beyond gdp conference brussels saboia ana brazilian institute for geography and statistics(ibge)...

8/9/2019 Beyond GDP Conference Brussels Saboia Ana Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics(IBGE) Brazil Saks Katrin

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Overview Conferencebackground papers


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Beyond GDP: Measuring progress, true wealth, and the well-being of nations304

Overview Conference background papers

Measurement Beyond GDPBart Wesselink, Jan Bakkes, Aaron Best, Friedrich Hinterbergerand Patrick ten Brink . 2007.Full paper available at: http:/ / ww w .beyond-gdp.eu/ download/ bgdp-bp-mbgdp.pdf

Abstract

Policy makers and the general public would bene tsigni cantly from improvements in our ability toassess the well-being of people and the health of nature. Being able to discern and measure progressmore comprehensively than with GDP per capita isa key prerequisite for improved decision making.Since the early 1990s, a broad range of indica-tors have been developed to assess our progress,many of them developed in the context of helpingto achieve the objective of sustainable develop-ment. More recently, attention has been paid toimproving our ability to measure well-being andhappiness. These new indicators and measurementapproaches both challenge and complement thetraditional economic indicators that continue toplay a dominant role in guiding decisions.

This brief paper provides a historical and theoreti-cal background for the November 2007 conferenceBeyond GDP: Measuring progress, true wealthand the well-being of nations. The paper suggestsseveral lines along which the role of different indi-cators used by policy makers, the media and theirconstituencies can be strengthened. These possibleways forward include:

Indicator sets the development of indicatorsets with a small number of high-level indicatorswith a strong signalling function;

Application of existing aggregated single-num-ber indicators in a forward-looking manner usingpresent-day and future modelling capacities;

Satellite accounts improvement and imple-mentation of the Integrated Environmental andEconomic Accounting (SEEA) system, including

environmental asset accounts. For example,increasing application in of cial statistics of Genuine Savings at the national level; and

Risk assessment including economic risks of ecological decline in economic outlooks even if theycannot be quanti ed and monetised with certainty.

Quantitative and qualitative surveys of emerging concepts like quality of life, life-sat-isfaction, well-being, happiness.

In this paper, we also introduce the policy cycle as aframework to show how different indicator approachescan serve, or be tailored for, speci c phases of thepolicy cycle. The paper primarily uses environmen-tal indicators as illustrative examples of the variousindicator types, but the same arguments extend tosocial and economic indicators as well. Using thepolicy-cycle framework reveals the key strengths of each indicator approach and points to a way forwardwhere multiple measurement approaches, comple-mentary to GDP, can be relied upon for improvingmeasurement and decision making.

Beyond GDP: Overview paper for the Beyond GDP conference Marcel Canoy, and Frdric Lerais, 2007Bureau of European Policy Advisers (BEPA), European Commission.Full paper available at: http:/ / w w w .beyond-gdp.eu/ dow nload/ bgdp-bp-bepa.pdf

The European Commission, European Parliament,

Club of Rome, OECD and WWF will host a high-levelconference with the objectives of clarifying whichindicators are most appropriate to measure well-being, and how these can best be integrated into

the decision-making process and taken up by publicdebate. The conference will bring together high-level experts and policy makers to address thesecritical issues. Over 300 people from economic,social and environmental spheres will attend.


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The conference will host several high-levelspeakers, including internationally recognisedleaders and government representatives, mem-bers of the European Parliament as well asspeakers from civil society, think tanks, industry,and key institutions such as the World Bank andthe United Nations. European CommissionersJos Manuel Barroso, Joaqun Almunia, StavrosDimas and Vladimir pidla are con rmed speak-ers. Preceding the main political conference,an expert workshop will be held, where lead-

ing practitioners will consider progress in thedevelopment and policy application of indicatorsof well-being.

There is a sense of urgency to discuss mea-sures of well-being that move beyond GDP. Theinterdependent, global and long-term natureof current challenges such as human capitalinvestment, environmental challenges, migra-tion and security issues, requires a broad viewon well-being and ways to measure it.

Alternative progress indicators to Gross Domestic Product(GDP) as a means towards sustainable developmentYanne Goossens et al. 2007 IP/A/ENVI/ST/2007-10.Study provided for the European Parliaments Committee on theEnvironment, Public Health and Food Safety.Full paper available at: http:/ / www.beyond-gdp.eu/ download/ bgdp-bp-goossens.pdf

Executive summary

Assessing existing policies or developing newpolicy options requires indicators showing wherea community stands, where it is going and howfar it is from where it wants to be. Indicatorsare necessary in all steps of the policy cycle:to describe the current situation/problem; toanalyse the causes; to identify possible solu-tions and analyse, select and implement policyproposals; to monitor and evaluate the policiesand to communicate the outcomes at all stepsof the policy cycle.

Economic performance is generally being mea-sured through GDP (Gross Domestic Product), avariable that has also become the de facto uni-versal metric for standards of living. However,GDP does not properly account for social andenvironmental costs and bene ts. It is also dif- cult to achieve sustainable decision-makingaiming at sustainable progress and wellbeingif welfare is being considered from a purely nancial point of view. Sustainable developmentcan be de ned as Development that meets theneeds of the present without compromising theability of future generations to meet their own

needs. Therefore, in order to effectively mea-sure progress, wealth and well-being, one mustgo beyond GDP . This requires clear and at thesame time multidimensional indicators show-

ing the links among a communitys economy,environment, and society.

The study highlights the bene ts and some of the shortcomings of GDP. It serves a crucial andhelpful role in macroeconomic policy, both mon-etary and scal policies. GDP is also fairly uniquein that it combines simplicity, linearity and uni-versality, as well as carries the objectivity of the

observable market price as its guiding principle.Attempting to abolish GDP, therefore, would beneither feasible nor recommendable. The realproblem presumably is that GDP growth is toooften confused with (sustainable) welfare growthin peoples, and policy-makers, minds. While

there certainly is a correlation between the two,this study shows that this is a highly conditionalcorrelation, void of substantial causality for GDPlevels observable in the European Union.

Failing the discovery of a perfect substitute,GDP can continued to be used for (economic)reform assessments and particular questions of economic policy (such as scal and monetarypolicy), but beware of interpreting it as a generalsustainable development and welfare measuregiving any substantial and universally valid idea

about peoples well-being. For these purposes, itis better to turn to alternative measures goingbeyond GDP, some of which were analysed inthis study.


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Using so called SWOT analyses, several alterna-tive progress indicators have been assessed in thecontext of this study. This allows for an assessmentof the internal Strengths and Weaknesses andthe externally-driven Opportunities and Threatsof each indicator for going beyond GDP 1. To doso, the selected indicators have been divided inthree categories: those replacing, adjusting andsupplementing GDP (the latter being divided intotwo subcategories).The rst category containsindicators adjusting GDP . In this approach,traditional economic performance measures likeGDP or national saving rates have been adjustedby including monetised environmental and socialfactors. Such indicators can serve as a valuablecommunication tool whereby the end result sendsout a positive or negative signal to the audience.However, dif culties arise when trying to monetiseenvironmental and social factors.

The category replacing GDP contains indicatorsthat try to assess wellbeing more directly thanGDP, e.g. by assessing average satisfaction orthe achievement of basic human functions. Byreplacing GDP, these indicators might not appro-priately consider the advantages of GDP which is

not always a realistic option for decision-making.Nevertheless, these indicators can serve as valu-able instruments to improve public participationand to assess and communicate several aspectsof sustainability and well-being.

The category supplementing GDP seems to bethe most realistic and acceptable option for goingbeyond GDP. Within this approach, GDP is beingcomplemented with additional environmental and/or social information. A rst group are the sat-ellite account systems which complement theconventional statistical national accounts withenvironmental and/or social information. A secondgroup sets social and environmental informationin relation to GDP. For the rst group, a good deal

of statistical data is already available and bestpractices of its use and its potential for decision-making exist. However, in comparison to the GDPitself these approaches often lack public percep-tion and political support. The establishment of anoverarching, transparent and popular referenceindicators system for EU policies might thereforebe the next step for improving decision-making insupport of sustainable development.

Measuring Well-being and Societal ProgressEnrico Giovannini, Jon Hall and Marco Mira dErcole , 2007.Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.Full paper available at: http:/ / ww w.beyond-gdp.eu/ download/ oecd_measuring-progress.pdf

Introduction

For many years, using a monetary measure likeGDP per capita as a proxy for the populations well-being made much sense, at least for developedcountries. GDP per capita provides an accuratemeasure of a countrys capacity to deal with thematerial needs of its residents. And so long as thebasic necessities of life remain scarce, additions toGDP per capita can be expected to equate closelywith improvements in meeting the populationsbasic needs, and hence in greater well-being.

