State planning and the sustainable development convention: an introduction

Abstract

The climate crisis is a humanitarian crisis. Extreme weather events disrupt the world, and adaptation and mitigation policies should be part of the National States’ planning. Failing to meet the target set by the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit the temperature rise to 1.5ºC or a maximum of 2ºC by 2050 compared to pre-industrial levels, threatens living standards and conditions. In this context, the State needs to resume its role as a promoter of public policies capable of bringing stability, reducing inequality and establishing rules for planning aimed at long-term growth with environmental sustainability – i.e., growth with economic development in the context of the climate crisis. The sustainable green transition process requires coordination among economic agents in a new configuration of production relations – a new Sustainable Development Convention. This process should involve the active participation of the State, the market and civil society. Therefore, the resumption of State planning practices will be essential to coordinate the allocation of resources and direct economies toward a sustainable green transition. Promoting a change in the economic convention focused on the sustainable green transition is essential to face the challenge ahead. Hence, economic planning is part of the sustainable green transition strategy. This article argues for the need for a Sustainable Development Convention that rescues the developmental State in counterpoint to the neoliberal State, primarily subordinated to the rentier interests of the financial system.