This is part of a discussion going on here now. Please choose your topic by clicking on any underlined blue words on this page.

 

Any individual or group who accepts 20 or more of the 25 planks is invited to sign the Platform for Survival. If you wish to explain your hesitation about a plank, you are welcome to do so on the discussion/comment section of the relevant page.

 

The Platform for Survival

War and Weapons

Plank 1. All states owning or hosting nuclear weapons shall immediately de-alert them and commit to no-first-use.
Plank 2. All states, including those in NATO, shall sign, ratify, and within 10 years comply with the TPNW.
Plank 3. All states shall reduce their militaries and not plan war for “national security.”
Plank 4. All states shall develop a UN Emergency Peace Service to protect civilians and respond to crises.
Plank 5. All states shall ratify and fully implement the Arms Trade Treaty.
Plank 6. UN Convention on CCW and all states shall prohibit developing or deploying lethal autonomous weapons.

Global Warming

Plank 7. All states shall swiftly adopt maximally stringent efficiency standards for cars, trucks, ships, and aircraft.
Plank 8. The International Code Council shall adopt stringent performance-based building codes.
Plank 9. All states shall adopt norms and procedures for the production, recovery, and recycling of materials.
Plank 10. All states shall accelerate R&D of HVDC electric grids, energy storage, and Demand System Management.
Plank 11. All states shall incorporate environmental considerations in developing national dietary food guides.
Plank 12. All states shall negotiate to preserve and protect forests and enhance carbon sinks.

Famine

Plank 13. All states shall accelerate SDG efforts to end poverty and enable all to obtain food and potable water.
Plank 14. All states shall support improvements of soil health for resilient food production and carbon sequestration.

Pandemics

Plank 15. WHO shall promote nations’ use of Incident Management System6 for early detection and response to pandemics.
Plank 16. UN shall adopt a ‘one health approach’ integrating veterinary and environmental science to mitigate pandemics.

Radiation Exposure

Plank 17. All states shall shift rapidly to effective generation of electricity by using renewable energy.
Plank 18. All states shall prioritize the long-term control and safe storage of radioactive wastes, with public review.

Cyber Attacks

Plank 19. The UN shall declare cyberspace a peaceful commons and create a binding treaty for international cyber norms.
Plank 20. Manufacturers of ICT hardware and software shall be liable for negligent security failures that cause harm.

Enabling Measures

Plank 21. All states shall support SDGs; tax wealth and financial transactions; and redistribute funds equitably.
Plank 22. All multilateral institutions shall heed the demands of international civil society alliances for justice.
Plank 23. Sub-national governments and non-state actors shall exercise leadership in solving global problems.
Plank 24. Investors and regulators shall compel all businesses to comply with the U.N. Global Compact.
Plank 25. Social movements and states shall prioritize Sustainable Common Security to address shared global challenges.

Fatal combinations

When dealing with a system, it can be easier to solve the whole combination of problems together than any one of them singly. That is true when one of the problems is causing most of the other problems. If you solve it, the others will be easy. So it’s important to prioritize—to choose which issues to work on and in which order. Afterward we may all keep specializing in solving a single small part of the problem, but we’ll understand how the parts fit together as a big picture. When you’re working on a jigsaw puzzle, it helps to see the picture on the box lid and get a notion as to where each piece may belong. So, this course is meant to be like a picture on the box of our huge puzzle called “How to save the world.” Read more here…

Recent Platform endorsements

Duncan MacMartin
Fernando Mazorra
Yahaya Abdullah
Adegboye Onigbinde
Don Wickson
Dennis Mural
Wendy Turner
Jan Noel
Ángel Alvarez
Lester Kurtz
Lewis Luo
Moses Orembe
Mary Clark
Anthony Rapoport
Ron Shirtliff
David Walsh
Shana Salaff
Michel Duguay

Recent Group Signatories

Canadian Pugwash Group
Design with Dialogue
Drawdown Toronto
Global Cooperation Day Turtle Island
Physicians for Global Survival
Peace Magazine
Sitata Corporation
Priorities & Choices
Tenwek Mission Hospital
Urgent Action for Democracy and Development
Glico Shamba Fresh Farms