Thursday 13 July 2006

His letter followed comparable references in two speeches he made last week. When addressing farmers, he coined the term 'One Planet Farming'; speaking to representatives of local government, he mentioned their role in helping local communities move closer to 'One Planet Living'. And this weekend the Finnish government, which currently has presidency of the EU, is holding a meeting of European environment ministers - presumably including David Miliband - to discuss a global coalition to develop 'One Planet Policy'.

So what on Earth is One Planet Living? Well, WWF has shown that if everyone in the world lived as we do in the UK, we would need three planets to support us. As it is, each year we are consuming about 20% more natural resources globally than the planet can replace, and we're emitting more carbon dioxide than it can absorb. In other words, we are no longer living off the planet's interest, we are eating into its natural capital.

Of course, we only have one planet. So how do we shift from our current "three planet" lifestyles to One Planet Living?

WWF and BioRegional - the sustainability charity behind the acclaimed BedZED eco-village in south London - have jointly developed the concept of One Planet Living, based on a set of 10 principles for sustainable living. In a nutshell, we aim to show that sustainable, environmentally-friendly living can be easy, affordable and attractive.

To put the concept into practice, we're working to develop an international network of One Planet Living communities in places such as Shanghai, Johannesburg and Lisbon, as well as London. We're also working with the organisers of the 2012 London Olympics, which aims to be the first 'One Planet Olympics'.

But One Planet Living won't be easy for the rest of us until we start fundamentally to change the way we design our lifestyles. No one gets up in the morning and deliberately chooses to do something that harms the environment, or that deprives someone in a developing country of a decent living. However, humankind is stuck in the habit of producing and consuming things - such as oil and other fossil fuels - in ways that have serious consequences, not least of which is climate change.

But give us a different set of choices - products and services that don't harm the environment or people, yet still meet our needs at a price we can afford - and we'll all be happy. Unfortunately we can't achieve this on our own.

If we try really hard to save energy and water, to recycle and cut down on our waste, it's possible to reduce our 'three planet lifestyle' to a 'two planet lifestyle'. But to reach the levels necessary for One Planet Living, we'll need help from the designers - both of government policies and of the products we all consume. We need fresh ideas and policies that encourage innovation.

So what would our energy future look like in a One Planet Living world? Well, for a start we'd need a lot less of it. Super energy-efficient homes would be heated and powered by renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and biomass. And, instead of a supply-driven power sector, selling as much energy to as many people as possible, we'd have an energy services sector that focuses on meeting peoples' real energy needs while cutting their CO2 emissions by installing loft and wall insulation and energy-efficient boilers, lights and appliances.

These aren't fanciful ideas from the world of science fiction: in many parts of Europe they are already a mainstream reality. And what's more, it's been proven that they're good for business and good for people... as well as being good for the planet.

And how does this all relate to the UKs overseas aid and development agenda? Well, at the heart of the idea of One Planet Living is the little matter of equity. Put simply, we in the UK are consuming three times our fair share of the Earths resources, while millions of people in developing countries receive much less than their share. And whats more, the effects of our consumption and carbon dioxide emissions in the affluent West will result in the most devastating climate change effects in the poorest parts of the world - most susceptible to droughts or flooding, and under-resourced in terms of healthcare, sanitation and re-construction in the event of climate change induced catastrophe. So, unless we do more to tackle climate change at home, it will render much of the UKs overseas aid a waste of money.

That's why David Miliband's new mission "to enable One Planet Living" is interesting and, potentially, very important. But to find out exactly what he means by One Planet Living, we'll have to wait and see.

Paul King, Director of Campaigns, WWF-UK