Sustainability studies

Towards the end of the 1980s, environmental concerns and ecological sustainability gained increased global attention.{{Cite web |title=1980s Environmentalism and How the Reagan-Era Shaped the Natural World |url=https://backstoryradio.org/shows/reagan-environmentalism/ |access-date=2025-05-10 |website=BackStory}} The Brundtland Commission, chaired by Norway’s Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland,{{Cite news |url=https://www.dandc.eu/en/article/paradigm-shift-towards-sustainability-must-go-ahead-full-speed |title=The paradigm shift towards sustainability must go ahead at full speed |work=D+C |access-date=2018-12-03}} was appointed in 1983 to study the consequences of global environmental change.{{Cite web |url=http://www.histecon.magd.cam.ac.uk/history-sust/sustainability.htm |title=History and Sustainability |website=www.histecon.magd.cam.ac.uk |access-date=2018-12-03}} In 1987, the commission delivered the Brundtland Report, which introduced the concept of sustainable development, defined as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".{{Cite journal |last=Du Pisani |first=Jacobus A. |date=June 2006 |title=Sustainable development – historical roots of the concept |journal=Environmental Sciences |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=83–96 |doi=10.1080/15693430600688831 |bibcode=2006JIES....3...83D |s2cid=216113039 |issn=1569-3430}}

Five years after the report was published, the 1992 UN Earth Summit in Rio adopted the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In 1997, this framework contributed to the creation of the Kyoto Protocol, an agreement for wealthy nations to reduce their carbon emissions. All countries that participated in the UNFCCC also signed the Kyoto Protocol. However, the United States did not ratify the Kyoto Protocol, Canada withdrew in 2011, and some other nations did not meet their pledges in the agreement.{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Office of the Auditor General of Canada |date=2016-02-04 |title=A Timeline of Canadian Climate Change Commitments |url=https://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/sds_fs_e_41101.html |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=www.oag-bvg.gc.ca}}

In 2015, the UN outlined seventeen Sustainable Development Goals, with a target achievement date of 2030.

While numerous definitions have been proposed since then (e.g. , [https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/jenpmg/v40y1997i5p549-574.html Pezzoli, 1997]), researchers have suggested that sustainability assessments should integrate economic, environmental, social, and institutional issues and consider their interdependencies; consider the long-term consequences of present actions; acknowledge the uncertainties concerning the result of present actions and act with a precautionary bias; engage the public; and include equity considerations (intragenerational and intergenerational).{{cite journal |last1=Gasparatos |first1=Alexandros |last2=El-Haram |first2=Mohamed |last3=Horner |first3=Malcolm |title=A critical review of reductionist approaches for assessing the progress towards sustainability |journal=Environmental Impact Assessment Review |date=May 2008 |volume=28 |issue=4–5 |pages=286–311 |doi=10.1016/j.eiar.2007.09.002 |bibcode=2008EIARv..28..286G |access-date=7 December 2022|url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2007.09.002|url-access=subscription }}

File:World-energy-consumption-by-fuel-projections-1990---2035-USDOE-IEA-2011.png by fuel]]

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a body of the UN, stated in its 2018 Special Report that to maintain global temperatures at moderate levels, "urgent and unprecedented changes are needed" .{{Cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/08/global-warming-must-not-exceed-15c-warns-landmark-un-report |title=We have 12 years to limit climate change catastrophe, warns UN |last=Watts |first=Jonathan |date=2018-10-08 |website=the Guardian |access-date=2018-12-03}} The report also noted that countries must adhere to the Paris Agreement pledge to keep temperatures rise between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius (°C) to avoid global challenges resulting from climate change, including the eradication of corals and the accelerated melting of Arctic ice caps. According to the IPCC, a rise in temperatures could trigger catastrophic results in the form of intense natural disasters, unpredictable weather conditions and food shortages. The report encourages governments to adopt a policy of "supercharged roll-back of emissions courses that have built up over the past 250 years,” including land use change and new technological development. The IPCC also maintains that carbon dioxide emissions will need to be reduced by 45% by 2030 and eliminated by 2050 to meet these goals. While meeting these goals might dramatically increase carbon prices, some scientists warn that the consequences of global warming at the current rate may be far more severe.{{Cite journal |last=Digitemie |first=Wags Numoipiri |last2=Ekemezie |first2=Ifeanyi Onyedika |date=2024 |title=Assessing the role of carbon pricing in global climate change mitigation strategies |url=https://magnascientiapub.com/journals/msarr/content/assessing-role-carbon-pricing-global-climate-change-mitigation-strategies |journal=Magna Scientia Advanced Research and Reviews |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=022–031 |doi=10.30574/msarr.2024.10.2.0040 |issn=2582-9394|doi-access=free }} Current projections estimate that global temperatures could rise by 3°C, prompting scientists to call for significant changes to avert this outcome..