The consensus on the use of GDP per capita asa good proxy measure of well-being is, however,becoming less obvious also for economists, as the

more developed societies move from a situation of scarcity to a situation of plenty. The intuitive notionthat, once a certain level of material needs hasbeen met, further increments in economic growth

will not yield the same improvements in the well-being of the citizens is backed up by numerousstudies that indicate that this divergence betweenadded income and added well-being holds true

both within and across societies. At the same time,concerns have emerged on how economic growthled in many countries to environmental depletion,an element that is not included at all in GDP.

Several studies have been published over the lasttwo decades on alternative measures of well-being/quality of life/ sustainable development/ societalprogress, all terms closely related to each other.Academic researchers, of cial statisticians andinternational organisations have proposed alterna-tive measures, which can be classi ed according

to different criteria. A consensus has not emergedyet on the best way to go, but with the IstanbulDeclaration signed in June 2007, at the end of theII OECD World Forum on Statistics, Knowledge and


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Policy by the European Commission, the OECD,the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, theUnited Nations, the United Nations DevelopmentProgramme, UNICEF and the World Bank onecan say that the need to go beyond GDP isnow fully recognised at political level.

This paper presents a synthetic review of dif-ferent approaches to the measurement of well-being. The review does not quote all initiativesand proposals, but provides an overview of what alternative approaches propose and someempirical evidence, as well as some informationabout research projects currently underway inthe international statistical community. The rstpart of this paper considers four approaches to

measuring well-being, especially looking at thesocial side of it 1 . First, it presents evidence onthe importance for well-being of social indicatorsand on the extent to which they are correlated

with GDP per capita. Second, it reviews mon-etary measures of economic resources derivedfrom national accounts. Third, it looks at ways inwhich these monetary measures can be adjustedto take into account other factors that in uencewell-being, in particular leisure time, householdsize and aversion to inequality. Finally, it con-siders subjective measures of happiness andlife satisfaction.

The second part of the paper deals with morerecent initiatives undertaken at internationallevel to measure sustainable development, espe-cially to incorporate environmental concerns andphenomena. Finally, the third part describesrecent OECD initiatives: the main conclusions

of the recent Istanbul Forum and the contentof the Global Project launched by the OECD tomeasure the Progress of Societies.

Accounting for the Environment - The European

DevelopmentElisabeth Mollgaard . 2007. Eurostat, Unit E-3: Environment statistics,European Commission.Full paper available at: http:/ / www.beyond-gdp.eu/ download/ bgdp-bp-mollgaard.pdf

Economic and social aspects of our society in u-ence the pressures that are exerted on environ-mental systems. The environmental accountingframework (SEEA, 2003) is particularly usefulto assess the in uence of the economy on theenvironment both directly and indirectly. Theenvironmental accounts have the advantagethat they are consistent with National Accounts.Furthermore, they can be coupled to input-output tables, which make it possible to performin-depth analyses of the relationship betweenthe economy and the environment. In this paperwe will summarise the activities in the Europeancountries and the main future challenges inorder to Account for the Environment.

The economy is a complex system of which

extraction of natural resources, production, con-sumption, technology, investment, imports andexports, and release of wastes (and pollution)are just a few of the many different interrelated

dimensions. All these different aspects of theeconomy may have detrimental or bene cialeffects on environmental pressures.

The System of Integrated Environmental and

Economic Accounting (SEEA) has been developedto link environmental and economic statistics.An important characteristic of environmentalaccounting is that the data are consistent withthe National Accounts which mean that theenvironmental data can be directly compared towell known macro-economic indicators such asGDP, in ation and investment rates, developedin the System of National Accounts (SNA).

Speci c accounts in the SEEA cover e.g. (1)natural resources such as forests, oil and gas

(stocks); (2) ow accounts for material use,air emissions, water, waste; and (3) economicaccounts for environmental expenditure and rev-enues, eco-industries and taxes. Combined with

1 This paper draws on analysis provided in Boarini et al . (2006) and in OECD (2006a).


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the national accounts, the environmental accountsprovide a powerful tool to analyse to what extentour current production and consumption patternsare degrading natural resources or are pollutingthe environment. Up to now there no work to putthese pressures in relation to potential thresholdsin the environment beyond those the degradationbecomes irreversible and how the degradation of the environment harms the economy. In additionthe data includes information about policy measuressuch as environmental related taxes or subsidies.

Environmental Accounts can answer tricky politicalquestions and give a complement to environmental

statistics: are we reaching the desired decoupling(economic growth with less and less impact on theenvironment)? Are we respecting the Kyoto tar-gets in terms of greenhouse gas emissions or arewe simply exporting the emissions by relocatingproduction activities? What are the more or lessharmful economic sectors for the environment?What is the productivity from natural resources atEuropean level? How much employment is gener-ated by environmental protection? Are eco-indus-tries growing? Are Market-based policy instrumentsincreasingly used?

Accounting fully for ecosystem services and human well-beingEEA contribution to the Beyond GDP conference, 2007. EuropeanEnvironment Agency.Full paper available at: http:/ / ww w.beyond-gdp.eu/ download/ bgdp-bp-eea.pdf

Because National Accounts are based on nancialtransactions, they account nothing for Nature to

which we dont owe anything in terms of pay-ments but to which we owe everything in termsof livelihood.

Bertrand de Jouvenel, Arcadie, 1968

Intro duction: Ecosystem services and humanwell-being

An ecosystem is a dynamic complex of plant, ani-mal, and micro-organism communities and thenon-living environment interacting as a functionalunit between themselves and with human economicand social systems. There are a wide range of ecosystems in Europe and globally from thoserelatively undisturbed, such as natural forests, tolandscapes with mixed patterns of human use, toecosystems intensively managed and modi ed byhumans, such as agricultural land an urban areas.For operational assessment and valuation, ecosys-tems have to be considered as socio-ecologicalsystems.

Ecosystem services are the bene ts people obtainfrom ecosystems. These include provisioningservices such as food, water, timber, and ber;regulating services that affect climate, oods,soil, disease, wastes, and water quality; cultural

services that provide recreational, aesthetic, andspiritual bene ts ( see Figure 1 ).

Human well-being is assumed to have multiple con-stituents, including the basic material for a good life ,such as secure and adequate livelihoods, enoughfood at all times, shelter, clothing, and access togoods; health, including feeling well and havinga healthy physical environment, such as clean airand access to clean water; good social relations, including social cohesion, mutual respect, and theability of help others and provide for children; secu-rity, including secure access to natural and otherresources, personal safety, and security from naturaland human-made disasters; and freedom of choiceand action, including the opportunity to achievewhat an individual values doing and being.

People are integral parts of ecosystems and adynamic interaction exists between them andother parts of ecosystems, with the changinghuman condition driving, both directly and indi-rectly, changes in ecosystems and thereby causingchanges in human well-being. At the same time,social, economic, and cultural factors unrelated toecosystems alter the human conditions, and manynatural forces in uence ecosystems. The actions

that people take in uence ecosystems not justfrom concern about human well-being but alsofrom considerations of the intrinsic value of spe-cies and ecosystems.



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Well Being StoriesAndrea Saltelli, Jochen Jesinghaus and Giuseppe Munda, European

Commission, Joint Research Centre, Ispra (Italy)Full paper available at: http:/ / www.beyond-gdp.eu/ download/ bgdp-bp-saltelli.pdf

Abstract

This paper deals with the dif cult issue of measuring well-being. We are aware thatthis concept is very complex and we are notgiving any nal answer here. However weare convinced that even the simple attemptof measuring well-being may produce valu-

able lessons to be learned at a societal level.This paper tackles with three main issues:

1. The role of GDP as main policy indicator2. Lessons learned from already existing

well-being stories3. Practical steps to develop an empirical

well-being composite indicator.

IntroductionThe European Commission is bound to pro-pose evidence based policies to Council andParliament. These policies originate in the social,economic or environmental policy spheres butoften have impacts across a number of policyareas.

The European Commission uses a range of indi-cators to support policy making in its various

steps, from awareness rising, decision-makingto monitoring of implementation. The overallindicator picture is dynamic rather than static more indicators are being used and existingindicators are being continually updated andupgraded. The indicators used differ in theirmake-up, coverage, and the emphasis put onthem. What they have in common is that theyhave been designed to be used, and since thepolicy context differs from situation to situationso does their design.

The use of indicators in the European CommissionStephen White and Oliver Zwirner, 2007. Directorate-General Environment,Unit Sustainable Development and Economic Analysis, European CommissionFull paper available at: http:/ / www.beyond-gdp.eu/ download/ bgdp-bp-white.pdf

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Annexes


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Dear participants,

On behalf of the conference partners, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the Beyond GDPconference.

