May 2011: The Sherpas and Senior Advisors to the members of the UN Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Global Sustainability (GSP) met from 13-14 April 2011, in Madrid, Spain. The report of the Sherpas’ meeting, prepared by the GSP Secretariat, summarizes the Sherpas’ discussions of implementing the framework articulated at the second Panel meeting (GSP 2), held in Cape Town, South Africa, from 24-25 February 2011.

The Sherpas’ meeting included a panel discussion with six external experts, who briefed the Sherpas on their respective areas of expertise and conducted an informal peer review of the material produced by or for GSP, to date. According to the meeting report, the experts recommended that the Panel, inter alia: take advantage of its independence from the intergovernmental process; consider defining Sustainable Development Goals to follow the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the post-2015 agenda; reflect on the political traction of removing subsidies, as opposed to new forms of international taxation; and promote the establishment of a social protection floor.

The Sherpas also discussed the key questions and focus areas of their work leading to GSP 3, which will take place in Helsinki, Finland, from 16-17 May 2011. A key question was how to transition to a long-term vision of a sustainable world, once the vision is articulated. The discussion also emphasized the need to decouple growth from resource use, and the possibility of doing so through changes to incentive structures.

The Sherpas also created break-out groups focused on ways to achieve the three sets of goals identified in the framework from GSP 2: eradicate poverty, reduce inequality, and enhance social justice and security; shift to sustainable production, consumption, and inclusive growth; and manage scarcity, common goods, and ecosystems with respect to planetary boundaries. Each group discussed overarching issues, policy priorities, and the way forward. [Publication: Report of Sherpas’ Meeting]