Our origins
This work began with Goa Foundation, an environmental non-profit in India. The Goenchi Mati Movement is a non-partisan public campaign to implement intergenerational equity in Goa, starting with minerals. Subsequently, The Future We Need was set up as a global movement, with the Goenchi Mati Movement as its first campaign. Subsequent campaigns have worked on international government accounting standards, India’s National Mineral Policy 2019, deep seabed mining in international waters; and UNEP’s resolution on mineral resource governance.
While these ideas were developed in response to the issues created by extraction / mining, it turns out that if civilization and the human species is to survive, the intergenerational equity principle must become foundational for our society, politics and economy.
Intergenerational Equity is essential for the survival of civilization
Natural resources, including minerals, are a shared inheritance. It is our duty to ensure future generations inherit at least as much as we did. If we fulfill our duty, we may enjoy the fruits of our inheritance. A loss is a loss to all of us and all our future generations.
If each generation consumes a tiny part of the inheritance, soon there will be nothing left and civilization will cease. This day is visible.
The five principles for managing our shared mineral inheritance are:
1. The state is a trustee of natural resources for the people and especially future generations (Public Trust Doctrine).
2. As we have inherited the minerals, we are simply custodians and must pass them on to future generations (Inter-generational Equity Principle).
Consider the example of inherited family gold. If the family decide to keep the gold as it is, they ensure the gold remains to be passed onto future generations. However they must safeguard it against theft, which is both a headache and a cost, while the gold produces no income. Alternatively, if they decide to sell the gold and invest the proceeds in say land for example, they and their future generations can benefit from the income of the land as long as it is well maintained. The crucial point is that if the gold were to be lost or the investments mismanaged, the loss of capital would be permanent for all future generations.
3. If we mine and sell our mineral resources, we must ensure zero loss, ie. capture of the full economic rent (sale price minus cost of extraction, cost including reasonable profit for miner). Any loss is a loss to all of us and our future generations.
4. Like Norway, all the proceeds from our minerals must be saved in a Future Generations Fund, with the state as trustee for the people and especially future generations.
5. We own the minerals, we own the fund, we own the income if the fund. Distribute the real income (after inflation) from the Future Generations Fund only a commons dividend or a Citizen’s Dividend, equally to all as a right of ownership.
Learn more
Our campaigns to implement intergenerational equity
1. Goenchi Mati Movement – Iron ore mining in Goa, India, our oldest and most established campaign. Here’s why we chose this paradigm.
2. India’s National Mineral Policy 2019. Prior to the review of the policy, we had some wins in other arms of the national government. The final policy declares “Natural resources, including minerals, are a shared inheritance where the state is the trustee on behalf of the people to ensure that future generations receive the benefit of inheritance. State Governments will endeavour to ensure that the full value of the extracted minerals is received by the State.” Some other aspects of fully implementing intergenerational equity are also included.
3. Deep Seabed Mining in International Waters Beyond National Jurisdiction. Jointly with Goa Foundation, we launched a sign-on letter and petition addressed to the International Seabed Authority asking for a moratorium on mining until we had a much better understanding of what is on the seabed, including both minerals and biodiversity.
4. Ethical Government Accounting A crucial error in international government accounting standards must be corrected. This is to force governments to treat mining as the sale of inherited wealth, not “windfall revenue”. Here’s the impact of the error. And how it strongly incentivizes new extraction in the Arctic Refuge, Alaska, USA.
Campaign targets include the IMF’s Government Finance Statistics Manual (GFSM) 2014, and the standards of the International Public Sector Accountings Standards Board (IPSASB). The IPSASB has put a new IPSAS on Natural Resources as its top priority for its Work Plan 2019-2023. IMF has started updating its GFSM.
5. Our campaign asking UNEP to take an intergenerational equity perspective on Mineral Resource Governance. While the consultation has closed, this is our summary on how minerals should be governed if seen as a shared inheritance of the people alive and all future generations.
6. Zero Loss when selling mineral wealth is a very important driver of the resource curse and a root cause of violations of intergenerational equity. If we see minerals as a shared inheritance, our collective family gold, it becomes obvious that safeguarding the wealth is our primary goal. Since extraction usually results in the sale of the mineral, we must ensure zero loss in the sale process.
7. Our campaign asking for the implementation of Integrity Due Diligence in extractives. Known thieves cannot manage our shared inheritance. That would be irresponsible.
8. Our newest campaign is to examine approaches to implementing intergenerational equity with climate. As part of this work, we have co-founded CASCA, the Cap & Share Climate Alliance.
Zero Loss – evidence, and what is needed
We argue that Zero Loss is only fair, and safeguarding wealth against theft, loss, waste or consumption demands a change in thinking. Any loss is a loss to the people and all future generations. If states produced balance sheets, then losses would result in a decline in public sector net worth.
Global estimates of Loss Rates is a collection of studies from which loss rates can be calculated. We have used government data to estimate that Australia lost 82% of the value of the minerals extracted over 2000-2010. Similarly, others have estimated that the UK lost 35-39% of the value of the North Sea oil extracted. Statistics Canada for years has published data suggesting enormous losses, largely ranging between 60% and 80% with a median of 73%.
Three shocking cases of public wealth destruction extracts from recent studies by the IMF on public sector net worth of the Gulf Cooperation Countries, the UK and Norway, showing how all three are currently destroying public wealth.
Other Demands
Recent demand in Portugal: Intergenerational equity in lithium extraction: a state priority
Act Now
Ask your government to implement intergenerational equity, especially the 5 principles
Ask the IMF to fix the error in their Government Finance Statistics Manual
Ask the International Seabed Authority to implement intergenerational equity, especially the 5 principles