Sustainable development

In 1987, the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development released the report Our Common Future, commonly called the Brundtland Report. The report included a definition of "sustainable development" which is now widely used:{{cite journal |last1=Keeble |first1=Brian R. |title=The Brundtland report: 'Our common future' |journal=Medicine and War |date=1988 |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=17–25 |doi=10.1080/07488008808408783}}

{{Blockquote|Sustainable development is a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains two key concepts within it:

• The concept of 'needs', in particular, the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and
• The idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs.|author=World Commission on Environment and Development|source=Our Common Future (1987)}}Sustainable development thus tries to find a balance between economic development, environmental protection, and social well-being.

Scholars note that sustainable development is understood in many different ways. They also highlight inconsistencies in the current market-driven system of social, economic and political organization. Efforts toward global sustainability must consider the diverse challenges, conditions, and choices that affect prospects and prosperity for all, everywhere.

Sustainability means different things to different people, and the concept of sustainable development has led to a diversity of discourses that legitimize competing sociopolitical projects.

{{See also|Sustainability}}

Sustainable development has its roots in ideas regarding sustainable forest management, which were developed in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries.Ulrich Grober: Deep roots — [https://bibliothek.wzb.eu/pdf/2007/p07-002.pdf A conceptual history of "sustainable development" (Nachhaltigkeit)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925121333/https://bibliothek.wzb.eu/pdf/2007/p07-002.pdf |date=25 September 2021 }}, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung, 2007{{cite book |last1=Blewitt |first1=John |title=Understanding Sustainable Development |date=2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-70782-4 }}{{pn|date=July 2023}}{{cite journal |last1=Du Pisani |first1=Jacobus A. |title=Sustainable development – historical roots of the concept |journal=Environmental Sciences |date=2006 |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=83–96 |doi=10.1080/15693430600688831 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2006JIES....3...83D }} In response to a growing awareness of the depletion of timber resources in England, John Evelyn argued, in his 1662 essay Sylva, that "sowing and planting of trees had to be regarded as a national duty of every landowner, in order to stop the destructive over- exploitation of natural resources." In 1713, Hans Carl von Carlowitz, a senior mining administrator in the service of Elector Frederick Augustus I of Saxony published Sylvicultura economics, a 400-page work on forestry. Building upon the ideas of Evelyn and French minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert, von Carlowitz developed the concept of managing forests for sustained yield. His work influenced others, including Alexander von Humboldt and Georg Ludwig Hartig, eventually leading to the development of the science of forestry. This, in turn, influenced people like Gifford Pinchot, the first head of the US Forest Service, whose approach to forest management was driven by the idea of wise use of resources, and Aldo Leopold whose land ethic was influential in the development of the environmental movement in the 1960s.

Following the publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring in 1962, the developing environmental movement drew attention to the relationship between economic growth and environmental degradation. Kenneth E. Boulding, in his influential 1966 essay The Economics of the Coming Spaceship Earth, identified the need for the economic system to fit itself to the ecological system with its limited pools of resources. Another milestone was the 1968 article by Garrett Hardin that popularized the term "tragedy of the commons".{{cite journal |last1=Hardin |first1=Garrett |title=The Tragedy of the Commons: The population problem has no technical solution; it requires a fundamental extension in morality |journal=Science |date=13 December 1968 |volume=162 |issue=3859 |pages=1243–1248 |doi=10.1126/science.162.3859.1243 |pmid=17756331 }}

The direct linking of sustainability and development in a contemporary sense can be traced to the early 1970s. "Strategy of Progress", a 1972 book (in German) by Ernst Basler, explained how the long-acknowledged sustainability concept of preserving forests for future wood production can be directly transferred to the broader importance of preserving environmental resources to sustain the world for future generations.{{cite book |last=Basler |first=Ernst |title= Strategie des Fortschritts: Umweltbelastung Lebensraumverknappung and Zukunftsforshung (Strategy of Progress: Environmental Pollution, Habitat Scarcity and Future Research) |date=1972 |publisher= BLV Publishing Company |location=Munich}} That same year, the interrelationship of environment and development was formally demonstrated in a systems dynamic simulation model reported in the classic report on Limits to Growth. This was commissioned by the Club of Rome and written by a group of scientists led by Dennis and Donella Meadows of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Describing the desirable "state of global equilibrium", the authors wrote: "We are searching for a model output that represents a world system that is sustainable without sudden and uncontrolled collapse and capable of satisfying the basic material requirements of all of its people."{{cite book |last=Finn |first=Donovan |title=Our Uncertain Future: Can Good Planning Create Sustainable Communities? |date=2009 |publisher=University of Illinois |location=Champaign-Urbana}} The year 1972 also saw the publication of the influential book, A Blueprint for Survival.{{cite news |title=A Blueprint for Survival |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/02/05/archives/a-blueprint-for-survival.html |work=The New York Times |date=5 February 1972 }}{{Cite web|url=https://theecologist.org/2012/jan/27/ecologist-january-1972-blueprint-survival|title=The Ecologist January 1972: a blueprint for survival|website=The Ecologist|date=27 January 2012 |language=en|access-date=14 April 2020}}

