Speech by President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen

It is a great pleasure for me to address this Annual Conference of the Club of Rome. It is an honour for Finland to host the Club of Rome and I hope for a successful continuation for your conference.

Over thirty years has passed since the Club of Rome published its revolutionary report “The Limits to Growth” in 1972. Time flies, doesn’t it? The report was published at a time when the prevailing paradigm was uncritical belief in everlasting and continuous growth.

No wonder that the report received a lot of attention and plenty of criticism. And the discussion has been going on ever since. A most valuable and recent contribution to this discussion is the book “The Limits to Growth: The 30 Year Update”, published earlier this year by original authors Donnella Meadows, Jorgen Randers and Dennis Meadows.

The direst predictions in the original report have fortunately not come true– at least so far. Nevertheless, the essence of the warning from the Club of Rome remains valid.

There are situations where natural resources have been reduced. For example, large portions of the world's fish stocks have been overfished, some perhaps terminally.

Lately there have been years of record weather-related disasters. There is still speculation - among scientists as well as politicians - about the extent of climate change. However businesses, especially insurance companies, surely calculate already whether they can afford to operate in some parts of the world anymore.

"The Limits to Growth" called for humankind to re-evaluate its exploitative attitude towards humans and the earth itself. The failure to give more foreign aid or to help in other ways is indicative of the selfishness of the industrialized countries. There is little indication that most of the world's richest countries – and people - are willing to heed the warning from "The Limits to Growth".

However, the wake-up call of “The Limits to Growth” has been heard and also heeded. Awareness of the importance of curbing environmental degradation is much higher than it was thirty or even ten years ago. There is also a growing understanding of the deep interdependence of security, development, social justice and environmental sustainability.

This has been displayed in several recent political commitments within the United Nations: the Millennium Declaration, the Monterrey Consensus on Financing for Development and the Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development. In addition commitments have been made also in other international fora.

These are historical global commitments. I even said in a recent meeting at the United Nations that the Millennium Declaration is by far the most comprehensive and farsighted political commitment ever agreed upon by the United Nations.

The real challenge now is to change these commitments into reality, with the spirit of solidarity and within the frames of limited resources of the world.

One concrete indication of the desire to implement the Millennium Declaration and other commitments is the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization, which was established by the International Labour Organization two and a half years ago.

I had the honour to co-chair this World Commission of “Not Like-Minded People” with my Tanzanian counterpart, President Benjamin Mkapa. Despite deep differences in views in the commission, we could agree on a joint report “A Fair Globalization; Creating Opportunities for All”, which was published last February.

The report is about change. A change towards genuine dialogue. A change for a better future. A change for a fair globalization. To this end our commission calls for:

A focus on people. The cornerstone of a fairer globalization lies in meeting the demands of people. It is remarkable how often people’s needs and well-being are forgotten when discussing globalization. Emphasis has been on economic liberalization, market access and macroeconomic policies, which are - no doubt - important issues. Anyhow, these are not ends in themselves, but means for improving people’s life.

We call for a democratic and effective state. The nation-state is still a main actor in globalization and should provide a conducive environment for people’s self-fulfilment, starting with democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law, social justice, rooting up of corruption and sustainable economic growth.

At the same time nation-states are main actors on the international scene. Their commitment to multilateralism and universal values and their sensitivity to the cross-border impact of their policies are vital determinants of the quality of globalization and global governance.

We call for sustainable development. We need interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars of economic and social development as well as environmental protection on all levels.

We call for fair international rules. The rules of the global economy must offer equitable opportunities and access for all countries and recognize the diversity in national capabilities and developmental needs.

This is especially clear concerning the rules of international trade. The trade agenda has for decades been determined by the industrialized countries, which by their sheer negotiating power dictated the outcomes of negotiations. The Cancún setback last year was a good reminder that this does not work anymore.

I sincerely hope that the Doha Development Round will live up to its promise and provide for a more equitable international trade regime. A trade regime that is sensitive to the needs and interests of developing countries.

Fair rules for trade and capital flows need to be complemented by fair rules for the cross-border movement of people. All countries stand to benefit from an orderly and managed process of international migration that can enhance global productivity and eliminate exploitative practices.

We call for decent work for all to be made a global goal and be pursued through coherent policies within the multilateral system. Better employment is essential both in developing and industrialized countries, and desire for work unites people in North and in South.

We call for globalization with solidarity. There is a shared responsibility to assist countries and people excluded from the benefits of globalization. The industrialized countries need to fulfil the promise of raising development aid to 0.7% of GDP as promised over thirty years ago. At the same time we need to give open-minded consideration to new and innovative proposals for additional development funding, including international taxation.

We call for deeper partnerships. Many actors are engaged in realizing global social and economic goals – international organizations, governments and parliaments, business, labour, civil society and many others. Dialogue and partnership among them is an essential democratic instrument to create a better world.

And we call for an effective United Nations. A stronger and more efficient multilateral system is the key instrument to create a democratic, legitimate and coherent framework for globalization.

We need urgently improved co-operation and better policy coherence between international organizations. The time is ripe for a broad UN reform, which would also give ECOSOC the role envisaged in the UN Charter.

You know very well and I know very well that reports without follow-up do not make any difference in the real world. Therefore members of our commission have been actively promoting the report and its recommendations. That is actually what I am doing here right now.

One main venue for action is the United Nations. The governments of Tanzania and Finland have put forward a draft resolution for the 59th General Assembly, linking the report’s recommendations to the implementation of the Millennium Declaration.

Similar work is underway in other international organizations, including the ILO and the Bretton Woods Institutions. On the regional level good progress has taken place in the African Union and the European Union.

I would like to conclude by thanking the organizers of this conference and by thanking the Club of Rome. Over the years you have studied and raised awareness about real and controversial issues. I encourage you to continue your work in the same excellent tradition and I do hope that globalization will stay on your agenda. I and my colleagues from the World Commission are ready to continue discussion on how to make globalization fair and sustainable.