© German Bundestag/ studio kohlmeier

On 17 December 2009, the Bundestag decided to establish a Parliamentary Advisory Council on Sustainable Development. This Advisory Council had been called for by the CDU/CSU, SPD, FDP and Alliance 90/The Greens in a joint motion (Printed Paper 17/245). The motion stressed the necessity, against the background of the challenges posed by globalisation, for the Bundestag to make clear its commitment to sustainable development. The motion underlined the fact that the Parliamentary Advisory Council should serve as the advocate of long-term responsibility in the political process, should structure policy for future generations and support the work of the bodies created by the Federal Government.

The Parliamentary Council, comprising 22 full members and 22 substitute members, is intended to lend a parliamentary dimension to the national strategy on sustainability, play a role in developing goals, measures and instruments and defining them in concrete terms, present recommendations on medium and long-term planning, enter into dialogue with other parliaments, particularly in the European Union, and underpin the discussion within society on the subject of sustainable development. The Council is to present a report on its work at least once every two years.