The Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development was adopted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), at which the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development was also agreed upon.
94-462: The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development ( UNCSD ), also known as Rio 2012 , Rio+20 ( Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈʁi.u ˈmajʒ ˈvĩtʃi] ), or Earth Summit 2012 was the third international conference on sustainable development aimed at reconciling the economic and environmental goals of the global community. Hosted by Brazil in Rio de Janeiro from 13 to 22 June 2012, Rio+20
188-417: 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. Sustainable development, like sustainability , is regarded to have three dimensions : the environment, economy and society . The idea is that a good balance between
282-411: 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. In 2019, a summary for policymakers of the largest, most comprehensive study to date of biodiversity and ecosystem services was published by
376-541: A "lack of concrete understanding of what "sustainability policies" might entail in practice". 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. 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 . The World Business Council for Sustainable Development published
470-484: A 23 June 2012 The Guardian article, nations agreed to explore alternatives to GDP as a measure of wealth that take environmental and social factors into account in an effort to assess and pay for 'environmental services' provided by nature, such as carbon sequestration and habitat protection. Recognition that "fundamental changes in the way societies consume and produce are indispensable for achieving global sustainable development." EU officials suggest it could lead to
564-494: A New Development Agenda: Building a Bridge to a Sustainable Future , the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development – Rio+20 formal preparatory process, can be divided into three phases. Phase one took place from May 2010 to January 2012 – when preliminary intergovernmental discussions and negotiations began, and national, regional, and local level preparations were being made. This stage ended with
658-543: 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." 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." There are many reasons why sustainability
752-533: A balance between economic development , environmental protection , and social well-being . However, scholars have pointed out that there are manifold understandings of sustainable development. Also there are incoherencies in the dominant market-based socio-economic-political organisation. Attempts towards universal sustainable development need to account for the extremely varied challenges, circumstances, and choices that shape prospects and prosperity for all, everywhere. The discourse of sustainable development
846-405: 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 . "Growth" generally ignores the direct effect that the environment may have on social welfare, whereas "development" takes it into account. As early as the 1970s,
940-434: 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." Scholars have stated that sustainable development is open-ended, much critiqued as ambiguous, incoherent, and therefore easily appropriated. Sustainable development
1034-582: A related television program was produced in Denmark . There were some demonstrations protesting the participation of the President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad along with the Iranian delegation. The controversy of Iranian attendance at the summit surrounds the fact that Iran has serious environmental issues, which it has refused to address, continuing human rights violations and is refusing to cooperate with
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#17327647812511128-650: A school presentation at which reusable cloth shopping bags were sold to approximately 50 percent of the community. Sarasota, Florida's Brookside Middle School won in the World Environment Day contest's North American sub-category for its mangrove propagule growth project while International School of Brussels in Belgium won the European sub-category, for their creation of a sustainable food source and composting program. The Middle-Eastern sub-category winner
1222-455: A shift of taxes so workers pay less and polluters and landfill operators pay more. The document calls the need to return ocean stocks to sustainable levels "urgent" and calls on countries to develop and implement science-based management plans. All nations reaffirmed commitments to phase out fossil fuel subsidies . In addition to the outcome text, there were over 400 voluntary commitments for sustainable development made by Member States. At
1316-422: A wide range of diverse groups struggled to take advantage of the conference in order to gain international attention. The British online newspaper The Guardian reported that, "Downtown Rio de Janeiro was partly shut-down as an estimated 50,000 protesters, some of whom were naked, took to the streets." From 20 to 22 June 2012, world leaders and representatives met for intense meetings which culminated in finalizing
1410-487: 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, which is deemed compatible with environmental sustainability. However, human well-being and development can only be achieved through a redistribution of power to even out inequalities between developed and developing countries. Third,
