With this transformation, the body will contribute to Canary Islands anticipating the major economic, social, demographic, technological, territorial, and environmental changes that will shape its future. It will also assess the impact of current decisions on future generations.
The vice-counselor of the President's Cabinet, Octavio Caraballo, stated that Canary Islands is being equipped with “an agile, independent entity capable of ensuring that present policies do not compromise the opportunities of future Canarians.” A key objective is to produce a Report on the Future of the Canary Islands to support decision-making, in collaboration with the public universities of the Canary Islands and other knowledge centers.
The reform aims to enhance the operational capacity of the CCDS, focusing efforts on a “robust and independent” institution that unifies social participation, work, and inter-institutional coordination, alongside a scientific-technical base. This aligns with the work of the strategic thinking office of the Government of the Canary Islands, Islas Responsables Lab (IRLab).
Established in 2022, the Council for Sustainable Development, attached to the Presidency of the Government of the Canary Islands, has shown limitations due to its broad composition and its almost exclusive focus on the Canary Agenda 2030. These circumstances, according to Caraballo, have progressively reduced its capacity for influence and public debate generation.
The reform is inspired by the Declaration on Future Generations adopted by the United Nations in September 2024, which calls on public institutions to consider the long-term consequences of their decisions and act with intergenerational responsibility.
The composition of the new Council will ensure territorial, generational, and gender diversity, including insular reality and local administration. Territorial meetings will be structured on the different islands to exercise multilevel articulation.
The new CCDS will include experts in science, research, universities, business, entrepreneurship, social economy, youth, intergenerational policies, social cohesion, territory, culture, rural environment, ecological transition, local administration, and relations with Europe, Africa, and America.
Key functions will include preparing analyses on medium and long-term challenges and opportunities for the Canary Islands, issuing recommendations on strategies and laws with significant structural or intergenerational impact, and promoting the Report on the Future of the Canary Islands.