In 1975, an MIT research group prepared ten days of hearings on "Growth and Its Implication for the Future" for the US Congress, the first hearings ever held on sustainable development.{{Cite web |title=Growth and its implications for the future |url=http://www.wpainc.com/Archive/MIT/Growth%20and%20Its%20Implications.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304033056/http://www.wpainc.com/Archive/MIT/Growth%20and%20Its%20Implications.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016}}

In 1980, the International Union for Conservation of Nature published a world conservation strategy that included one of the first references to sustainable development as a global priority{{cite book |url=http://www.a21italy.it/medias/31C2D26FD81B0D40.pdf |title=World Conservation Strategy: Living Resource Conservation for Sustainable Development |date=1980 |publisher=International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources}} and introduced the term "sustainable development".{{Cite book |last=Sachs |first=Jeffrey D. |title=The Age of Sustainable Development |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2015 |isbn=9780231173155 |location=New York}}{{RP|4}} Two years later, the United Nations World Charter for Nature raised five principles of conservation by which human conduct affecting nature is to be guided and judged.{{citation |title=World Charter for Nature |date=28 October 1982 |url=https://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/37/a37r007.htm |publisher=United Nations, General Assembly, 48th Plenary Meeting}}

Since the Brundtland Report, the concept of sustainable development has developed beyond the initial intergenerational framework to focus more on the goal of "socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable economic growth".{{RP|5}} In 1992, the UN Conference on Environment and Development published the Earth Charter, which outlines the building of a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st century. The action plan Agenda 21 for sustainable development identified information, integration, and participation as key building blocks to help countries achieve development that recognizes these interdependent pillars. Furthermore, Agenda 21 emphasizes that broad public participation in decision-making is a fundamental prerequisite for achieving sustainable development.Will Allen. 2007.[http://learningforsustainability.net/susdev/ "Learning for Sustainability: Sustainable Development."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114042435/http://learningforsustainability.net/susdev/ |date=14 January 2016 }}

The Rio Protocol was a huge leap forward: for the first time, the world agreed on a sustainability agenda. In fact, a global consensus was facilitated by neglecting concrete goals and operational details.

Whilst the discussions about (or discourse of) sustainable development are highly influential in global and national governance frameworks, its meaning and operationalization are context-dependent and have evolved over time. This evolution can for example be seen in the transition from the Millennium Development Goals (years 2000 to 2015) to the Sustainable Development Goals (years 2015 to 2030).

The most comprehensive global governance framework for sustainable development is the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).{{Cite journal |last1=de Jong |first1=Eileen |last2=Vijge |first2=Marjanneke J. |date=2021 |title=From Millennium to Sustainable Development Goals: Evolving discourses and their reflection in policy coherence for development |journal=Earth System Governance |language=en |volume=7 |pages=100087 |doi=10.1016/j.esg.2020.100087|doi-access=free|bibcode=2021ESGov...700087D }} 50px Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License] This agenda was a follow-up to the Millennium Declaration from the year 2000 with its eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the first comprehensive global governance framework for sustainable development. The SDGs have concrete targets (unlike the results from the Rio Process) but no methods for sanctions.{{Cite web |date=2012-06-12 |title=Why Rio failed in the past and how it can succeed this time |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jun/12/rio20-agenda-politicians-john-gummer |website=The Guardian}}{{Cite book |last=Berg |first=Christian |title=Sustainable action: overcoming the barriers |date=2020 |isbn=978-0-429-57873-1 |location=Abingdon, Oxon |oclc=1124780147}}{{rp|137}} They contain goals, targets and indicators for example in the areas of poverty reduction, environmental protection, human prosperity and peace.