1504-527: Is a structural imperative for growth in competitive market economies. This inhibits necessary societal change. Furthermore, there are several barriers related to the difficulties of implementing sustainability policies. There are trade-offs between the goals of environmental policies and economic development. Environmental goals include nature conservation. Development may focus on poverty reduction. There are also trade-offs between short-term profit and long-term viability. Political pressures generally favor
1598-584: Is an agreement to focus particularly on "the worldwide conditions that pose severe threats to the sustainable development of our people, which include: chronic hunger; malnutrition; foreign occupation; armed conflict; illicit drug problems; organized crime; corruption; natural disasters; illicit arms trafficking; trafficking in persons; terrorism; intolerance and incitement to racial, ethnic, religious and other hatreds; xenophobia; and endemic, communicable and chronic diseases, in particular HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis." This sustainability -related article
1692-457: Is an approach to growth and human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The aim is to have a society where living conditions and resources meet human needs without undermining planetary integrity . Sustainable development aims to balance the needs of the economy , environment , and social well-being . The Brundtland Report in 1987 helped to make
1786-718: Is highly influential in global and national governance frameworks , though its meaning and operationalization are context-dependent and have evolved over time. The evolution of this discourse can for example be seen in the transition from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs, years 2000 to 2015) to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, years 2015 to 2030). Sustainable development has its roots in ideas regarding sustainable forest management , which were developed in Europe during
1880-537: 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
1974-458: Is so difficult to achieve. These reasons have the name sustainability barriers . Before addressing these barriers it is important to analyze and understand them. Some barriers arise from nature and its complexity ("everything is related"). Others arise from the human condition. One example is the value-action gap . This reflects the fact that people often do not act according to their convictions. Experts describe these barriers as intrinsic to
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#17327647812512068-544: Is the foundational concept of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Policies to achieve the SDGs are meant to cohere around this concept. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development , adopted by all United Nations (UN) members in 2015, created 17 world Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The aim of these global goals is " peace and prosperity for people and the planet" – while tackling climate change and working to preserve oceans and forests. The SDGs highlight
2162-631: Is to be guided and judged. 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 ". 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
2256-515: 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. Important operational principles of sustainable development were published by Herman Daly in 1990: renewable resources should provide
2350-695: The Fukushima disaster in Japan . Organizations, such as Greenpeace and the World Wide Fund for Nature , as well as members of indigenous communities, activists and artists participated. The Danish artist Jens Galschiøt , the leader of the group AIDOH , and the Group 92 used his Freedom to Pollute sculptures to focus on global warming and its resulting increased flow of refugees. About 20,000 flyers about Freedom to Pollute were distributed during Rio+20 and
2444-547: The IAEA over its contentious nuclear program. Ahmadinejad was met with demonstrations, attended by thousands of people, on his 20 June arrival in Rio, with some protesters waving banners with the slogan "Ahmadinejad go home". During RIO +20 event and preparatory events UNCSD included stakeholders who were invited to organize side events, promote the RIO event, submit literature and help
2538-619: 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. 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 . At
2632-790: The Kyoto Protocol , Agenda 21 , the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). It also created new international institutions, among them the Commission on Sustainable Development, tasked with the follow-up to the Rio Conference and led to the reform of the Global Environment Facility . Ten years later, Earth Summit 2002 , informally nicknamed Rio+10,
2726-739: The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment at Stockholm in 1972, and the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. While committing the nations of the world to sustainable development , it also includes substantial mention of multilateralism as the path forward. In terms of the political commitment of parties, the Declaration is a more general statement than the Rio Declaration. It
2820-462: The 17th and 18th centuries. 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
2914-567: The 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro has placed the concept of sustainable development on the international agenda. Sustainable development is the foundational concept of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These global goals for the year 2030 were adopted in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). They address the global challenges, including for example poverty , climate change , biodiversity loss , and peace. There are some problems with
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3008-410: 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. The Rio Protocol
