Making Sustainable Development Operational

1. Making Sustainable Development Operational Alan D. Hecht Director for Sustainable Development Office of Research and Development US EPA December 1, 2003 At Harvard Research Topics in Sustainable Development Seminar, Center for International Development, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 1 December 2003

2. Today + 50 Years: Trends and Response • Growing Economy +500 % • Population +50 % • Energy and Mfg +300 % • Decouple material and energy use • Need new regulatory framework • Integrate across media From:The Weight of Nations, WRI

3. The Goal of Sustainable Development How can society meet its basic economic and social needs without undermining the natural resources and environmental quality on which life, economic growth and security depend?

4. R. M. Sokol (1991) on Sustainable Development: “If we use a given quantity of natural resources to create more wealth and more useful knowledge to find, extract and use future resources more effectively, then we can enhance future options, rather than limit present ones.”

5. Role of Science and Technology in Sustainable Development • Monitoring and assessment • See EPA Report on the Environment • Define ecologic limits • Systems Approach • Early Warning • Nannotechnology implications • Green Design and Engineering • Industrial ecology • Support design and decision-making • Smart Growth and ReVA (Regional Vulnerability Assessment) • Cost effectively meet regulatory needs • EMAP and sampling strategies

6. What Drives Sustainable Development? • Policy and Leadership • Regulations • Science and Innovation • Both regulations and science Phrases such as sustainable development will remain little more than slogans unless it can be operational and work to improve both the economy and the environment.

7. Getting the Laws Right “Sustainable development is impossible without transforming the legal structure within which human activities, transactions and initiatives occur. Getting the law right is an essential precondition to success; continuing to get it wrong guarantees continued failure despites best intentions.” J. William Futrell, Environmental Law Institute. See ELI Forum, July/August 2003

8. EPA Applied Research Strategy • Define and make available “tools for sustainable development.” • Build on local, state, regional efforts • Apply science-based solutions design and measuring of results • Create testing grounds and experiments • Integrate across programs

9. National Center for Environmental Research STAR Grant Program Research • Particulate Matter • Drinking Water • Clean Water • Global Change • Children’s Health • Endocrine Disruptors • Ecological Risk • Human Health • Pollution Prevention and New Technologies • Economics and Decision Sciences Technology for a Sustainable Environment (TSE) Nanotechnology

10. Fred Cannon at Pennsylvania State University is examining the use of Advanced Oxidation to reduce emissions and materials use in foundries. His work could enable dramatic reductions in VOC and benzene emissions, as well as reductions in coal and clay use. Effective Use of Materials in Casting

11. Percent of Environmental Programs Delegated to the States 71% 41% 1998 1993 Source: Environmental Council of States (ECOS) Why Focus on States and Regions? As expenditures to comply with environmentalregulations approach $ 180 billion/yr, there isa critical need for scientific knowledgeand tools that increase the effectiveness • of

12. From Laboratory to Local Communities to Region to State The committee recommends that EPA substantially increase its efforts to disseminate actively ORD's research products and ongoing projects, to explain their significance, and to assist others inside and outside the agency in applying them. . . . Publication of original research articles is critically important, but it is not sufficient.” Strengthening Science at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, (NRC, 2000, p 141)

13. Broader EPA Goals • Grand Challenge: Next phase of the environmental management • Partnerships with business • Use regulatory framework to stimulate innovation • Make sustainable development operational at all levels of government • Build international consensus

14. Industrial Ecology Workgroup at EPA • Cross-EPA group promoting Industrial Ecology approaches: • Life Cycle Assessment • Product Stewardship • Design for the Environment • Materials Flow Analysis • Supply Chain Management • Eco-Industrial Parks • Research http://www.epa.gov/industrialecology/

15. The EPA Laboratory for Sustainable Development • Testing ground of ideas • Coordination of approaches • Learning by example • Producing practical results • Measured results

16. is… • Risk assessment research – comparative, cumulative • Estimating condition and exposure for every point on the map • Identifying current and future environmental vulnerabilities • Projecting future impacts from 5 major drivers of change • Enabling trade-off analyses through “what if” scenarios • Informing diagnosis of current conditions • Linking environmental health with economic and human health • Working directly with clients

17. The next Generation • EPA will launch a Student Design Competition for Sustainable Development • EPA will begin evaluation of engineering and Chemical school curricula • Future: Is there a need for university centers for sustainable development and innovation?

18. International Strategy • “A New Compact for Sustainable Development (White House –CEQ) • WSSD Implementation • Standards, Global Reporting, Business leadership; Foreign Policy Supply Chain • Expand Bilateral cooperation on ‘tools for sustainable development” • Play to U.S. strengths: S&T, Capacity Building, Environmental Security

19. A New Compact for a Sustainable Future

20. Landmark Development Meetings WTO Ministerial • Launched Doha Development • Agenda; • Put development at heart of • international trade dialogue; • U.S. seeks elimination of • agricultural export subsidies. (Doha, Nov. ’01) International Conference on Financing for Development • “Monterrey Consensus”: all sources • of financing, good governance, • developing country responsibility; • President Bush announces Millennium • Challenge Account, largest increase in • U.S. development assistance since the • Marshall Plan. (Johannesburg, Aug. ’02) (Monterrey, May ‘02) World Summit On Sustainable Development • Linked social and environmental • components to development • message from Doha and • Monterrey; • Strongest language on good • governance in any UN document; • - Public-private partnerships; • U.S. launches over 20 sector- • specific initiatives.

21. U.S. Resource Flows to the Developing World in 2000: $70.5 billion

22. Administration Initiatives for Sustainable Development • Health • Agriculture/Food • Financing and Trade • Water • Energy • Biodiversity and Ecosystems • Science for Development

23. Science for Development Building capacity, ensuring access to information, strengthening the scientific basis of decision-making, and informing the public • Earth Observation Summit – In July, the U.S. hosted representatives from more than 30 countries to establish plans for an integrated international earth observation system. • Geographic Information for Sustainable Development – A partnership designed to realize the potential of a new generation of geographic information technologies to help decision-makers in developing countries meet a range of sustainable development challenges, including food security, sustainable agriculture, natural resource management, disaster mitigation, and poverty alleviation.

24. Keith Richards: According to the Rolling Stones, 2003 “… and the streets were full of horse shit because there were hardly any cars then. I really miss that about London: horse shit and coal smoke, mixed with a bit of diesel here and there. A deadly mixture –it’s probably what turned me onto drugs!”