The maxim that we need to measure what matters has grown increasingly important over theyears. Never before has so much information been available on such a wide array of topics. Andas new challenges emerge so do new measures. Who could have predicted decades ago thattodays society would be talking of CO 2 concentrations in our planets atmosphere?

The conference partners the European Commission, European Parliament, Club of Rome, WWFand OECD are each committed to improving how we measure, evaluate, communicate andrespond to the challenges of our times. Our hope is that this conference will be an important

catalyst for the work to come in improving our measures of progress, true wealth, and the well-being of nations so that we can manage our new challenges.

I would like to thank all the organisers and staff for their hard work putting on this conference,and especially the European Parliament for their hospitality in offering to host the event in theHemicycle. We have gathered an impressive array of speakers and chairs for both the confer-ence and expert workshop, and I am grateful to each of them for sharing their experience andinsights with us.

Lastly, and most importantly, I thank each of the participants for your contributions at the con-ference and in the future work to come.

Sincerely,

Stavros DimasCommissioner for the EnvironmentEuropean Commission

Welcome letter to the participants Annex 1


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Quotes from the Partners

Jos Manuel Barroso President of the European Commission

It is not enough for us to talk about freedom,climate change, health, security and the envi-ronment. We need widely accepted communi-cation tools that show progress in these elds.And that progress can only be measured withsuitable indicators. So it's time to go beyondthe tools developed for the very different worldof the 1930s. It's time to go beyond today'sconfusing surfeit of unorganised data. It's timeto go beyond GDP.

Hans-Gert P tteringPresident of the European Parliament

Major negative effects of globalisation such asclimate change pose new risks not only to oureco-system but to our entire economies andeventually our societies as a whole. This is whynew indicators of wealth are needed and theEuropean Parliament - the EU's directly-elected

body which is answerable to the citizens - canplay a key role in helping to shape the requiredbroad democratic consensus.

Ashok KhoslaCo-President, Club of Rome

If we are to end gross disparity and poverty,reduce rampant climate change and speciesextinction, avoid massive depletion and destruc-tion of resources and preempt the resultingovershoot and collapse of societies, we mustgo well beyond simplistic indicators such as thegross domestic product that have today becomethe grossest mismeasures of progress.

Pier Carlo Padoan Deputy Secretary-General, OECD

The OECD believes better statistical informationis an essential support to democratic govern-ance. So, yes, the OECD thinks it is time to moveBeyond GDP to provide better and more usefulinformation. We believe that by using GDP andindicators covering other aspects of our life it ispossible to develop new measures of progressand we are ready to support the growing glo-bal movement which shares these views. Thisis why we have launched a Global Project on Measuring the Progress of Societies.

HE Chief Emeka AnyaokuPresident, WWF

What we currently measure as developmentis a long way away from the EU and worldsstated aim of sustainable development. This isbecause economic decisions routinely ignorenatural capital expenditure. Economic indica-

tors are essential, but without natural resourceaccounting, ecological de cits will go unnoticedand ignored. It is as if we spent our moneywithout realizing that we are liquidating theplanets capital.

Press Pack

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Annex 2


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IP /07 /1718 Brussels, 19 November 2007

GDP no longer a good measure of w ell-being

Moving towards a low-carbon economy, preserv-ing biodiversity, promoting resource ef ciency andachieving social cohesion are today as important aseconomic growth. Measuring these elements in acomprehensive manner to quantify the well-being of a country is highly complex and most economic indi-cators used today such as GDP (Gross DomesticProduct) do not fully address these issues.

The GDP indicator was created in the wake of the

great depression and the subsequent second worldwar as a means of providing decision-makers witha measure of economic performance and activity.But today's economy and society are substantiallydifferent from those of the mid-20th century whenGDP was conceived.

GDP has arguably helped decision-makers avoida second great depression, guide reconstructionefforts after the war and maintain unprecedentedeconomic growth over the past 40 years. But theindicator alone cannot re ect all facets and needsof modern society. Indeed a growing GDP can

mask substantial losses in wealth and well-being.A country could, for example, cut down all itsforests or send children to work instead of schooland this would have a positive effect on GDP ora hurricane killing thousands and wreaking wide-spread destruction could prove bene cial to GDPdue to the ensuing reconstruction efforts.

Moving beyond GDP

GDP indicates that the output of the world's majoreconomies have been growing steadily from the1950s to date. But using other indicators it is clearthat progress has not kept pace with GDP and thatduring certain periods some countries' economicwelfare has even stagnated.

Over the last two decades a number of alterna-tive indicators have been designed to complementGDP in measuring progress and the health of theeconomy. They introduce aspects not coveredby GDP such as the long-term accumulation of wealth (natural, economic and social), the levelsof life expectancy, literacy, and education andthe negative impact of pollution and resourcedegradation.

Some of these indicators are already in use todayto measure real progress in setting targets and

objectives. In March 2001 the Welsh Assemblywas the rst administration in the world to do so.However, these indicators are neither homogene-ous nor is their use widespread.

The European Union is now developing an indicatorthat would measure environmental progress andalso use integrated accounting and other sub-indicators to improve policy-making. A preliminaryversion is due to be operational by 2009. Theinitiative is linked to the Global Project launchedby the OECD at the Istanbul World Forum (June2007) where a call was made on the need forinternational indicators to measure the progress of societies. Another Beyond GDP conference partner the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) hasestablished an indicator which takes into accountthe depletion of ecological assets.

The Beyond GDP conference

The Beyond GDP conference is the launching padfor the political debate on the need to move beyondthe principles of Gross Domestic Product. It willbe held at the European Parliament building in

Brussels. Some 600 participants from the economic,social and environmental sectors will be attending.Speakers include Jos Manuel Barroso (Presidentof the European Commission), Hans-Gert Pttering

Press Pack Annex 2

Measuring progress, wealth and the well-being of nation sM e as u r i n g p r o g r e s s, t r u e w e a lt h a n d t h e w e l l- b e i n g o f n a t i o n s a r e t h e t o p i cs t h a t w i l l b e d i s c u s s e d a t a h i g h - l e v e l c o n f e r e n c e o n 1 9 - 2 0 N o v e m b e r o rg a n i s e d b y t h e C o m m i s s i o n i n p a r t n e r s h i p w i t h t h e E u r o p e a n Pa r l i a m e n t , t h e O ECD , t h e Cl u b o f R o m e a n d W W F.T h e a i m o f t h e c o n f e r e n ce i s t o m o v e t o w a r d s a b et t e r a p p r e c i at i o n o f w h a t p r o g r e s s,w e a l t h a n d w e l l - b e i n g a c t u a l l y a r e , d e c i d e h o w t h e y s h o u l d b e m e a s u r e d , a n d h i g h l i g h t t h e b e n e t s o f i n t e g r a t i n g t h e m i n t o d e c i si o n - m a k i n g . Th e B e y o n d GD P c o n f e r e n c e w i l l b e o p e n e d b y t h e P r e s i d e n t o f t h e C o m m i s s i o n , J o s M a n u e l B a r r o s o o n t h e r s t d a y and th e Pres ident of t he Eur opean Par l iam ent , Hans-Ger t Pt t e r ing , on the second day.


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Commission Memo - Joint press release of the Beyond GDP partners

(President of the European Parliament), HE Chief Emeka Anyaoku (President, WWF), Ashok Khosla(Co-President, Club of Rome), and Pier CarloPadoan (Deputy Secretary General, OECD).

The entire conference will be webstreamedlive and can be viewed on the conference'swebsitehttp://www.beyond-gdp.eu

The 12:30 press conference on 19 Novemberand some sessions will also be available to tel-evision stationshttp://ec.europa.eu/avservices/ebs/schedule.cfm.

MEMO/ 07/472 Brussels, 19 November 2007

1) What is GDP?

GDP is the gross domestic product of a country.It measures the total nal market value of allgoods and services produced within a countryduring a given period. GDP is the most frequently

used indicator of market activity and is mostoften measured on an annual or quarterly basisto gauge the growth of a country's economicactivity between one period and another. GDPis also a measure of total consumer, investmentand government spending plus the value of exports minus imports.

GDP is the most widely used indicator from theSystem of National Accounts (SNA). Its method-ology is standardised internationally thus ena-bling comparison between countries anywherein the world. GDP was created in the wake of the great depression and second world warto provide decision-makers with a measure of economic performance and activity.

2) W hat are the limits of GDP?