Addressing environmental protection often involves professionals studying sustainable development. This work benefits from interdisciplinary studies, as individuals may focus on mitigating climate conditions and understanding how policy decisions link to areas such as urban planning, sociology, economics, and ecology.

Sustainability is often described as comprising three major dimensions: the social sphere, the economic sphere, and the environmental sphere. These three spheres are also referred to as the "triple bottom line" or the three pillars of sustainability.{{Cite book |last=Robertson |first=Margaret |title=Sustainability Principles and Practice |publisher=Routledge |year=2021 |isbn=978-0367365219 |edition=3rd |pages=4}} While distinct, they represent interconnected aspects affecting societal well-being and planetary health. Sustainability is sometimes depicted as being achieved when the three spheres are in balance.

• Social sphere: The social sphere examines and fixes issues affecting human populations, along with negative human activities affecting society.{{Cite web |title=What are the Three Pillars of Sustainable Development? |url=https://greenly.earth/en-us/blog/company-guide/3-pillars-of-sustainable-development |access-date=2023-11-28 |website=greenly.earth |language=en-us}} Examples of social issues include food insecurity/shortages, housing costs, [extreme] poverty, healthcare, and access to proper education. Equity and equal access to opportunities are crucial considerations within this sphere, that can help this sphere.{{Cite web |last=Soken-Huberty |first=Emmaline |date=2020-02-13 |title=What Does Social Justice Mean? |url=https://www.humanrightscareers.com/issues/what-does-social-justice-mean/ |access-date=2023-11-28 |website=Human Rights Careers |language=en-US}} This sphere involves subject fields such as sociology, psychology, and anthropology. Nonprofit and government organizations are often central to the social sphere, with policies aimed at social sustainability to often seek at representing all populations and ensure that all human rights are met.

• Economic sphere: The economic sphere focuses on economical performance and activity in an area, with consumerism often central to this dimension. Individuals, countries, and organizations working in business/finance are included in this sphere. In the context of sustainable development, businesses are encouraged to establish efficient practices and policies for development and growth that limit potential risks to the environment of the planet.

• Environmental sphere: The environmental sphere promotes the health of the physical Earth. This dimension evaluates environmental issues and proposes solutions to problems that could be implemented at any level from a room in a house, all the way up to a global level. Examples of environmental issues include natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, etc.), rising temperatures, pollution, energy resources, and deforestation of massive rainforest, such as the Amazon Rainforest. Environmentally friendly scientists and activists are closely associated with this sphere.

Sustainability is an interdisciplinary subject, and these spheres are often represented as overlapping like a Venn diagram. The intersection of the social and economic spheres relates to concepts such as social justice. The intersection of the economic and environmental spheres gives rise to the subject of environmental stewardship. Environmental justice is a concept that arises from the intersection of the environmental and social spheres.{{Cite web |date=2016-09-21 |title=Sustainable Materials: The Seventh Perspective of a Bioregional Lifestyle |url=https://www.cascadianow.org/articles/principle-7-sustainable-materials |access-date=2023-11-28 |website=CascadiaNow! |language=en-US}}

{{Main|Social justice}}

Social justice in the context of sustainability aims to ensure equitable opportunities and living conditions, alongside economic stability. Issues within social justice include the allocation of funding for welfare programs and the balance between supporting citizens and maintaining government functions. Another common social justice concern surrounds workers' rights. Policies regarding safe working conditions and fair wages address the fair treatment of workers. For example, fair trade certification on products aims to verify that the resources used to produce the item meet certain ethical standards.

