, there the problem begins. In a world with characteristics of social acceleration, in which we are all absorbed in a screen, it is a lot to ask to see those who have not yet arrived if we cannot see those who are next to us.
Sadly, intergenerational equity is a very superficial subject and should be at the center of our attention. What happens is that we go to extremes: either we ignore the issue or we treat it superficially. When future generations take shape, that is, when they materialize, they acquire the right to inhabit the planet, make use of the Earth and this implies that there is the right to benefit from it. Obviously, every right has its duties. Therefore, if we are willing to have usufruct of the planet, there is also an obligation to take care of it.
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Taking care of it implies doing it for our contemporaries and for those who succeed us. The UNESCO Declaration expresses our obligation to protect the environment for which we are and for future generations; it does not mention the rights of future generations. And here we start with the problem: you need to cultivate a long-term vision. Generate in our children and young people a look that is capable of encompassing the future. The difficulty grows when we cannot get people to look up and dare to look at the real world because they are in the virtual one.
Another problem refers to the relationship that Humanity has with nature. We can situate ourselves from different points of view, depending on the social situation in which we find ourselves: as owners of nature; as participants in the natural system, with the responsibility to protect it or as collaborators. The principle of intergenerational equity assumes that human beings are part of the environment and that, having intelligence and thinking, has the duty to take care of the planet and ecosystems for future generations.
Looking at the long term is something smart, stop in the immediacy and get stuck in immediate pleasure, it is not so smart. It is true, we must have the capacity for enjoyment, although that does not mean that we have to give up the future. On the contrary, we have the ability to achieve both. It is not about being a generation of angry people, it is the other way around, it is about being active: taking care of ourselves.
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From the market configuration, we can affirm that the economic models that divided the world — capitalist, socialist, and mixed systems — were based on the implicit assumption of continuous and unlimited economic growth. This assumption generates inequity and causes intergenerational, intragenerational, interspecies, equity and sustainability problems to be ignored or at least postponed. In addition, this vision clouds the panorama and makes us see ways of resolution in the distance. To speak of intergenerational equity is to seek forms of continuity that are careful with the environment and that generate profits. It can. One thing is not at odds with the other.
Fortunately, the easiest solution to these problems would seem to be additional growth. Economic theory defined a model as healthy if it maintains continuous and high growth rates. Now, we must look for resources facing growth, according to these paradigms, they will be eliminated by the intelligent use of new technologies. More than talking about political ecology that brings together all these paradigms under the name of productivists, we should have empathy, look at the world with hope from the present and get to work on it. If we want a better future, it is necessary to build it. And, for this, it is necessary to imagine it, get out of the virtual, use it to our advantage and enjoy the real world.
The need or desire to make a better world, with a better quality of life for people, without any type of social, environmental or economic discrimination, constitutes the basis of Sustainable Development. Local public entities, and in particular municipalities, can contribute with their actions to the Sustainable Development of the territory where they operate by being closer to citizens. In this sense, equity indicators, in their three social, environmental or accounting dimensions, can be used to measure and verify the correct path towards that sustainability. It is worth learning about these issues, taking them seriously, and also learning how to do business with these paradigms.
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