There is nothing wrong with GDP itself. It is a valu-able economic indicator which serves an impor-tant purpose in economic policy making. Due tothe implicit link between economic growth andaspects of well-being such as employment andconsumption, GDP is often regarded as a proxyindicator of human development and well-being.Within the existing framework of national accountsthe information covered could be broadened byputting more emphasis on net domestic product

such as GDP corrected for depreciation or bybetter measuring nations' balance sheets.

But the way GDP takes into account social andenvironmental issues in measuring economicgrowth is questionable. GDP does not factor in

a number of elements important in determiningthe well-being of people. For example, it over-looks the value of certain non-market goods andservices such as natural resources and unpaidactivities and leisure. GDP highlights averageincome which may not correspond to the actualincome of any speci c group of the population.Average income provides no indication aboutthe distribution of income between citizen. Andit focuses on short-term economic activitiesrather than longer-term sustainable developmentaspects such as the growth of natural, economicand human capital.

Most other mainstream economic indicators arealso limited in the way they tackle non-economicissues such as progress and well-being. It isnot alternatives to GDP that are needed, butadditional indicators to complement it. It is stillimportant to know how many goods and servicesare produced or how strong an economy is. Butmore needs to be taken into account, such asthe state of the environment, the evolution of social issues, and progress towards sustainabledevelopment.

Citizens are as a general rule better off if they arericher. However, the quality of life or well-beingalso depends on the type of goods consumed,

Questions and Answers on Gross Domestic Product(GDP)


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Press Pack Annex 2

the amount of leisure time available, the relation-ship with families and friends, and the health of thesurrounding environment. Today a greater numberof people feel their well-being is undermined bytoo much pressure of work, unemployment, familybreak-ups, pollution and climate change. This iswhy policy makers are interested in having morestatistics that address these issues instead of pureeconomic indicators.

3) Wh at other indicators besides GDPare there to measure wealth and w ell-being?

To compensate for the limits of GDP a number of alternative and complementary indicators have

been developed. These can be grouped accordingto the aspects of social progress they cover.

Some indicators such as the Genuine ProgressIndicator considers additional economic factors notcovered by GDP while others such as the GenuineSavings approach look at long-term capital accu-mulation, including the value of natural, economicand social capital. Another approach is to producea single index such as the Human DevelopmentIndex - which weighs a number of sub-indicatorsby combining measures of life expectancy, lit-

eracy, and education in addition to GDP. Indicatorsets such as those they comprise environmental,economic and social indicators are another way tocomplement the use of GDP. Such an indicator isbeing developed in Canada (the Canadian Indexof Well-being).

Some countries have also applied the interna-tionally recognised environmental and economicnational accounting standards found in the

Handbook of National Accounting: IntegratedEnvironmental and Economic Accounting 2003

(SEEA 2003).

M o r e i n f o r m a t i o n o n v a r i o u s i n d e x e s ca n b e f o u n d o n t h e B ey o n d G DP w e b s i t e :

http://www.beyond-gdp.eu/links.html

4) W hat is the European Uniondoing to move beyond GDP?

The European Union is committed in taking leader-ship in the move to integrate non-economic factors

into policy-making beyond those currently usedby mainstream economic indicators. A preliminaryversion of an integrated environmental economicaccounting system is due to be operational by 2010.The special importance of this system is that it

would include stock taking of natural resources andhuman and social capital rather than just the useof these resources. The system would also focuson the role of eco-systems in providing welfare.

The EU is also committed to developing an indica-tor to measure environmental sustainability andto use integrated accounting and other indicatorsto improve policy-making.

The European initiatives are being co-ordinatedby the European Commission as part of a globalprocess linked to the Global Project launched atthe Istanbul World Forum (June 2007) where theEuropean Commission, the OECD, the Organisationof the Islamic Conference, the United Nations, the

UN Development Programme, and the World Bankmade a commitment to measure and foster theprogress of societies in all dimensions with the ulti-mate goal of improving policy making, democracyand citizens well-being.

5) How can measure wealth and well-being?

GDP does not measure wealth. It measures con-sumption and investments in a given year, not howrich people are, or how much wealth society hasthrough the accumulation of buildings, machinery,

consumer goods, schools, universities, road andrail networks, and art.

There are very few statistics on material wealth andeven fewer on natural, environmental, social andcultural wealth. Material wealth too often overshad-ows the pursuit of non-material wealth. Access toimproved data on non-material and non-economicwealth would help citizens and policy-makers betterbalance the various aspects of well-being. This iswhat sustainable development is all about.

Other facets of well-being such as happiness aremore dif cult to measure. But researchers havenow developed reliable ways of measuring howsatis ed people are with life in general and withspeci c aspects such as the level of satisfactionwith work, family, friends, neighbourhood, incomeand wealth, and country and government. Thisresearch is important for policy-makers in imple-menting policies that foster a higher degree of public satisfaction and happiness.

Furt her infor m ation on t he GDP is avai lable at :

http://www.beyond-gdp.eu/links.html


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Commission Memo - Joint press release of the Beyond GDP partners


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Press Pack Annex 2

On GDP 1

Without measures of economic aggregates likeGDP, policymakers would be adrift in a sea of unorganized data. The GDP and related data arelike beacons that help policymakers steer theeconomy toward the key economic objectives. Paul Samuelson, in Samuelson and Nordhaus(1995)

Distinctions must be kept in mind betweenquantity and quality of growth, between its costsand return, and between the short and the longterm. Goals for more growth should specify moregrowth of what and for what. Simon Kuznets,the creator of GDP, in 1962

On GDP and w ell-being

The welfare of a nation can scarcely be inferredfrom a measurement of national income . Simon

Kuznets in 1934 For countries above $15,000 per capita per

year, a rise in average income has very littleeffect on average happiness. Source Lord Layard(2004)

On GDP and natural resources

A country could cut down all its forests and depleteits natural resources and this would show only as apositive gain to GDP despite of the loss of capital.Source: Millenium Ecosystem Assessment (MA)2005 see http://www.millenniumassessment.org

On GDP and social equity

Progress measured by a single measuring rod,the GNP, has contributed signi cantly to exa-cerbate the inequalities of income distribution Robert McNamara, President of the World Bank,1973

1 Gross domestic product (GDP) is the total monetary, market valueof all nal goods and services produced in a country over a periodof a year. GDP is also equal to the total consumer, investment andgovernment spending, plus the value of exports, minus the valueof imports in that year.

On GDP and learning from business

No one would look just at a rms revenuesto assess how well it was doing. Far more rel-evant is the balance sheet, which shows assetsand liability. That is also true for a country. Joseph Stiglitz, 2005 in Foreign Affairs , seehttp://www.foreignaffairs.org/.html

On One Planet Economy and Footprints If everyone lived and consumed like Europeans

do, we would need 2.6 planets. Source: WWF /Global Footprint Network, 2007

The Welsh Assembly was the rst administra-tion in the world to use the Ecological Footprint(EF) as an indicator of real progress. The EFwas formally adopted in the National AssemblysSustainable Development Scheme, Learn to LiveDifferently in March 2001.

South Australia is using the Ecological Footprint asa regional target aiming to reduce its Footprintby 30% by 2050. Source: South AustraliasStrategy Plan (2007)

On Adjusting GDP

In the USA, the GDP indicator suggests that theeconomy has been growing steadily from the 1950sto date, but using the genuine progress indicator (GPI) suggests that the economy has been stag-nating since the 1970s. Which is right about thehealth of the economy? Which is a better progressindicator? See http://www.rprogress.org/

The World Bank uses adjusted net saving (alsocalled genuine saving ) to measure the true rate of savings in an economy after taking into accountinvestments in education, depletion of naturalresources and damage caused by pollution. Forcountry data see http://www.worldbank.org/

Examples of Country Performance

Within the EU, Ireland was #1 on genuine savingsin 20 04. See World Bank, 2004 http://www.worldbank.org/

Interesting Facts and Quotes on GDP and measuringprogress, true wealth and well-beingDid you know?


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Interesting Facts and Quotes

Norway was ranked #1 in the HumanDevelopment Index (HDI) in 2004. see http://hdrstats.undp.org/indicators/10.html

Norway is also currently #1 in the SustainableSociety Index (SSI). Though being the bestin class, even Norway is way below full sus-tainability. See http://www.sustainablesoci-etyindex.com/

The Danes were ranked #1 on happi-ness (or subjective well-being) in 2006.see the University of Leicester http://www2.le.ac.uk/ebulletin/news/press-releases/2000-2009/2006/07/nparticle.2006-07-28.2448323827/?searchterm=happiness

The United States of America have the larg-est Ecological Footprint in the world (9.57global hectares per capita). See http://www.worldcentric.org/stateworld/footprint.htm

Within the EU-27, Latvia had the lowest carbonfootprint in 2006, with 4.7 tonnes green housegas emissions (measured in CO2 equivalent)per capita. Source: UNFCCC, 2004 (green-house gas inventory).