Scholars who are investigating global environmental governance have identified a set of discourses within the public space that mostly convey four sustainability frames: mainstream sustainability, progressive sustainability, a limits discourse, and radical sustainability.{{Cite journal |last=Sénit |first=Carole-Anne |date=2020 |title=Transforming our world? Discursive representation in the negotiations on the Sustainable Development Goals |journal=International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics |language=en |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=411–429 |doi=10.1007/s10784-020-09489-1 |issn=1567-9764|doi-access=free|bibcode=2020IEAPL..20..411S }} 50px Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License] First, mainstream sustainability is a conservative approach on both economic and political terms. Second, progressive sustainability is an economically conservative, yet politically reformist approach. Under this framing, sustainable development is still centered on economic growth but human well-being and development can only be achieved through a redistribution of power to even out inequalities between developed and developing countries. Third, a limits discourse is an economically reformist, yet politically conservative approach to sustainability. Fourth, radical sustainability is a transformative approach seeking to break with existing global economic and political structures.

{{excerpt|sustainability|paragraphs=1}}

{{Main|Sustainability#Dimensions of sustainability}}

Sustainable development, like sustainability, is regarded to have three dimensions: the environment, economy and society. The idea is that a good balance between the three dimensions should be achieved. Instead of calling them dimensions, other terms commonly used are pillars, domains, aspects, spheres.

{{excerpt|Sustainability#Development of three dimensions|paragraphs=1}}

{{Further|Sustainability#Transition}}

File:Sustainable_development_-_6_central_capacities.png |volume=45 |issue=1 |pages=331–86 |doi=10.1146/annurev-environ-012420-043621 |doi-access=free}} {{CC-notice|cc=by4}}]]Six interdependent capacities are deemed to be necessary for the successful pursuit of sustainable development. These are the capacities to measure progress towards sustainable development; promote equity within and between generations; adapt to shocks and surprises; transform the system onto more sustainable development pathways; link knowledge with action for sustainability; and to devise governance arrangements that allow people to work together.

During the MDG era (year 2000 to 2015), the key objective of sustainable development was poverty reduction to be reached through economic growth and participation in the global trade system. The SDGs take a much more comprehensive approach to sustainable development than the MDGs did. They offer a more people-centered development agenda. Out of the 17 SDGs, for example, 11 goals contain targets related to equity, equality or inclusion, and SDG 10 is solely devoted to addressing inequality within and among countries.

{{Further|Human impact on the environment|Ecological footprint}} An unsustainable situation occurs when natural capital (the total of nature's resources) is used up faster than it can be replenished.{{rp|58}} Sustainability requires that human activity only uses nature's resources at a rate at which they can be replenished naturally. The concept of sustainable development is intertwined with the concept of carrying capacity. Theoretically, the long-term result of environmental degradation is the inability to sustain human life.{{Cite book |last1=Nayeripour |first1=Majid |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O9CPDwAAQBAJ&dq=An+unsustainable+situation+occurs+when+natural+capital+(the+total+of+nature's+resources)+is+used+up+faster+than+it+can+be+replenished.+Sustainability+requires+that+human+activity+only+uses+nature's+resources+at+a+rate+at+which+they+can+be+replenished+naturally.+The+concept+of+sustainable+development+is+intertwined+with+the+concept+of+carrying+capacity.+Theoretically,+the+long-term+result+of+environmental+degradation+is+the+inability+to+sustain+human+life&pg=PA58 |title=Sustainable Growth and Applications in Renewable Energy Sources |last2=Kheshti |first2=Mostafa |date=2011-12-02 |publisher=BoD – Books on Demand |isbn=978-953-307-408-5 |page=58 }}50x50px Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 International License {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016050101/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/|date=16 October 2017}}

Important operational principles of sustainable development were published by Herman Daly in 1990: renewable resources should provide a sustainable yield (the rate of harvest should not exceed the rate of regeneration); for non-renewable resources there should be equivalent development of renewable substitutes; waste generation should not exceed the assimilative capacity of the environment.{{cite journal |last1=Daly |first1=H.E. |year=1990 |title=Toward some operational principles of sustainable development |journal=Ecological Economics |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=1–6 |doi=10.1016/0921-8009(90)90010-r|bibcode=1990EcoEc...2....1D }}