3102-571: The African Ministerial Conference on the Environment, 40 African countries agreed to implement "The Future We Want". A few key global leaders – mostly G20 leaders and namely United States President Barack Obama , German Chancellor Angela Merkel , and UK Prime Minister David Cameron – did not attend the conference and blamed their absence on the ongoing European sovereign-debt crisis . Their collective absence
3196-625: 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." Johannesburg Declaration The Johannesburg Declaration builds on earlier declarations made at
3290-749: The Future" for the US Congress , the first hearings ever held on sustainable development. 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 and introduced the term "sustainable development". Two years later, the United Nations World Charter for Nature raised five principles of conservation by which human conduct affecting nature
3384-593: The January 2012 publication of the draft document, "The Future We Want" The 1st Preparatory Committee was held from 16 to 18 May 2010, immediately after the conclusion of the eighteenth session and the first meeting of the nineteenth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development . The 1st Intersessional – which was not a negotiation session – featured panel discussions, from academia, non-governmental organizations as well as Delegates and UN system representatives –
3478-657: The Millennium Declaration from the year 2000 with its eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the first comprehensive global governance framework for the achievement of sustainable development. The SDGs have concrete targets (unlike the results from the Rio Process) but no methods for sanctions. They contain goals, targets and indicators for example in the areas of poverty reduction, environmental protection , human prosperity and peace . Sustainability means different things to different people, and
3572-487: The Rio secretariat with translation work. The logo and promotion of RIO +20 was available in languages used in United Nations . Civil societies also translated the logo image and literature in other local and National languages. Ecology and Environment Inc., a New York-based Environmental Engineering and Consultation company partnered with UNCSD to create Project Earth Network, an online platform where schools around
3666-558: The Rio+20 Conference in June 2012, the heads of state of the 192 governments in attendance, renewed their political commitment to sustainable development and declared their commitment to the promotion of a sustainable future through the 49-page nonbinding document, "The Future We Want: Outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 20–22 June 2012." The dates 20 to 22 June reflect
3760-592: The Western New York area. The idea behind the platform was to encourage sustainability in students across the world. Despite the huge response, the platform was taken down two years later due to technical and economic constraints but has since remained as a positive legacy through the activities of students who were first recognized by the network. 22°54′35″S 43°10′35″W / 22.9098°S 43.1763°W / -22.9098; -43.1763 Sustainable development Sustainable development
3854-467: 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
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3948-407: The concept of sustainability was used to describe an economy "in equilibrium with basic ecological support systems". Scientists in many fields have highlighted The Limits to Growth , and economists have presented alternatives, for example a ' steady-state economy ', to address concerns over the impacts of expanding human development on the planet. In 1987, the economist Edward Barbier published
4042-450: The concept of sustainability. Other barriers are extrinsic to the concept of sustainability. This means it is possible to overcome them. One way would be to put a price tag on the consumption of public goods. Some extrinsic barriers relate to the nature of dominant institutional frameworks. Examples would be where market mechanisms fail for public goods . Existing societies, economies, and cultures encourage increased consumption. There
4136-443: The concept of sustainable development better known. Sustainable development overlaps with the idea of sustainability which is a normative concept . UNESCO formulated a distinction between the two concepts as follows: " Sustainability is often thought of as a long-term goal (i.e. a more sustainable world), while sustainable development refers to the many processes and pathways to achieve it." The Rio Process that began at
4230-428: The concept of sustainable development has led to a diversity of discourses that legitimize competing sociopolitical projects. Global environmental governance scholars have identified a comprehensive set of discourses within the public space that mostly convey four sustainability frames: mainstream sustainability, progressive sustainability, a limits discourse, and radical sustainability. First, mainstream sustainability
4324-563: The concept of sustainable development. Some scholars say it is an oxymoron because according to them, development is inherently unsustainable. Other commentators are disappointed in the lack of progress that has been achieved so far. Scholars have stated that sustainable development is open-ended, much critiqued as ambiguous, incoherent, and therefore easily appropriated. In 1987, the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development released
4418-519: The conference was made by UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/64/236 on 24 December 2009. It was intended to be a high-level conference, including heads of state and government or other representatives and resulting in a focused political document designed to shape global environmental policy. During the final three days of the Conference, from 20 to 22 June 2012, world leaders and representatives met for intense meetings which culminated in finalizing