For further details on indicators see http://www.beyond-gdp.eu/indicators.html and youare also welcome to visit the indicator exhibi-tion at the Beyond GDP conference taking placeon the 19th and 20th November 2007 at theEuropean Parliament

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Press Pack Annex 2

OVERVIEW

A VNR (video news release) on the topic of progress, true wealth and well-being will be availableto the press. Circulated week starting 12 November. Contact [email protected]

Live web-streaming will be available on www.beyond-gdp.eu. EU-27 benchmarkin g for different issues & indicators available on the day. GlobeScan survey results for BGDP questions launched 12:00 on 19 November. Exhibition stands for a range of indicators will provide facts and gures. The Press pack will contain further interesting facts on practice (see further below)

PRESS EVENTS

Commission press conference at 12:30 of the 19th November 2007 at the Berlaymont. Press recep tion: meet the partners and speakers at 14:10 of the 19th November 2007 atthe Bar Presse of the EP. Short speeches by partners at 14:30.

USEFUL DOCUMENTS & INFORMATI ON

List of speakers on www.beyond-gdp.eu + see attached Conference and Workshop Programme on www.beyond-gdp.eu + see attached Intere sting facts and quotes - see attached Information on indicators

Virtual indicator exhibition series prepared for Beyond GDP attached and alsoavailable on http://www.beyond-gdp.eu/background-papers.html#selected

Useful links to indicator home pages - http://www.beyond-gdp.eu/links.html There will be indicator stands at the EP during the conference Background reports

Canoy, Marcel and Frdric Lerais. 2007. Beyond GDP: Overview paper for the BeyondGDP conference. Bureau of European Policy Advisers (BEPA), European Commission onhttp://www.beyond-gdp.eu/background-papers.html#background

European Parliament, Policy Department A, Economic and Scienti c Policy,Alternative progress indicators to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a means towardssustainable development , Study carried out in October 2007.see http://www.europarl.europa.eu/comparl/envi/pdf/externalexpertise/gdp.pdf

EUROPE 2007: Gross Domestic Product and Ecological Footprint .WWF Report to be launched at the Conference.

Eurostat the EU environmental accounting a tool for decision making attached Giovannini, Enrico, Jon Hall and Marco Mira d'Ercole. 2007. Measuring Well-being andSocietal Progress. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Background

paper for the conference 'Beyond GDP', 19-20 November, Brusselson http://www.beyond-gdp.eu/background-papers.html#background

Istanbul Declaration signed during the II OECD World Forum on "Statistics, Knowledgeand Policy" can be downloaded for printing in English, French and Spanish from theIstanbul Forum website: http://www.oecd.org/oecdworldforum .

Wesselink, Bart, Jan Bakkes, Aaron Best and Friedrich Hinterberger. 2007.Measurement Beyond GDP. Background paper for the conference Beyond GDP:Measuring progress, true wealth, and the well-being of nationshttp://www.beyond-gdp.eu/background-papers.html#background

White, Stephen and Oliver Zwirner. 2007. The use of indicators in the European

Commission. Directorate-General Environment, Unit Sustainable Development andEconomic Analysis, European Commission on http://www.beyond-gdp.eu/background-papers.html#background

Useful Information for the Press


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Existing Press Coverage , includes Article by Commissioner Dimas on the Wealth of Nations in The Parliament Magazine

http://www.theparliament.com/NR/rdonlyres/1025D9E2-468B-4223-9D0E-7E5B78DB0B06/0/parl_mag_29oct07_fullmag.pdf

Environment for Europeans EFE on Beyond GDPhttp://ec.europa.eu/environment/news/efe/index_en.htm

List of participants Conference and Workshop and potentially press - attached

PRESS PACK

Commissioner Dimas welcome letter then: #1 Joint press release of the Beyond GDP partners #2 Beyond GDP Memo annex to joint press release #3 List of backgroun d documentation and indicators this doc #4 Information on Beyond GDP partners #5 Conference and Workshop programmes #6 Supporting press releases

GlobeScan press release embargoed until 12:00 19 Novemb er WW F press release embargoed until 12:00 19 November

#7 Information from Beyond GDP partners WWF: GDP and Ecological Footprint OECD: The Istanbul Declaration Eurostat: EU Environmental Accounting brochure EP : Executive summary of Alternative progress indicators to Gross Domestic

Product (GDP) CoR : About the Club of Rome; Ex. sum Money and Sustainability the Missing Link

#8 Interesting and (newsw orthy) facts #9 Participants list #10 Beyond GDP contacts for press: contacts for each organisation

Useful Information for the Press


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Press Pack Annex 2

Beyond GDP Partners

The ve host organisations are the EuropeanCommission, European Parliament, Club of Rome,OECD and WWF. This note presents a short back-ground on each partner and why they are co-sponsoring Beyond GDP.

European Commission

The European Union (EU) is a family of democratic European countries, com-mitted to working together for peace

and prosperity. Now the EU embraces 27 coun-

tries and 490 million people, and it deals with awide range of issues of direct importance for oureveryday life.

The European Commission represents and upholdsthe interests of Europe as a whole. It is independ-ent of national governments. It drafts proposalsfor new European laws, which it presents to theEuropean Parliament and the Council. It managesthe day-to-day business of implementing EU poli-cies and spending EU funds. The Commission alsokeeps an eye out to see that everyone abides by

the European treaties and laws.Why th e Beyond GDP confer ence? The EuropeanCommission recognises a need for a better appre-ciation of what progress, true wealth and well-beingare, that there is a need for improved measure-ment, scope for wider set of evidence for decisionmaking and potential for greater discussion inpress and public.

The EU, and indeed the planet, face a range of newimportant challenges climate change, globalisation,growth and competition for nite resources, security,social cohesion and equity, employment, migration,health and education in a fast changing world.The European Commission initiated the BeyondGDP conference to bring together key institutions,organisations and expertise to explore how wecan improve our measurement of progress, truewealth and well-being and launch a process forthis improvement. The European Commission iscommitted to responding to the range of challengesthough its policies, legislation, research and assist-ance. It is a global challenge, involving actors fromacross the globe, and the European Commissionwelcomes collaboration to bring forward solutions.

http://ec.europa.eu/

European Parliament

The European Parliament is theonly directly-elected body of the European Union. The 785

Members of the European Parliament are there torepresent the 492 million citizens of Europe. Theyare elected once every ve years by voters rightacross the 27 Member States of the EuropeanUnion. Parliament plays an equal role with theCouncil (of Ministers) in amending, adopting orrejecting legislation which has an impact on thedaily lives of its citizens, in elds such as environ-mental protection, consumer rights, equal oppor-tunities, transport, and the free movement of workers, capital, services and goods. Parliamentalso has joint power with the Council over theannual budget of the European Union.

Assessing existing policies or developing new policyoptions require indicators showing where policystands, where it is going and how far it is fromwhere it wants to be. The Gross Domestic Product(GDP) is only an indicator for economic perform-

ance. GDP does not properly account for socialand environmental costs and bene ts. It is dif cultto achieve sustainable decision-making aiming atsustainable progress and well-being if welfare isbeing considered from a purely economic point of view. Therefore, in order to measure progress,wealth and well-being, political decision-makersmust go BEYOND GDP.

Different institutions and organisations at all levelshave carried out a signi cant number of activitiesto develop indicators for measuring policy progressbeyond GDP. The Beyond GDP Conference is

aiming at presenting and discussing these initia-tives in order to identify possibilities to make suchapproaches applicable in practical decision-makingat national, European and global level. This isespecially important given global challenges suchas climate change, global poverty, pressure onresources and their potential impact on societies,but it is also important given the national andEuropean challenges having an impact on the dailylives of our citizens.

http://www.europarl.europa.eu


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Club of Rome (CoR)

M i s si o n st a t e m e n t : The Club of Romes essential mission is to act

as an independent, global, non-of cial catalystof change. Thus it aims at the following: The identi cation of the most crucial problems

facing humanity, their analysis in the globalcontext of the world-wide problematique, theresearch of future alternative solutions andthe elaboration of scenarios for the future.

The communication of such problems to themost important public and private decision-makers as well as to the general public.