In 2019, a summary for policymakers of the largest, most comprehensive study to date of biodiversity and ecosystem services was published by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. It recommended that human civilization will need a transformative change, including sustainable agriculture, reductions in consumption and waste, fishing quotas and collaborative water management.{{cite book |url=https://www.ipbes.net/sites/default/files/downloads/spm_unedited_advance_for_posting_htn.pdf |title=Summary for policymakers of the global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services |date=6 May 2019 |publisher=the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services |access-date=10 May 2019}}{{cite news |last1=Deutsche Welle |first1=Deutsche |date=6 May 2019 |title=Why Biodiversity Loss Hurts Humans as Much as Climate Change Does |url=https://www.ecowatch.com/biodiversity-loss-human-health-2636410357.html |access-date=10 May 2019 |agency=Ecowatch}}

Environmental problems associated with industrial agriculture and agribusiness are now being addressed through approaches such as sustainable agriculture, organic farming and more sustainable business practices.[http://www.wbcsd.org/templates/TemplateWBCSD5/layout.asp?MenuID=1 World Business Council for Sustainable Development] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410074308/http://www.wbcsd.org/templates/TemplateWBCSD5/layout.asp?MenuID=1|date=10 April 2009}} This web site has multiple articles on WBCSD contributions to sustainable development. Retrieved 7 April 2009. At the local level there are various movements working towards sustainable food systems which may include less meat consumption, local food production, slow food, sustainable gardening, and organic gardening.Holmgren, D. (March 2005). [http://www.sbpermaculture.org/Suburbs_Holmgren.html "Retrofitting the suburbs for sustainability."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415103213/http://www.sbpermaculture.org/Suburbs_Holmgren.html|date=15 April 2009}} CSIRO Sustainability Network. Retrieved 7 July 2009. The environmental effects of different dietary patterns depend on many factors, including the proportion of animal and plant foods consumed and the method of food production.{{cite journal |last1=McMichael |first1=Anthony J |last2=Powles |first2=John W |last3=Butler |first3=Colin D |last4=Uauy |first4=Ricardo |title=Food, livestock production, energy, climate change, and health |journal=The Lancet |date=October 2007 |volume=370 |issue=9594 |pages=1253–1263 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(07)61256-2 |pmid=17868818 |hdl=1885/38056 |s2cid=9316230 |hdl-access=free }}{{cite journal |last1=Baroni |first1=L |last2=Cenci |first2=L |last3=Tettamanti |first3=M |last4=Berati |first4=M |title=Evaluating the environmental impact of various dietary patterns combined with different food production systems |journal=European Journal of Clinical Nutrition |date=1 February 2007 |volume=61 |issue=2 |pages=279–286 |doi=10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602522 |pmid=17035955 |s2cid=16387344 |doi-access=free }} File:Highlight Findings of the WA S0E 2007 report.gif (2007)]]

As global population and affluence have increased, so has the use of various materials increased in volume, diversity, and distance transported. By 2050, humanity could consume an estimated 140 billion tons of minerals, ores, fossil fuels and biomass per year (three times its current amount) unless the economic growth rate is decoupled from the rate of natural resource consumption.UNEP (2011). [http://www.resourcepanel.org/reports/decoupling-natural-resource-use-and-environmental-impacts-economic-growth Decoupling Natural Resource Use and Environmental Impacts from Economic Growth] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120134055/https://resourcepanel.org/reports/decoupling-natural-resource-use-and-environmental-impacts-economic-growth |date=20 January 2022 }}. {{ISBN|978-92-807-3167-5}}. Retrieved 30 November 2011.

Sustainable use of materials has targeted the idea of dematerialization, converting the linear path of materials (extraction, use, disposal in landfill) to a circular material flow that reuses materials as much as possible, much like the cycling and reuse of waste in nature.{{cite journal|last1=Anderberg|first1=S|year=1998|title=Industrial metabolism and linkages between economics, ethics, and the environment|journal=Ecological Economics|volume=24|issue=2–3|pages=311–320|doi=10.1016/s0921-8009(97)00151-1}} This way of thinking is expressed in the concept of circular economy, which employs reuse, sharing, repair, refurbishment, remanufacturing and recycling to create a closed-loop system, minimizing the use of resource inputs and the creation of waste, pollution and carbon emissions.{{cite journal |last1=Geissdoerfer |first1=Martin |last2=Savaget |first2=Paulo |last3=Bocken |first3=Nancy M.P. |last4=Hultink |first4=Erik Jan |title=The Circular Economy – A new sustainability paradigm? |journal=Journal of Cleaner Production |date=February 2017 |volume=143 |pages=757–768 |doi=10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.12.048 |bibcode=2017JCPro.143..757G |s2cid=157449142 |url=https://dro.dur.ac.uk/29108/1/29108.pdf }} The European Commission has adopted an ambitious Circular Economy Action Plan in 2020, which aims at making sustainable products the norm in the EU.European Commission (2020). "[https://ec.europa.eu/environment/strategy/circular-economy-action-plan_en Circular economy action plan]". {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120070301/https://ec.europa.eu/environment/strategy/circular-economy-action-plan_en |date=20 January 2022 }}. Retrieved 10 November 2021.{{cite web|title= 52020DC0098 |url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2020%3A98%3AFIN|access-date=2021-11-09|website=EUR-Lex |language=en}}