4512-828: The connections between the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainable development. Sustainability is at the center of the SDGs, as the term sustainable development implies. The short titles of the 17 SDGs are: No poverty ( SDG 1 ), Zero hunger ( SDG 2 ), Good health and well-being ( SDG 3 ), Quality education ( SDG 4 ), Gender equality ( SDG 5 ), Clean water and sanitation ( SDG 6 ), Affordable and clean energy ( SDG 7 ), Decent work and economic growth ( SDG 8 ), Industry, innovation and infrastructure ( SDG 9 ), Reduced inequalities ( SDG 10 ), Sustainable cities and communities ( SDG 11 ), Responsible consumption and production ( SDG 12 ), Climate action ( SDG 13 ), Life below water ( SDG 14 ), Life on land ( SDG 15 ), Peace, justice, and strong institutions ( SDG 16 ), and Partnerships for
4606-470: 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." The year 1972 also saw the publication of the influential book, A Blueprint for Survival . In 1975, an MIT research group prepared ten days of hearings on "Growth and Its Implication for
4700-503: 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
4794-509: The exhaustion of earth's finite stock; this perspective renders the Industrial Revolution as a whole unsustainable. 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. Natural capital can not necessarily be substituted by economic capital. While it
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#17327647812514888-511: The first conference of its kind, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), commonly referred to as the Rio Conference or Earth Summit, succeeded in raising public awareness of the need to integrate environment and development. The conference drew 109 heads of state to Rio de Janeiro , Brazil , to address what were dubbed urgent problems of environmental protection and socio-economic development. The Earth Summit influenced subsequent UN conferences, including Rio+20 and set
4982-754: The first informal negotiations and concluded with the April 2012 release of co-chairs streamline text of "The Future We Want". The 3rd Intersessional was held from 5–7 March 2012 at United Nations Headquarters in New York. Phase three – from 9 April 2012 to 15 June 2012 – began with the second round of negotiations starting on 9 April 2012, and ending with the 15 June 2012 closing of the Third Preparatory Committee meeting, when negotiators were already in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil. Th three-day intense meetings with hundreds of "heads of states from around
5076-572: The global North's corporate hand. Rousseff's controversy has arisen over her steadfast desire to further industrialize Brazil, and its economy. Additionally, the crowds assembled for a ritual and symbolic "tearing up" of the plenary's negotiated text, conveying their disapproval. Thousands of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) gathered at the Flamengo Park in Rio. They criticized the draft negotiating text, particularly for its failure to mention planetary boundaries or nuclear energy, in light of
5170-567: The global green agenda. "The World Conference on Human Rights, for example, focused on the right of people to a healthy environment and the right to development; controversial demands that had met with resistance from some Member States until the Earth Summit." Major outcomes of the conference include the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – a climate-change agreement that led to
5264-496: The goals ( SDG 17 ). 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. Agenda 21
5358-524: The goals set forth in Agenda 21 and implementation gaps therein, and discussing new and emerging issues. The UN wanted Rio to endorse a UN "green economy roadmap", with environmental goals, targets and deadlines, whereas developing countries preferred establishing new "sustainable development goals" to better protect the environment, guarantee food and power to the poorest, and alleviate poverty. Rio+20 attracted many protests, and more than 500 parallel events, exhibitions, presentations, fairs and announcements as
5452-503: The lack of progress that has been achieved so far. Part of the problem is that "development" itself is not consistently defined. The vagueness of the Brundtland definition of sustainable development has been criticized as follows: 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
5546-400: 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. 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
5640-452: 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 . 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. As global population and affluence have increased, so has
5734-485: The months leading up to the beginning of the conference, negotiators held frequent informal consultations at UN headquarters in New York City , and in the two weeks before the conference was scheduled to begin, they managed to reach consensus on the sensitive language in the then proposed outcome document for the summit. According to historian Felix Dodds in his 2014 co-authored 2014 book entitled, From Rio+20 to
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#17327647812515828-511: The non-binding document, "The Future We Want", which opens with: "We the Heads of State and Government and high-level representatives, having met at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 20 to 22 June 2012, with the full participation of civil society, renew our commitment to sustainable development and to ensuring the promotion of an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable future for our planet and for present and future generations." In 1992,