W h y t h e C lu b o r Ro m e d e ci d e d t o c o - s p o n -

so r t he Beyond GDP con fe rence : The Club of Rome, pursuant to its own research on the prob-lems of conventional economic measurement,

joined in the co-sponsorship of the Beyond GDPconference as an important new initiative by theEuropean Commission. The Club of Rome hasfully participated in the design of this conferenceand will continue to support further efforts tomeasure national progress by integrating intonational accounts all the broader indicators of quality of life already available.

http://www.clubofrome.org

WW F - World Wide Fundfor Nature

M i ss i o n s t a t e m e n t : WWFs mission is to stopthe degradation of the planets natural environ-ment and to build a future in which humans livein harmony with nature, by: Conserving the worlds biological diversity Ensuring that the use of renewable naturalresources is sustainable promoting the reduction of pollution and

wasteful consumption.

The WWF European Policy Of ce contributes tothe achievement of WWF's mission by helpingshape European Union policies impacting on theEuropean and global environment.

Why WWF dec ided t o co - sponso r t he Beyond GDP confe r ence : GDP only addresses one

question: How much value added an economygenerates. But it fails to adequately accountfor the depletion of our ecological assets. Asnatural resources are treated as free unlimited

goods that do not have a price, CO 2 emissions,depletion of minerals and forests, degradationof air and water caused by economic activi-ties are barely counted as costs. Also, nationalaccounting includes as bene ts the costs of reparative measures arising from the negativeenvironmental effects of economic activities.

Today the planet is facing squeeze from two sides:resource use which underpins development, andpollution resulting from the development proc-ess. It is becoming abundantly clear that we areliving in a natural resource constrained world.As long as these resources are not given properpolitical and economic weight, decision-makersare ying blind into the future.

http://www.wwf.org/

OECD - Organisationfor Economic Cooperationand Development

The OECD brings together the governments of 30 member countries committed to democracyand the market economy. It aims to support

sustainable economic growth, boost employ-ment, raise living standards, maintain nan-cial stability, assist other countries economicdevelopment and contribute to growth in worldtrade. The OECD also shares expertise andexchanges views with more than 100 othercountries and economies. It is one of the worldslargest and most reliable sources of comparablestatistics, and economic and social data.

W h y t h e O ECD d e c i d e d t o c o - s p o n s o r t h e B e y o n d G D P c o n f e r e n c e : Developing abroader range of indicators to assess progressand well-being is a key aspect of the OECDsglobal project on Measuring the Progress of Societies, launched after the Istanbul WorldForum. The project promotes internationaldebate and cooperation to establish a culture of evidence-based decision making and to developreliable and shared measures of societal prog-ress. Underpinning the project is the convictionthat access by the public and governmentsto reliable economic, social, and environmen-tal indicators can improve governance andstrengthen the capacity of citizens to in uence

the decisions which affect their lives.http://www.oecd.org/

Beyond GDP Partners


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Press Pack Annex 2

Three-quarters of people in ten countries believetheir governments should look beyond econom-ics, and include health, social and environmentalstatistics in measuring national progress. Only 19percent believe that economic growth alone is themost important measure.

Around 1,000 respondents in each country wereasked which of two points of view was closest totheir own:

that governments should measure nationalprogress using money-based statistics becauseeconomic growth is the most important focusfor the country; or

that health, social and environmental statisticsare as important as economic ones and thatgovernments should also use these for measur-

ing national progress.Support for the beyond GDP statement is espe-cially strong in developed countries. The French

and Italians are most enthusiastic, with 85 percentof people supporting true wealth measures fromhealth and social statistics. Only 10 percent sup-port purely economic indices. In the developingnations of India and Kenya, around 70 percentagree with the broader growth measures, but asigni cant minority of 27 percent still believe ineconomics alone.This survey was conducted by GlobeScan, on behalf of Ethical Markets Media, in June to August 2007,and looked at opinions in Australia, Brazil, Canada,France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Italy, Kenyaand Russia. Alignment in the United States seemslikely. Previous studies (from the Americans TalkIssues Foundation) have shown up to 79 percentapproval of a scorecard of quality of life indicatorsin the United States.

These international polling results are timely asa handful of governments have started usinggrowth measures that look beyond pure econom-ics. The Green GDP, unveiled by Chinese Premier

Press release 19 November 2007

Worldwide Support for True Wealth Measures:Three-Quarters Say Governments Should Look Beyond Economicsand Measure Social and Environmental Progress


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GlobeScan press release

Wen Jiabao in 2004, was an effort to adjustChinas economic model to take more accountof its environmental consequences. Althoughrecently suspended, the concept was popularwith the Chinese population. And Bhutans GrossNational Happiness Indicators have receivedmedia attention worldwide. More recently, theBritish Conservative Party policy paper recom-mended using a beyond GDP index as a superiormeasure to GDP.

Further, many governments and non-govern-ment organizations have taken the initiativeand devised their own indices. The best-knownand emulated worldwide is the United NationsHuman Development Index, founded in 1990,which measures quality of life criteria. TheWorld Wildlife Funds (WWF) Living Planet Indexemploys data on species loss. Ecological Footprintanalyses measure hectares used to sustain ourlifestyles. Other similar indices include theCanadian Index of Well-being (CIW) and theCalvert-Henderson Quality of Life indicators,assessing national trends in the USA since 2000.Many local and city indexes are now in useworldwide, such as those in Sao Paulo, Braziland Jacksonville, Florida since 1985.

This research across 10 countries shows pub-lic support for such broader measures of truewealth, looking beyond GDP. Clearly, interna-tional public opinion would be supportive of thegoals of the Beyond GDP Conference in theEuropean Parliament in November 2007.

For media interview s, please contact:

Mr. Chris Coulter, Vice-PresidentGlobeScan IncorporatedLondon, UK+44 20 7253 [email protected]

GlobeScan Incorporated is a global publicopinion and stakeholder research consultancy.For more information, please visit:www.GlobeScan.com


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WWF Press release

N o t e s t o t h e e d i t o r s :

- The Ecological Footprint measures human-itys demand on the biosphere in terms of thearea of biologically productive land and searequired to provide the resources we use andto absorb our waste. The footprint of a countryincludes the cropland, grazing land, forest and shing grounds required to produce the food, bre and timber it consumes and absorb thewaste it emits. Biocapacity is the total supplyof productive area. The difference betweenEcological Footprint and Biocapacity showswhether countries are ecological creditors ordebtors.

- The EU is home to 7.7 per cent of the globalpopulation and 9.5 per cent of the worldsbiocapacity. The EU is also responsible for 16per cent of global ecological footprint. Europesshares have diminished since 1971, largelyas a result of increase in global population.

- The report Europe 2007 Gross DomesticProduct and Ecological Footprint is availableunder embargo on http://assets.panda.org/downloads/europe_2007_gdp_and_ef.pdf.Graphs can be downloaded from http://assets.

panda.org/downloads/europe_2007_

gures.pdf and http://assets.panda.org/downloads/europe_2007_table.pdf.

- Full data on EU and world countries ecologicalfootprint are available on the WWFs LivingPlanet Report 2006: http://www.panda.org/news_facts/publications/living_planet_report/index.cfm.

- Photos to illustrate WWF Press Release: Europe 2007 - Gross Domestic Product & Ecological Footprint are available on https://intranet.panda.org/photos/albums/ext/index.cfm?action=list&alid=825. The image(s) madeavailable through the above link are copyrightprotected and can only be used to illustratethe above mentioned press release. Any othersubsequent rights are not allowed and aresubject to approval by WWF Internationaland by the photographer(s) concerned. Thisrestriction includes that the link must not bemade available to any third party, in particularit may under no circumstances be publishedon a public web site. Individual photo creditsare mandatory. Credit information is availablefrom the IPTC le info of the downloadedimages or you can download a separate text le with the relevant information.

- B-rolls with TV images are available uponrequest .

- This press release and related material willbe available after the embargo time on www.panda.org/eu.

O P T


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Press Pack Annex 2

The Club of Rome is one of the worlds oldest,yet most innovative global think tanks. For morethan 30 years, the Club of Rome has put tomor-rows issues on todays agenda. With its networkof outstanding members, the Club examines andproposes future topics in the elds of governance,economy, ecology and civil society across cul-tures and across generations. The Clubs reports,conferences and publications are designed as anearly warning system for opinion leaders, decisionmakers and everyone interested in our planetsfuture.

The Club of Rome is independent of any political,ideological or business interest.

B i r t h o f t h e Cl u b o f R o m e

In April 1968, a small group of leaders from diplo-macy, industry and civil society met at a quiet villain Rome. Invited by Italian industrialist AurelioPeccei and Scottish scientist Alexander King,they came together to identify and address theworlds most critical problems. This group agreed

to launch for the

rst time an initiative on whatthey called World Problematique*, long beforemany problems which today dominate the globalagenda were even recognised as issues for widerdiscussion. Named after the place where the rstmeeting was held, the Club of Rome was born. Theoutcome of this meeting was a process that led tothe rst Report to the Club of Rome : The Limitsto Growth in 1972. With its future-orientatedviews and provoking scenarios the report soldmore than 12 million copies in some 30 languagesand established the serious reputation of the Club,particularly among leaders and decision-makers in

all spheres of society.

