York U. Lecture features leading authority on sustainable development and education
Past decade's progress on sustainable development patchy -- governments fall behind business/citizens, says former head of Brundtland Commission Dr. Jim MacNeill

TORONTO, September 6, 2000 -- While non-governmental organizations and universities have been leading the charge on making people mindful and decisive about sustainable development, governments -- including Canada's -- appear to have lost their way and their will, says the World Bank's Independent Inspection Panel Chairman Dr. Jim MacNeill.

MacNeill was Secretary General of the World Commission on Environment and Development -- better known as the Brundtland Commission -- and principal architect and a major author of its 1987 report, "Our Common Future," which established a global agenda for sustainable development. During a lecture and question-and-answer session at York University on Sat., Sept. 9, 2 - 3:30 p.m., MacNeill will assess how governments, industry and society have done in achieving sustainable development goals over the last decade. MacNeill's lecture is sponsored by York's Faculty of Environmental Studies, and is part of the President's Task Force on Sustainability Speakers' Series. It will be held in the York University Senate Chamber, (room N940) Ross Building, 4700 Keele St.

"In the nearly 14 years since the Brundtland Commission called for a global transition to more sustainable forms of development, progress has been very mixed," says MacNeill. "Civil society has made significant gains in its ability to influence change, and its power is increasing. In the private sector, some corporations, such as those in the Business Council for Sustainable Development, have broken ranks and taken the lead on issues such as forest practices, habitat preservation and global warming. Leaders in many governments, however, including Canada's federal and provincial governments, have regressed, dismantling environmental laws and institutions and slashing budgets. And, so far, they seem to have been getting away with it. An interesting question to ask is: ëWhy?'"

Prof. David Bell, Director of York's Centre for Applied Sustainability, says MacNeill's work with the Brundtland Commission is lasting and profound. "MacNeill made a seminal contribution to a document that may turn out to be the most important United Nations report ever written," he said, adding that MacNeill's articulation of the concept of sustainable development has found its way to all parts of the globe and to all sectors of society.

MacNeill enjoys nearly four decades of experience as a policy advisor to leaders of governments, industry and international organizations in the fields of energy, natural resources, management, environment and sustainable development. Chairman of the World Bank's Independent Inspection Panel in Washington, D.C., he is Chairman Emeritus of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) in Winnipeg and a member of the boards of the Woods Hole Research Center, Woods Hole, Mass., and the Wuppertal Institute on Climate and Energy Policy in Germany. He is also Editorial Chairman of the Earth Times, New York, and member of the 4-person Jury for the Volvo Environment Prize, Gothenburg, Sweden.

MacNeill led the OECD's Environment Program in Paris for seven years. He was Canada's Ambassador and Commissioner General for the 1976 UN Vancouver Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat). As a Special Advisor to the Secretary General, he played a key role in both the 1972 Stockholm Conference and 1992 Earth Summit in Rio.

MacNeill, the author of numerous articles, publications and books, is also the recipient of the Order of Canada, the City of Paris' Silver Medal, the Merit Award of the Climate Institute, the Lifetime Achievement Award of Environment Canada, and was honored in 1991 with the WASA Environmental Award from the King of Sweden. He also earned the highest achievement award from his native province of Saskatchewan. He has received several honorary degrees including honorary doctors of Science (McGill), Environmental Studies (Waterloo), Humane Letters (Lakehead) and Laws (Saskatchewan.) He has a B. Sc. in math & physics (1949) and in mechanical engineering (1958) from Saskatchewan, and a graduate diploma in economics and political science from the University of Stockholm, Sweden (1951).

NOTE: MacNeill describes the work of the Commission and his role in it in a series of 12 one-hour radio broadcasts prepared for Open College, "Sustainability: Canadian and Global Views" ("The Brundtland Commission and Our Common Future") available at www.yorku.ca/ycas.

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For more information, please contact:

Dianne Zecchino
Faculty of Environmental Studies
York University
(416) 736-5285
e-mail: diannez@yorku.ca

Suzette Randall
Manager, Development and Alumni Relations
Faculty of Environmental Studies
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 33281
e-mail: srandall@yorku.ca

Ken Turriff
Media Relations
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22086
e-mail: kturriff@yorku.ca
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