{{Main|Environmental stewardship}}

Environmental stewardship involves collaboration between businesses and environment-centered initiatives. Practices associated with environmental stewardship aim to benefit the environment and can sometimes result in cost savings for businesses. Organizations may seek to reduce waste by switching from plastic to paper packaging or recycling unused products. Businesses might also look for ways to manage energy more efficiently, such as using a renewable energy source rather than nonrenewable and limiting production times.{{Cite web |title=A Presentation on Environmental Stewardship |url=https://www.nepa.gov.jm/sites/default/files/2019-12/Environmental_Stewardship.pdf |website=National Environmental Policy Act}}

{{Main|Environmental justice}}

Environmental justice is the intersection between social and environmental issues; it examines how environmental issues and protections disproportionately affect different populations.{{Cite web |title=Learn About Environmental Justice |url=https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/learn-about-environmental-justice |website=United States Environmental Protection Agency|date=13 February 2015 }} Climate change events like natural disasters, increased temperatures, and unpredictable weather patterns can disproportionately impact lower-income and impoverished communities, which often lack the resources to move away from affected neighborhoods. An example of an environmental justice issue in the United States is the lack of properly working septic tanks in Lowndes County, Alabama. In her book Waste: A Woman's Fight Against America's Dirty Secret, Catherine Coleman Flowers discusses the environmental issues this impoverished community faces. In this predominantly African American area, many residents live with raw sewage in their backyards because they cannot afford to buy or install a septic system. Furthermore, these residents can be criminally charged for not having working septic tanks, even though they may not have the means to repair them. Coleman Flowers and other environmental justice advocates have advocated for justice for the residents of Lowndes County.{{Cite book |last=Coleman Flowers |first=Catherine |title=Waste: One Woman's Fight Against America's Dirty Secret |publisher=The New Press |year=2020}}

A key concern in environmental justice is the impact that climate change events have on developing nations. Former Irish President Mary Robinson published "Climate Justice," a book that shares stories of people in countries around the world addressing climate change. Robinson presents the story of Constance Okollet, a resident of Uganda, who faces regular seasons of floods and droughts, making food and clean water difficult to obtain. An activist from Vietnam, Vu Thi Hien, shares the impacts that war and deforestation have had on her country's land and people. The former president of Kiribati, Anote Tong, has considered relocating the entire nation because of rising sea levels. Robinson presents these stories to illustrate the impacts that climate change is having around the world, especially on smaller, poorer nations.{{Cite book |last=Robinson |first=Mary |title=Climate Justice |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2018}}

Sustainability studies emphasize an interdisciplinary approach to environmental problems, drawing from fields such as:

• Law
• Politics
• Policy and planning
• Journalism
• Business and Architectural design
• Marine sciences
• Sustainability professionals
• Urban planning
• Agriculture{{Cite journal |last1=Ajeng |first1=Aaronn Avit |last2=Abdullah |first2=Rosazlin |last3=Ling |first3=Tau Chuan |last4=Ismail |first4=Salmah |last5=Lau |first5=Beng Fye |last6=Ong |first6=Hwai Chyuan |last7=Chew |first7=Kit Wayne |last8=Show |first8=Pau Loke |last9=Chang |first9=Jo-Shu |date=2020-11-01 |title=Bioformulation of biochar as a potential inoculant carrier for sustainable agriculture |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2352186420314681 |journal=Environmental Technology & Innovation |language=en |volume=20 |pages=101168 |doi=10.1016/j.eti.2020.101168|bibcode=2020EnvTI..2001168A |url-access=subscription }}
• Pharmaceutical industry
• Herbal medicine

In the United States, professionals in sustainability studies earned between $75,000 and $93,000 per year on average in 2017, based on salaries in engineering and environmental sciences.{{Cite news |url=https://www.wayup.com/guide/lockheed-martin-994063-sponsored-6-sustainability-studies-major/ |title=What is a Sustainability Studies Major and is it Right for Me? {{!}} Career Advice & Interview Tips {{!}} WayUp Guide |date=2017-07-31 |work=Career Advice & Interview Tips {{!}} WayUp Guide |access-date=2018-12-03}} Chief sustainability executives earned an average of $167,000.

• List of environmental degrees
• List of sustainability topics
• Sustainability science

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Category:Environmental studies

Category:Sustainability