2: shift from a system of representative democracy to suitable forms of participatory democracy.
3: within national and global policies, place economy firmly as a subset of society, and this in turn as a subset of ecology – the implications of which will mean the dismantling of the capitalist system as it is now practised.
a: entrench sustainability by accurately valuing natural capital (including biodiversity) without allotting ownership and linking these values to economic policy options. pollution and degradation of natural systems will no longer be regarded as externalities, instead integrated into costs of business so as to remedy and avert damage.
b: transition to steady-state, mixed economies, with relevant changes to the banking system and the creation of money.
c: establish equality parameters (floor and ceiling earnings) as they reflect societal well-being balanced with opportunities for economic livelihood.
d: as part and parcel of the shift from neoliberal to mixed economies, separate investment and commercial banking, and introduce a global financial transaction tax to be directed toward the planets most pressing ecological and human crises.
4: overhaul the outdated legal system based on Roman law.
b. grant nature inalienable rights, that change the status of ecosystems from being regarded as property to being recognised as rights-bearing entities. as such, the concept of ownership as it applies to land and resources will transition to a concept reflecting stewardship and wise use.
c. strip corporations of person-hood, retract profit alone as their sole legal directive, and enable accurate and full liability for harm done to individuals, communities and ecosystems.
d. reform the International financial institutions and trade organisations (IMF, WTO and World Bank) to become democratic, and accountable to globally enforceable social and ecological protections based on codes of sustainability and human rights.
5: in order that into the future we may sustain human life on earth, tackle our most urgent planetary crises: those of climate change and loss of biodiversity.
a. apply a direct carbon tax that taxes emissions at the cost of mitigation, multiplied by a ratio sufficiently high enough to address historical emmissions and reverse atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases to 350 ppm CO2-eq. or below within a time frame. In addition, mobilise to guarantee atmospheric concentrations peak no later than 2015. These are the two requirements needed to safely deflect the danger of catastrophic climate destabilisation.
b. follow the recommendation of E.O. Wilson by leaving nature 50% of planet earth on which to exist undisturbed. This will accompany aforementioned demands so as to guarantee human well-being. carbon tax must go toward rapid reforestation as mitigation and biodiversity protection.
6: insulate the integrity of science, and use science to inform all national and international decision- making. Science must be used in the negotiation of codes of sustainability that embody our responsibility to all life on earth, all future life on earth and future generations of humans. These codes will ensure our footprint does not exceed our biocapacity and that our consumption levels are framed within this footprint. These codes, together with the precautionary principle, must inform all policy- and decision-making.
Earthan 