The Green Party of Nova Scotia recognizes the intricate connections of a healthy environment, conservative use of our natural resources, thriving communities, and a sustainable economy. The Green Party insists that progress toward sustainable long-term prosperity and well-being requires protection and strengthening of social and environmental assets and termination of damaging activities.
The Green Party concedes that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has its place as one type of measure of the economy; however, it is not useful in measuring progress or sustainability.
The Green Party shares the goal outlined in the province’s Environmental and Sustainable Prosperity Act to value natural, human, and social capital as well as built and financial capital.However, the Green Party does not agree with the treatment of these values as commodities to be traded against each other. Far too often, the term “balance” in decision-making has meant a trade-off, seriously undervaluing the natural, human, and social considerations, to push built and financial capital.
Many key social and natural assets are not valued in conventional balance sheets, and a much broader range of real benefits and costs need to be included in our economic accounts. Full-cost accounting tracks produced material, and financial capital as in conventional economic accounts, and in addition, it explicitly values human, social, and natural capital, recognizing that all these forms of capital require re-investment to maintain and enhance their value.
The Green Party acknowledges the Genuine Progress Index (GPI) approach as an accounting framework consistent with Green Party goals. The Green Party values the research on the Nova Scotia Genuine Progress Index, recognizing that further work on the GPI is planned to include other key dimensions important to the Green Party.
- The Green Party of Nova Scotia will
- utilize full-cost accounting, that is the assessment of full economic, social, and environmental costs and benefits
- incorporate full-cost accounting as a primary measure and a planning guide for economic progress
- use the Genuine Progress Index approach to measure progress, to inform strategies for improvement, and in other appropriate applications, as well as its use in areas identified in the Constitution and By-laws.