{{Further|Corporate sustainability|Sustainable business}}

It has been suggested that because of the rural poverty and overexploitation, environmental resources should be treated as important economic assets, called natural capital.{{Cite book |last=Barbier |first=Edward B. |url=http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/economics/economic-development-and-growth/natural-resources-and-economic-development?format=HB |title=Natural Resources and Economic Development |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2006 |isbn=9780521706513 |location= |pages=44–45 |access-date=8 April 2014}} Economic development has traditionally required a growth in the gross domestic product. This model of unlimited personal and GDP growth may be over. Sustainable development may involve improvements in the quality of life for many but may necessitate a decrease in resource consumption.{{cite book|last=Brown|first=L. R.|title=World on the Edge|publisher=Norton|year=2011|isbn=978-0-393-08029-2|series=Earth Policy Institute}} "Growth" generally ignores the direct effect that the environment may have on social welfare, whereas "development" takes it into account.{{cite web |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/243768263 |title=Sustainable development concepts |last=Pezzey |first=John |publisher=The World Bank |date=November 1992 |website=Researchgate |access-date=16 October 2022}}

As early as the 1970s, the concept of sustainability was used to describe an economy "in equilibrium with basic ecological support systems".Stivers, R. 1976. The Sustainable Society: Ethics and Economic Growth. Philadelphia: Westminster Press. Scientists in many fields have highlighted The Limits to Growth,Meadows, D.H., D.L. Meadows, J. Randers, and W.W. Behrens III. 1972. The Limits to Growth. Universe Books, New York, NY. {{ISBN|0-87663-165-0}}{{cite book|last1=Meadows|first1=D.H.|title=Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update|last2=Randers|first2=Jørgen|last3=Meadows|first3=D.L.|publisher=Chelsea Green Publishing|year=2004|isbn=978-1-931498-58-6}} and economists have presented alternatives, for example a 'steady-state economy', to address concerns over the impacts of expanding human development on the planet.{{cite book |last=Daly |first=Herman E. |author-link=Herman Daly |title=Steady-state economics |date=1992 |publisher=Earthscan Publications |edition=2nd |location=London}} In 1987, the economist Edward Barbier published the study The Concept of Sustainable Economic Development, where he recognized that goals of environmental conservation and economic development are not conflicting and can be reinforcing each other.{{cite journal|last=Barbier|first=E.|year=1987|title=The Concept of Sustainable Economic Development|journal=Environmental Conservation|volume=14|issue=2|pages=101–110|doi=10.1017/S0376892900011449|bibcode=1987EnvCo..14..101B |s2cid=145595791 }}

