Early this June, Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced that the “number one issue” at the G20 summit in Toronto is Europe’s increasing debt and overspending. Now hold on a minute, Jim: what about the other two thirds of the world that have suffered crippling international debt, environmental catastrophes, hunger, disease, and economic trouble this past century? The European crisis is a red herring, steering the conversation away from what it should really be about: creating a just, environmentally and socially sustainable economy for all. Unfortunately, the crucial discussions of climate change, water scarcity, food security, renewable energy, international aid, and human rights will be relegated into peripheral obscurity at the G20. If we had it our way, there would be a different order of business. Corporate Knights looked to international thought leaders to gain insights on what needs to change. The consensus is that the modern world’s agenda needs a redesign. We need a new model for growth, a new model for value, and a new list of priorities that take into account the neglected issues that are far more powerful and permanent than the almighty dollar. How do we reconcile the economy with the environment? Here’s what they had to say.

"If we are going to preach globalization in this new wonder world then democracy should have an ultimate concern for people. Right now people are starving while these corporations are making a profit by hijacking the market with cartel price-fixing. How can the world leaders ignore that?"

Eugene Whelan, former Minister of Agriculture for Canada and former President of the UN World

"You can make a lot of money by taking action [against climate change], but what good are the bags of money going to do you when the climate begins to change fiercely. It would be wise to take action on adaptation, not on trying vainly to stop something that we can’t."

Dr James Lovelock, scientist and author of The Vanishing Face of Gaia: A Final Warning