5922-427: The non-binding document, "The Future We Want: Outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 20–22 June 2012", which opens with, "We the Heads of State and Government and high-level representatives", having met at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 20 to 22 June 2012, with the full participation of civil society, renew our commitment to sustainable development and to ensuring
6016-496: The original Goals fail to address the role of the environment in development. There were eight key recommendations regarding the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which included strengthening its governance to potentially become, a "leading global environmental authority", through universal membership, increasing its financial resources and strengthening its engagement in key UN coordination bodies. According to
6110-480: The progress and implementation gaps in meeting previous commitments, and to address new and emerging challenges. The official discussions had two main themes, how to build a green economy to achieve sustainable development and lift people out of poverty, including support for developing countries that will allow them to find a green path for development; and how to improve international coordination for sustainable development by building an institutional framework. In
6204-433: The promotion of an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable future for our planet and for present and future generations." The first draft of the document was released in January 2012 as a result of preliminary intergovernmental discussions and negotiations that had taken place since May 2010. A streamlined version of "The Future We Want" was released in April 2012 following the second phase of negotiations. At
6298-407: The report Our Common Future , commonly called the Brundtland Report . The report included a definition of "sustainable development" which is now widely used: 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: Sustainable development thus tries to find
6392-437: The same thing in this context. The three dimensions paradigm has few theoretical foundations. Countries could develop systems for monitoring and evaluation of progress towards achieving sustainable development by adopting indicators that measure changes across economic, social and environmental dimensions. Six interdependent capacities are deemed to be necessary for the successful pursuit of sustainable development. These are
6486-473: 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,
6580-410: 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
6674-437: The short term over the long term. So they form a barrier to actions oriented toward improving sustainability. 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
6768-400: 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. 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
6862-483: The term " tragedy of the commons ". 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
6956-417: The term sustainable development and created the global environmental agenda for the next 20 years. The representatives of participating governments gathered in Rio to discuss what was then the draft text of the outcome document. Rio+20 sought to secure affirmations for the political commitments made at past Earth Summits and set the global environmental agenda for the next 20 years by assessing progress towards
7050-444: The three dimensions of sustainable development: economic growth, social improvement and environmental protection; focusing on reducing poverty while promoting jobs growth, clean energy and more fair, sustainable uses of resources; goals first established at Earth Summit in 1992. The conference centered around Agenda 21, the outcome document from Earth Summit 1992. That document was considered revolutionary in that it essentially created
7144-438: The three dimensions should be achieved. Instead of calling them dimensions , other terms commonly used are pillars , domains , aspects , spheres . Scholars usually distinguish three different areas of sustainability. These are the environmental, the social, and the economic. Several terms are in use for this concept. Authors may speak of three pillars, dimensions, components, aspects, perspectives, factors, or goals. All mean
7238-529: The three-day meeting of world leaders, the culmination of Rio+20. The document largely reaffirms previous action plans like Agenda 21. The document, "The Future We Want," called for the development of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of measurable targets aimed at promoting sustainable development globally. It is thought that the SDGs [would] pick up where the Millennium Development Goals leave off and address criticism that
7332-524: The use of resource inputs and the creation of waste , pollution and carbon emissions. The European Commission has adopted an ambitious Circular Economy Action Plan in 2020, which aims at making sustainable products the norm in the EU. It has been suggested that because of the rural poverty and overexploitation , environmental resources should be treated as important economic assets, called natural capital . Economic development has traditionally required
7426-417: 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 . Sustainable use of materials has targeted the idea of dematerialization , converting
7520-432: The value of investment in human capital "), policymakers have many possible interventions to increase sustainability, in macroeconomics or purely environmental. Several studies have noted that efficient policies for renewable energy and pollution are compatible with increasing human welfare, eventually reaching a golden-rule steady state. A meta review in 2002 looked at environmental and economic valuations and found