A World Bank study from 1999 concluded that based on the theory of genuine savings (defined as "traditional net savings less the value of resource depletion and environmental degradation plus the value of investment in human capital"), policymakers have many possible interventions to increase sustainability, in macroeconomics or purely environmental.{{cite journal|last1=Hamilton|first1=K.|last2=Clemens|first2=M.|year=1999|title=Genuine savings rates in developing countries|journal=World Bank Economic Review|volume=13|issue=2|pages=333–356|citeseerx=10.1.1.452.7532|doi=10.1093/wber/13.2.333}} Several studies have noted that efficient policies for renewable energy and pollution are compatible with increasing human welfare, eventually reaching a golden-rule{{Clarify|date=September 2021}} steady state.{{cite journal|last=Ayong Le Kama|first=A. D.|year=2001|title=Sustainable growth renewable resources, and pollution|journal=Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control|volume=25|issue=12|pages=1911–1918|doi=10.1016/S0165-1889(00)00007-5}}{{cite journal|last1=Chichilnisky|first1=G.|last2=Heal|first2=G.|last3=Beltratti|first3=A.|year=1995|title=A Green Golden Rule|journal=Economics Letters|volume=49|issue=2|pages=175–179|doi=10.1016/0165-1765(95)00662-Y|s2cid=154964259|doi-access=free}}{{cite journal|last1=Endress|first1=L.|last2=Roumasset|first2=J.|year=1994|title=Golden rules for sustainable resource management|url=http://www.economics.hawaii.edu/research/workingpapers/88-98/WP_93-19.pdf|journal=Economic Record|volume=70|issue=210|pages=266–277|doi=10.1111/j.1475-4932.1994.tb01847.x}}{{cite journal|last1=Endress|first1=L.|last2=Roumasset|first2=J.|last3=Zhou|first3=T.|year=2005|title=Sustainable Growth with Environmental Spillovers|journal=Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization|volume=58|issue=4|pages=527–547|citeseerx=10.1.1.529.5305|doi=10.1016/j.jebo.2004.09.003}}

A meta review in 2002 looked at environmental and economic valuations and found a "lack of concrete understanding of what "sustainability policies" might entail in practice".{{Cite web |last1=Pezzey|first1=John C. V.|last2=Michael A.|first2=Toman|year=2002|title=The Economics of Sustainability: A Review of Journal Articles |website=Resources for the Future |url=http://www.rff.org/documents/rff-dp-02-03.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408214704/http://www.rff.org/documents/rff-dp-02-03.pdf|archive-date=8 April 2014|access-date=8 April 2014}} A study concluded in 2007 that knowledge, manufactured and human capital (health and education) has not compensated for the degradation of natural capital in many parts of the world.{{cite journal|last=Dasgupta|first=P.|year=2007|title=The idea of sustainable development|journal=Sustainability Science|volume=2|issue=1|pages=5–11|doi=10.1007/s11625-007-0024-y|bibcode=2007SuSc....2....5D |s2cid=154597956}} It has been suggested that intergenerational equity can be incorporated into a sustainable development and decision making, as has become common in economic valuations of climate economics.{{cite journal|last=Heal|first=G.|year=2009|title=Climate Economics: A Meta-Review and Some Suggestions for Future Research|journal=Review of Environmental Economics and Policy|volume=3|issue=1|pages=4–21|doi=10.1093/reep/ren014|s2cid=154917782}}

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development published a Vision 2050 document in 2021 to show "How business can lead the transformations the world needs". The vision states that "we envision a world in which 9+billion people can live well, within planetary boundaries, by 2050."{{Cite web |title=Vision 2050 - Time to transform |url=https://timetotransform.biz/ |access-date=2022-03-29 |publisher=WBCSD |language=en-US}} This report was highlighted by The Guardian as "the largest concerted corporate sustainability action plan to date – include reversing the damage done to ecosystems, addressing rising greenhouse gas emissions and ensuring societies move to sustainable agriculture."{{cite news |last1=Wills |first1=Jackie |title=World Business Council for Sustainable Development: Vision 2050 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sustainability-case-studies-world-business-council |access-date=17 May 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=15 May 2014 |language=en}}

{{excerpt|Sustainability#Barriers}}

{{Main|Sustainability#Assessments and reactions}}

{{Further|Weak and strong sustainability|Degrowth|Eco-economic decoupling}}

The concept of sustainable development has been and still is, subject to criticism, including the question of what is to be sustained in sustainable development. It has been argued that there is no such thing as sustainable use of a non-renewable resource, since any positive rate of exploitation will eventually lead to the exhaustion of earth's finite stock;{{cite book |last=Turner |first=R. Kerry |title=Sustainable Environmental Management. |date=1988 |publisher=Belhaven Press |editor-last=Turner |editor-first=R. Kerry |location=London |chapter=Sustainability, Resource Conservation and Pollution Control: An Overview}}{{rp|13}} this perspective renders the Industrial Revolution as a whole unsustainable.{{cite book |last=Georgescu-Roegen |first=Nicholas |author-link=Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen |url=https://archive.org/details/entropylawe00nich |title=The Entropy Law and the Economic Process |date=1971 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0674257801 |location=Cambridge |format=Full book accessible at Scribd}}{{rp|20f}}{{cite book |last=Rifkin |first=Jeremy |author-link=Jeremy Rifkin |url=http://www.foet.org/FOET-data/uploads/2017/03/Jeremy-Rifkin-Entropy-table-of-contents.pdf |title=Entropy: A New World View. |date=1980 |publisher=The Viking Press |isbn=978-0670297177 |location=New York |format=PDF contains only the title and contents pages of the book}}{{rp|61–67}}{{rp|22f}}