Following the example of Limits to Growth , manyother reports have continued to inspire whole gen-erations of economists, politicians and scientists.In the more than 30 years since the Big Bangcreated by the publication of Limits to Growththe Club of Rome has continued its unique andinsightful way of identifying important aspects of the World Problematique and evolving practical,credible solutions for them.

* T h e Wo r l d Pr o b l e m a t i q u e

World Problematique is a concept createdby the Club of Rome to describe humanitysmost crucial problems. This includes politics,economy and technology as well as culture andethical values. The complexity of the WorldProblematique lies in the way these problemsdepend mutually on each other, and on theincapacity of societal systems to recognisethem, let alone deal with them. They are

aggravated by the length of time the impactof acting and reacting in this complex systembecomes evident.

The approach of the Club of Rome to thesolution of the world problems is to identifycrucial problems before they actually emergeas issues in the general public. It proposesanalysis from an integrated, global, interdis-ciplinary and long-term perspective whichaddresses alternative solutions and scenarios.The results of this work are communicated to

high-level decision-makers and to the generalpublic worldwide.

Cl u b o f Ro m e R ep o r t s

Club of Rome reports provide unique insights intothe worlds key issues far away from fashion-able statements and short-term thinking. Eventhe scenarios and warnings in the Clubs earlierreports are still as valid as they were at the timeof their publication. It is this quality which makesthe Club of Rome reports a classic reading for allwho are interested in value-based, future-orientedthinking.

The upcoming Report Money and Sustainability the Missing Link by Bernard Lietaer and StefanBrunnhuber (see below) looks at essential linkagebetween our money system and sustainabilitywhich tends to be overlooked by both ecologistsand monetary specialists. This study shows com-pellingly why this linkage is so powerful and itseffects so ubiquitous.

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About the Club of Rome

Cl u b o f R o m e M e m b e r s

Members of the Club of Rome include formerHeads of State, decision makers and opinionleaders from government, civil society andbusiness, international civil servants, and topscientists. These members bring in top-quality,highly diverse thinking. The Club continues toappoint members with outstanding intellectualand moral qualities only. Their number is lim-ited to 100.

Th e L i m i t s t o G r o w t h 1

More than 30 years ago, a book called The Limits

to Growth created an international sensation.Commissioned by the Club of Rome, The Limitsto Growth was compiled by a team of expertsfrom the U.S. and several foreign countries.Using system dynamics theory and a computermodel called World3, the book presented andanalyzed 12 scenarios that showed differentpossible patterns and environmental outcomes of world development over two centuries from1900 to 2100. The World3 scenarios showedhow population growth and natural resourceuse interacted to impose limits to industrial

growth, a novel and even controversial idea atthe time. In 1972, however, the worlds popula-tion and economy were still comfortably withinthe planets carrying capacity. The team foundthat there was still room to grow safely whilewe could examine longer-term options.

In 1992, this was no longer true. On the 20thanniversary of the publication of Limits toGrowth , the team updated Limits in a bookcalled Beyond the Limits . Already in the 1990sthere was compelling evidence that humanitywas moving deeper into unsustainable territory.

Beyond the Limits argued that in many areaswe had overshot our limits, or expanded ourdemands on the planets resources and sinksbeyond what could be sustained over time.

The main challenge identi ed in Beyond theLimits.

In a new study, Limits to Growth : The 30-YearUpdate , the authors have produced a compre-hensive update to the original Limits, in whichthey conclude that humanity is dangerously ina state of overshoot. While the past 30 yearshas shown some progress, including new tech-nologies, new institutions, and a new awarenessof environmental problems, the authors arefar more pessimistic than they were in 1972.Humanity has squandered the opportunity tocorrect our current course over the last 30 years,they conclude, and much must change if theworld is to avoid the serious consequences of overshoot in the 21 st century.As noted energy economist Matthew Simmonsrecently wrote, The most amazing aspect of the book is how accurate many of the basictrend extrapolations still are some 30 yearslater. For example, the gap between rich andpoor has only grown wider in the past threedecades. Thirty years ago, it seemed unimagi-nable that humanity could expand its numbersand economy enough to alter the Earths naturalsystems. But experience with the global climate

system and the stratospheric ozone layer haveproved them wrong. All the environmental andeconomic problems discussed in Limits to Growth have been treated at length before. There arehundreds of books on deforestation, global cli-mate change, dwindling oil supplies, and spe-cies extinction. Since The Limits to Growth was rst published 30 years ago, these problemshave been the focus of conferences, scien-ti c research, and media scrutiny. What makesLimits to Growth : The 30-Year Update unique,however, is that it presents the underlying eco-nomic structure that leads to these problems.The authors include 80 tables and graphs thatgive a comprehensive, coherent view of manyproblems.

1 Source: A Synopsis: Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update (Donella Meadows, Jorgen Randers & Dennis Meadows;White River Junction, VT: 2004), Web: http://sustainer.org/limits/

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The following non-governmental organisationsand government agencies exhibited their workat the Indicator Exhibition at Beyond GDP. Eachgroup represents some aspect of the state of theart in indicator development. At the exhibitionbooths, representatives provided information onthe methodologies and practical applications of these measures.

Calvert-Henderson Quality of Life Indicators

Club of Rome

Erasmus University Rotterdam(World Database of Happiness)

European Commission, DG Environment

European Environment Agency

Eurostat

Global Footprint Network

Global Reporting Initiative

Happy Planet Index

International Institute for SustainableDevelopment

Jacksonville Community Council Inc.

Joint Research Centre of the EuropeanCommission

Mapping Worlds

new economics foundation OECD

Transparency International

WWF

Indicator Exhibition Annex 3

P h o

t o E u r o p e a n

C o m m

i s s i o n


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Registered participants Annex 4

LAST NAM E FIRST NAME ORGANISATION COUNTRY

Abdallah Saamah nef (new economics foundation) United KingdomAbreu Andre France Libertes Foundation France

Abruzzini Arnaldo Eurochambres BelgiumAdams David William University of Tasmania AustraliaAddo Mary-Anne Ministry of Finance & Economic Planning GhanaAdorni-Braccesi Giovanni Ministry of Foreign Affairs ItalyAlibert Caroline WWF European Policy Of ce BelgiumAllende Alberto CESEAllin Paul Of ce for National Statistics United KingdomAlmunia Joaqun European Commission BelgiumAlrabah Ibraheem Saudi Fund for Development Saudi ArabiaAmati Carlo Italian Ministry of Economic Development ItalyAnderson Jason Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) BelgiumAnyaoku Emeka WWF International SwitzerlandArevalo Angela World Savings Banks Institute BelgiumAriyoshi Koichi JIJI Press (Japanese news agency) Belgium

Arkhipov AntonArsenault Jean-Francois Centre for the Study of Living Standards CanadaAtkinson Giles London School of Economics and Political Science United KingdomAubaret Helene Planete Vie BelgiumAvlonas Nikos Center for Sustainability and Excellence (CSE) GreeceBaba Ould BoumeissBacigalupi Barbara European Commission BelgiumBaco Peter European Parliament Slovak RepublicBaeva Mariela European Parliament BelgiumBago Eszter Hungarian Central Stasticial Of ce HungaryBakkes Jan Adrianus Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency The NetherlandsBaleiras Rui Government of Portugal PortugalBandazheuski YuriBandura Romina UNDP USABangura Osman Bajito Onda Africa Foundation Sierra LeoneBarbaro FrancescoBarbieri Giovanni

Alfredo National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) ItalyBarroso Jos Manuel European Commission BelgiumBarten Natalya Ministry of Statistics and Analysis of the Republic

of Belarus BelarusBassi Samuela Institute for European Environmental Policy BelgiumBauer Martin Statistics Austria AustriaBauler Tom Universit Libre de Bruxelles BelgiumBaumuller Andreas WWF EPO BelgiumBecic Emira Ministry of Science, Education and Sports CroatiaBedford Timothy University of Oulu FinlandBender Szonja Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Representative Of ce in Brussels HungaryBenians Stephen EPAA BelgiumBeres Pervenche European Parliament FranceBergheim Stefan Deutsche Bank Research GermanyBest Aaron Ecologic GermanyBianconi Patrizia Emilia-Romagna Region ItalyBiegs Ronald WWF Belgium BelgiumBienvenu Mbiye Kalumbu Youth Development of Congo CongoBif gnandi Silvia University of Bergamo ItalyBilsborough Simon Welsh Assembly Government WalesBlain Claudine Saint-Etienne Mtropole France. Antenne Bruxelles BelgiumBleys Brent Free University of Brussels BelgiumBlokland Johannes European Parliament The Netherlands

