Conversation with dr Hanna Wolska
Faculty of Law and Administration, Department of Public Economic Law and environmental Protection Law
How do you understand the idea of sustainable development?
The idea of sustainable development should be understood as a set of fundamental postulates of a global nature, the implementation of which will constitute the most important challenge for modern society in the coming years.
How do you think the goals of the 2030 Agenda can be achieved at the local and micro scale?
The goals set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development are a response to the diagnosis of the most important civilisation threats for the world. Therefore, the only way to achieve these goals at the local and micro-scale is to raise awareness and educate individuals that their individual attitudes and behaviour influence the attainment of the SDG goals. Each goal should be given a narrow meaning so that in the individuals’ consciousness the achievement of the goal wouldn’t be too difficult for them.
Do you conduct research related to the areas of sustainable development?
I’m the manager of an international scientific project entitled Economy, finance, and sustainable development (Wirtschaft, Finanzen und nachhaltige Entwicklung), financed by the Polish-German Science Foundation (PNFN). The project leader is the University of Gdańsk, while the project partners are Justus-Liebig University in Giessen, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, University of Silesia in Katowice, and Wydawnictwo C.H. Beck. The main goal of the project is to conduct scientific research on the impact and implementation of the value of sustainable development on the economy and finances in Poland and Germany. The project includes an analysis from a comparative perspective – both horizontally (i.e., at the national level) and vertically (from the point of view of state-European Union relations) while considering the similarities and differences between Poland and Germany in this respect. The research is conducted at the same time on several dogmatic levels, from the perspective of public economic law, financial law, constitutional law, and environmental protection law. The implementation of the value of sustainable development includes many socio-economic schemes in which the processes integrating political, economic, and social activity take place while maintaining the balance of nature and the durability of basic nature processes, to guarantee the possibility of meeting the basic needs of individual communities or citizens of both the present generation, as well as future generations. The value of sustainable development therefore goes beyond issues strictly related to environmental protection. It is also a reference point for the issues of business activity, infrastructure development, building social bonds and shaping spatial order, thus gaining a universal character.
What solutions contributing to the attainment of sustainable development goals could be introduced at the University of Gdańsk?
I see the University of Gdańsk as one of the leaders in the field of ecological education and the promotion of the 17 sustainable development goals of the 2030 Agenda among students and residents of the Pomeranian region. University employees and authorities have been involved in various activities in the field of environmental protection for many years. If the planting of trees and cleaning of the Tri-City’s forests were initiated by students and employees of the University of Gdańsk, I would be happy to take part in such an initiative.
What role do you think education and raising students’ awareness can play in reaching the goals of the agenda? Do you take up this topic in your teaching activities?
This is certainly an important element of the system and making young people aware of the goals of the 2030 Agenda at each stage of education is very important. In my teaching work, I show students various legal solutions regarding sustainable development, which they can use in their future professional work. Year by year, I also notice that students are more and more interested in this issue.
What main barriers and challenges do you see in relation to the goals of the 2030 Agenda?
First, I notice the mental and awareness barriers of individuals who aren’t convinced that their actions can improve the global condition of the modern world. That’s why education and raising public awareness of attaining the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development are so important.
What is the EU’s role in supporting the Sustainable Development Goals?
It’s certainly an important and multi-faceted role. The European Union is an initiator in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development together with the Member States. The sustainable development goals are also reflected in all 10 priorities of the European Commission. Moreover, as a lawyer, I see the particular importance of the European Union in harmonising legal provisions that combine economic, social, and environmental issues.
Which of the sustainable development goals is the most important for you and why?
Goals 5 and 15 are the most important to me, i.e., goals related to ecology as well as achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls. This is since I’m the mother of a 16-month-old daughter and I’d like her to live in a natural and healthy environment, and in the future to have a chance to achieve any goal she sets for herself.
Interview by dr Elżbieta Czapka.