The sustainable development debate is based on the assumption that societies need to manage three types of capital (economic, social, and natural), which may be non-substitutable and whose consumption might be irreversible.{{cite journal |last1=Dyllick |first1=T. |last2=Hockerts |first2=K. |year=2002 |title=Beyond the business case for corporate sustainability |journal=Business Strategy and the Environment |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=130–141 |doi=10.1002/bse.323|bibcode=2002BSEnv..11..130D }} Natural capital can not necessarily be substituted by economic capital. While it is possible that we can find ways to replace some natural resources, it is much less likely that they will ever be able to replace ecosystem services, such as the protection provided by the ozone layer, or the climate stabilizing function of the Amazonian forest.

The concept of sustainable development has been criticized from different angles. While some see it as paradoxical (or an oxymoron) and regard development as inherently unsustainable, others are disappointed in the lack of progress that has been achieved so far. Part of the problem is that "development" itself is not consistently defined.{{RP|16}}{{Cite journal |last=Park |first=Albert Sanghoon |date=2023 |title=Understanding resilience in sustainable development: Rallying call or siren song? |journal=Sustainable Development |volume=32 |pages=260–274 |doi=10.1002/sd.2645 |doi-access=free }}

The vagueness of the Brundtland definition of sustainable development has been criticized as follows:{{RP|17}} The definition has "opened up the possibility of downplaying sustainability. Hence, governments spread the message that we can have it all at the same time, i.e. economic growth, prospering societies and a healthy environment. No new ethic is required. This so-called weak version of sustainability is popular among governments, and businesses, but profoundly wrong and not even weak, as there is no alternative to preserving the earth's ecological integrity."{{Cite book |last=Bosselmann |first=Klaus |title=The principle of sustainability: transforming law and governance |publisher=Routledge |date=2017 |isbn=978-1-4724-8128-3 |edition=2nd |location=London |oclc=951915998}}{{RP|2}}

Scholars have stated that sustainable development is open-ended, much critiqued as ambiguous, incoherent, and therefore easily appropriated.

File:Sustainable Development Goals.pngSustainable development is the foundational concept of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Policies to achieve the SDGs are meant to cohere around this concept.{{excerpt|Sustainable Development Goals|paragraphs=1-3|file=no}}

Education for sustainable development (ESD) is a term officially used by the United Nations. It is defined as education practices that encourage changes in knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes to enable a more sustainable and just society for humanity. ESD aims to empower and equip current and future generations to meet their needs using a balanced and integrated approach to sustainable development's economic, social, and environmental dimensions.{{Cite book|url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000261445|title=Issues and trends in education for sustainable development|publisher=UNESCO Digital Library |year=2018|isbn=978-92-3-100244-1|location=Paris|pages=7}}{{CC-notice|cc=by4}}{{cite journal |last1=Kolvoord |first1=Robert A |title=Fostering spatial thinking skills for future citizens to support sustainable development |journal=Cultures of Science |date=2021 |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=17–24 |doi=10.1177/20966083211024714 |doi-access=free}}