Blumenthal Karin European Commission LuxemburgBoelhouwer Jeroen The Netherlands Institute for Social Research/SCP The NetherlandsBoer Joan Delegation of The Netherlands to the OECD FranceBohata Marie European Commission LuxemburgBolbs Gyngyi Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Belgium


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Bonazzi Elisa Arpa Emilia-Romagna ItalyBond Stuart WWF United KingdomBoon Bart CE Delft The NetherlandsBordage FrancoiseBorn Kerstin CSR Europe BelgiumBottazzi Gianfranco University of Cagliari ItalyBottega Valentina Unioncamere Piemonte Brussels Of ce BelgiumBouder Frederic

Emmanuel Sustainable Development Commission United KingdomBourdeau Philippe F. Universit Libre de Bruxelles BelgiumBozkurt Emine European Parliament BelgiumBraat Leon Alterra (Environmental Sciences Department),

Wageningen University & Research Centre The NetherlandsBrar Sarvjeet Singh GGS Insitute of Information Communication Technology IndiaBray Nicholas Paul OECD FranceBreier Siegfried European Parliament BelgiumBremsmits Raivis Ministry of Regional Developement and Local Government LatviaBriguglio Lino Pascal University of Malta MaltaBroeckaert Cline Club of Rome BelgiumBrunerie Philippe European Commission FranceBrunker Donald Australian Bureau of Statistics AustraliaBruun Marjo-Riitta Information Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry FinlandBryman Petter Martin European Parliament BelgiumBuchow Hartmut European Commission LuxemburgBuechele Susan Craig Environmental Resource Center RomaniaBuscaglia Francesco ItalyBushill Matthews Philip European Parliament BelgiumCabeca Julio European Commission LuxembourgCaillierez Laurent ADEME BelgiumCallens Marc Gustaaf Research Center of the Flemish Government Belgium

Cami Geert Friends of Europe BelgiumCampi Giovanni Eurochambres BelgiumCanevari Clara Committee of the Regions ItalyCannellini Lucia Committee of the Regions BelgiumCanoy Marcel European Commission BelgiumCapannelli Elisabetta European Commission BelgiumCarl Mogens Peter European Commission BelgiumCarr Herv European Commission LuxembourgCasini Claudio Permanent Representation of Italy c/o E.U. ItalyCaspersen Ove European Environment Agency SwedenCassiers Isabelle Universite Catholique de Louvain BelgiumCastilleja Guillermo WWF International SwitzerlandCattoir Philippe European Commission BelgiumCavalieri Sandra Ecologic GermanyCelmins Viesturs Laboratory of Analytical and Strategic Studies LatviaCento Pier Paolo Government of Italy ItalyCeppi Contigiani Antonella Cultural Association Larte del vivere con lentezza

(the art of living slowly)Chandogova Katarina University of Cologne GermanyChane Kune Bernard Committee of the Regions BelgiumChang Wushou Peter Taiwan Representative Of ceChevillard Eve Maison du Languedoc-Roussillon Bruxelles BelgiumChiesa Giulietto World Political Forum ItalyChotard Francoise Reprsentation de l'Ile-de-France Bruxelles BelgiumChouinard Marie-France Permanent Delegation of Canada to the OECD FranceChristensen Ole European Parliament BelgiumCiriolo Emanuele European Commission BelgiumCollins Ken Scottish Environment Protection Agency United KingdomComi Nicola Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs ItalyCommenne Vincent European Network for a Responsible Consumption BelgiumConnor Hlne HELIO International FranceContigiani Bruno Cultural Association for a Slower Way of Life Italy




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19 & 20 November 2007

A n n e x e s

333

Registered participants

Dratwa Jim European Commission BelgiumDreze Jean-Roger

Marie Ghislain Federal Public Service for Health,Food chain safety and Environment BelgiumDu Toit Daan South African Mission to the European Union Belgium

Dupressoir Sophie European Trade Union Confederation BelgiumDziworski Wojciech European Commission BelgiumEklund Inger Statistics Sweden SwedenElardo TheodoreElliott Natalie Candice Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada CanadaEl-Mikawy Noha U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) NorwayElmkvist Tobias

Nils-Johan Central Sweden BelgiumEmberger Geraldine DG Competition/ Unit A6 BelgiumEspa E sio Gonario Of ce of the Prime Minister, Italy ItalyEttl Harald European Parliament BelgiumEveraers Pieter European Commission LuxembourgEvers Michiel Ministry of Economic Affairs The NetherlandsEysackers Erwin Flanders Social and Economic Council BelgiumFabbris Tiziana Permanent Representation of Italy c/o E.U. BelgiumFabrizio Fabbri Permanent representation of Italy to the EU BelgiumFarrar-Hockley Christian Health and Environment Alliance BelgiumFarrugia Nadia University of Malta MaltaFayl Gilbert European Academy of Sciences and Arts BelgiumFedrigo Doreen European Environmental Bureau BelgiumFenwick David Of ce for National Statistics United KingdomFerreira Elisa European Parliament PortugalFiala IngeborgFigueiredo Carlos Manuel Ministerio do Ambiente do desenvolvimento Regional

e Ordenemento do Territrio PortugalFilzmoser Eva Maria Weber Shandwick BelgiumFlammini Beatrice Gplus Europe BelgiumFleischer Ingrid Arbeitsgruppe Frieden und Nachhaltige Entwicklung

Forschungssttte der Evangelischen Studiengemeinschaft Fleuret Aurore Ministry for Ecology, Sustainable Developement

and Spatial Planning / Department of EconomicAffairs and Environmental Assessment France

Flores Rivera Ernesto Sonora Institute of Technology MexicoFogelberg Teresa Global Reporting Initiative The NetherlandsFortuin Julia ICODAFrey Bruno University of Zurich SwitzerlandGadrey Jean University of Lille FranceGalatola Michele DG Research

ECGalvano Giuseppina Ministry of Economics and Finance ItalyGardner Nina OECD ItalyGee David Taylor European Environment Agency DenmarkGeier Jrg The Club of Rome GermanyGeorgiev Zahari Bulgarian National Assembly & member of the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe BulgariaGeorgieva Kristalina The World Bank USAGerdes Holger Ecologic GermanyGil Sebastian European Commission BelgiumGimenez Daniel Oslo Region European Of ce NorwayGiovannini Enrico OECD FranceGodar Milan Rural Area Development Programme, RADP NepalGpel Maja Charlotte World Future Council GermanyGoralczyk Malgorzata Polish Academy of Sciences Poland

Goossens Yanne European Parliament BelgiumGraichen Jakob Oeko-Institut e.V. GermanyGraume Francois ADEME BelgiumGrinbergs Artis Ministry of Regional Development

and Local Government Latvia



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Grinwis Mona Vrije Universiteit Brussel BelgiumGrooten Monique WWF The NetherlandsGuarinoni Monica Health & Environment Alliance BelgiumGuerin Andr-Jean Ministry for Ecology and Development FranceGuerin Emmanuel Institut du Dveloppement Durable

et des Relations Internationales FranceGuiramand Maryline International Institute for

Sustainable Development SwitzerlandGusmao Regina Centre for Strategic Management and Studies BrazilGustavsson Lasse WWF Sweden SwedenGutierrez Belen Spanish institute for Aerospace Research BelgiumGyan-Baffour George Government of Ghana GhanaHaag Marcel European Commission BelgiumHaffer Sren Ecologic GermanyHagn Hans-Olof Statistics Sweden SwedenHger Oliver TV1.DE GmbHHaines-Young Roy H. University of Nottingham United KingdomHak Tomas Charles University Czech RepublicHall Jonathon FranceHall Stephen Department for Environment, Food

and Rural Affairs United KingdomHamdan Fouad Friends of the Earth EuropeHammarstrm Susanne The Centre BelgiumHanauer Jrg European Commission LuxembourgHannerz Fredrik European Parliament BelgiumHarangoz Gbor European Parliament BelgiumHassi Satu European Parliament BelgiumHauser Andreas Roman Federal Of ce for the Environment SwitzerlandHavinga Ivo United Nations SupranationalHealy Sean CORI Justice IrelandHeidorn Christian J.A. European Commission LuxembourgHenderson Hazel Club of Rome USAHenderson Judy Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) AustraliaHerbert Sophie Ecologic GermanyHiggins Jim European Parliament BelgiumHingel Anders European Commission BelgiumHinterberger Friedrich Sustainable Euro

beyond gdp conference brussels saboia ana brazilian institute for geography and statistics(ibge)...

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