Globalization and Sustainable Development: is Ethics the Missing Link? The first Earth Dialogues Forum was held in the French city of Lyon in 2002, where 1300 participants and top leaders gathered for three days, and achieved the goal of providing an open and neutral forum where all parties to the globalization and sustainable development debates could share their visions and develop equitable solutions. From an ethical perspective, this session preceded the World Summit on Sustainable Development held later in August 2002. A host of eminent personalities took part in this meeting including: Mikhail Gorbachev, Chairman of the Board, Green Cross International, Lionel Jospin, then Prime Minister of France, Gérard Collomb, Senator-Mayor of Lyon, President of the Urban Community of Lyon, Raymond Barre, former Prime Minister of France, former Mayor of Lyon, Maurice Strong, President, Earth Council Institute, amongst others.
The objectives of these dialogues were:
• To voice the concerns and initiatives of civil society actors
• To identify obstacles and barriers to achieving sustainable development
• To articulate essential principles and values for sustainable development
• To share value changing best practices and experiences
• To consider the contribution of the Earth Charter in defining and strengthening sustainable development
• To produce proposals and recommendations
These objectives were in line with the themes of the conference, which included respect and care for the community of life, ecological integrity, social and economic justice, and democracy, non-violence and peace. Within these topics, environmental issues such as greenhouse gas emissions and desertification were discussed as well as economic concerns linked to globalization and ethical investments. Social issues such as democracy, human rights, intercultural tolerance, good governance and security were also discussed.