7614-729: The world could showcase their remarkable environmental projects. In coordination with the Rio+20 event, the platform hosted a World Environment Day Global School Contest in which 7th graders at the International School of Ulaanbaatar (ISU) in Mongolia were declared the Global Winners for their awareness campaign on the environmental impact of plastic shopping bags, including research on plastic bag manufacturing processes, development of videos documenting plastic bag waste, and
7708-525: The world for future generations. 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
7802-406: The world were expected to be present." Billed as the biggest UN event ever organized – with 15,000 soldiers and police guarding about 130 heads of state and government, from 192 countries, and the more than 45,000 individuals gathered in Rio de Janeiro – the 10-day mega-conference was intended to be a high-level international gathering organized to re-direct and renew global political commitment to
7896-449: The world" met in Rio de Janeiro after the 3rd Preparatory Meeting had concluded. According to a 13 June 2012 Washington Post article, the "giant, 10-day-long" Conference underway in Rio de Janeiro which would end on 22 June 2012, was "expected to draw 50,000 participants, including delegates, environmental activists, business leaders, and indigenous groups." For the final three days of the conference, "about 130 heads of state from around
7990-523: Was Hridith Sudev, a seventh grader from Indian School Salalah in Oman for his organization, 'Project GreenWorld International', which helped promote sustainable awareness across the region through interactive projects. Hridith Sudev later went on to become an inventor and the organization has become a global environmental presence. The World Environment Day contest followed an Earth Day "Green Schools" contest regionally focused toward 6th to 12th grade students in
8084-714: Was a 20-year follow-up to the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in the same city, and the 10th anniversary of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg . The ten-day mega-summit, which culminated in a three-day high-level UN conference, was organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs and included participation from 192 UN member states – including 57 Heads of State and 31 Heads of Government, private sector companies, NGOs and other groups. The decision to hold
8178-406: 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. The most comprehensive global governance framework for sustainable development is the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This agenda was a follow-up to
8272-607: Was exploitation and degradation of the Earth , as well as the negation of the rights of indigenous peoples . National Geographic said that activists that support protecting the environment, are particularly relevant in Brazil , as deforestation threatens Amazonian ethnic groups every day. In addition to holding signs and shouting chants, the crowds took a theatric route to convey their messages. Firstly, they poked at Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff , claiming she has given in to
8366-548: Was held from 10 to 11 January 2011 at UN Headquarters, New York. The 2nd Preparatory Committee was held from 7–8 March 2011, at United Nations Headquarters in New York, immediately following the Intergovernmental Policy Meeting for the 19th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development . The 2nd Intersessional was held from 15 to 16 December 2011 at United Nations Headquarters in New York. Phase two – from March 2012 to April 2012 – began with
8460-530: Was held in Johannesburg, South Africa, with the goal of again bringing together leaders from government, business and NGOs to agree on a range of measures toward similar goals. At Rio+10, sustainable development was recognized as an overarching goal for institutions at the national, regional and international levels. There, the need to enhance the integration of sustainable development in the activities of all relevant United Nations agencies, programs and funds
8554-661: Was highlighted. The discussion also encompassed the role of institutions in stepping up efforts to bridge the gap between the international financial institutions and the multilateral development banks and the rest of the UN system. Major outcomes of that conference include the Johannesburg Declaration and almost 300 international partnership initiatives meant to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals . The conference had three objectives – to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable development, to assess
8648-588: 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-centred 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. An unsustainable situation occurs when natural capital (the total of nature's resources)
8742-502: Was seen as a reflection of their administrations' failure to prioritize sustainability issues. "In not attending, the prime minister is sending out a powerful signal that the UK government does not see sustainability as a priority", Joan Walley, chair of the UK environmental audit committee said to The Guardian . among others Activists took initiative at Rio+20 by staging numerous protests. Activists joined forces to stand up to what they said
8836-520: Was the first international document that identified education as an essential tool for achieving sustainable development and highlighted areas of action for education. 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." 20 years after
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