Agenda 21 was the first international document that identified education as an essential tool for achieving sustainable development and highlighted areas of action for education.{{Cite web |last=Leicht |first=Alexander |date=2018 |title=From Agenda 21 to Target 4.7: the development of education for sustainable development |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000261801 |access-date=2020-05-24 |website=UNESCO, UNESDOC Digital Library}}{{Cite book|last1=Bernad-Cavero|first1=Olga|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hwiQDwAAQBAJ&q=Agenda+21+was+the+first+international+document+that+identified+education+as+an+essential+tool+for+achieving+sustainable+development+and+highlighted+areas+of+action+for+education.&pg=PA27|title=New Pedagogical Challenges in the 21st Century: Contributions of Research in Education|last2=Llevot-Calvet|first2=Núria|date=2018-07-04|publisher=BoD – Books on Demand|isbn=978-1-78923-380-3|language=en}} ESD is a component of measurement in an indicator for Sustainable Development Goal 12 (SDG) for "responsible consumption and production". SDG 12 has 11 targets, and target 12.8 is "By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature."United Nations (2017) Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 6 July 2017, Work of the Statistical Commission pertaining to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development ([https://undocs.org/A/RES/71/313 A/RES/71/313] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023121826/https://undocs.org/A/RES/71/313 |date=23 October 2020 }}) 20 years after the Agenda 21 document was declared, the 'Future we want' document was proclaimed in the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development, stating that "We resolve to promote education for sustainable development and to integrate sustainable development more actively into education beyond the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development."{{cite journal |last1=Shulla |first1=K. |last2=Filho |first2=W. Leal |last3=Lardjane |first3=S. |last4=Sommer |first4=J. H. |last5=Borgemeister |first5=C. |title=Sustainable development education in the context of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development |journal=International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology |date=3 July 2020 |volume=27 |issue=5 |pages=458–468 |doi=10.1080/13504509.2020.1721378 |bibcode=2020IJSDW..27..458S |s2cid=214390476 |url=https://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/625146/1/Deposit.Sustainable%20development%20education%20in%20the%20context%20of%20the%202030%20Agenda%20for%20sustainable%20development.pdf }}

One version of education for Sustainable Development recognizes modern-day environmental challenges. It seeks to define new ways to adjust to a changing biosphere, as well as engage individuals to address societal issues that come with them.{{Cite book |title=Schooling for sustainable development in Europe: concepts, policies and educational experiences at the end of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development |editor=Jucker, Rolf |editor2=Mathar, Reiner |date=27 October 2014|isbn=978-3-319-09549-3|location=Cham, Switzerland |oclc=894509040}} In the International Encyclopedia of Education, this approach to education is seen as an attempt to "shift consciousness toward an ethics of life-giving relationships that respects the interconnectedness of man to his natural world" to equip future members of society with environmental awareness and a sense of responsibility to sustainability.{{Citation |entry= |title=International encyclopedia of education|date=2010|publisher=Elsevier |editor=Peterson, Penelope L. |editor2=Baker, Eva L. |editor3=McGaw, Barry |isbn=978-0-08-044894-7 |edition=3rd|location=Oxford|oclc=645208716}}

For UNESCO, education for sustainable development involves:

{{blockquote|integrating key sustainable development issues into teaching and learning. This may include, for example, instruction about climate change, disaster risk reduction, biodiversity, and poverty reduction and sustainable consumption. It also requires participatory teaching and learning methods that motivate and empower learners to change their behaviours and take action for sustainable development. ESD consequently promotes competencies like critical thinking, imagining future scenarios and making decisions in a collaborative way.{{cite web|url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/leading-the-international-agenda/education-for-sustainable-development|title=Education for Sustainable Development|website=UNESCO|date=10 May 2013|access-date=17 October 2017}}{{Cite book|url=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002330/233030e.pdf|title=Unleashing the Potential: Transforming Technical and Vocational Education and Training|last1=Marope|first1=P.T.M|last2=Chakroun|first2=B.|last3=Holmes|first3=K.P.|publisher=UNESCO|year=2015|isbn=978-92-3-100091-1|pages=9, 23, 25–26}}}}

The Thessaloniki Declaration, presented at the "International Conference on Environment and Society: Education and Public Awareness for Sustainability" by UNESCO and the Government of Greece (December 1997), highlights the importance of sustainability not only with regards to the natural environment, but also with "poverty, health, food security, democracy, human rights, and peace".{{Cite book|date=2010|title=Education for Sustainable Development: Challenges, Strategies, and Practices in a Globalizing World Education for sustainable development: Challenges, strategies, and practices in a globalizing world|doi=10.4135/9788132108023|isbn=9788132102939|last1=Nikolopoulou |first1=Anastasia |last2=Abraham |first2=Taisha |last3=Mirbagheri |first3=Farid }}{{pn|date=July 2023}}

{{Portal|Engineering|Environment}}

• {{annotated link|List of sustainability topics}}
• {{annotated link|Outline of sustainability}}
• {{annotated link|Policy coherence for development}}
• {{annotated link|Sustainability measurement}}
• {{annotated link|United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development}}
• Sustainable remediation
• Digital public goods

{{Reflist}}

{{sisterlinks|Sustainability}}

• [http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/ Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform of the UN]
• [http://unsdsn.org/ Sustainable Development Solutions Network]

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