What Is Sustainable Development? Find Out Here

Sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This is a broad concept that encompasses economic development, social development and environmental protection.

The World Bank’s World Development Report of 2012 states that sustainable development “‘meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”‘ 

In the early 1980s, there was a push to find a way to define sustainable development. In 1987, the Brundtland Commission, led by former Prime Minister of Norway Gro Harlem Brundtland, released a definition and declaration of what it meant to be sustainable. 

1) equitable access to the resources required for a good life,

2) preservation and restoration of the quality of the earth’s environment,

3) the mobilization of local resources for development,

4) the integration of environment into development policies,

5) sustainable management of resources for their renewal,

6) equitable sharing of the benefits of development,

7) strengthening of United Nations activity in the field of environment and development,

8) improvement of the global partnership

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Sustainable development means meeting our current needs without compromising our ability to meet the needs of future generations. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to achieve a balance between the three pillars of sustainable development: social, economic, and environmental. 

We have come a long way since the year 2000, when the first set of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were set by the United Nations to help solve a wide range of global problems that had plagued the world for decades — including poverty, hunger, and disease.

Now, the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the world’s global plan to tackle the same issues, with 17 goals and 169 targets to meet by the year 2030.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were adopted by the United Nations in 2015, are a new set of goals that describe how to build a better world within the next 15 years.

These goals give countries the chance to assess how they’re doing on important issues like poverty, health, and education.

The UN has made this goal the organizing principle for development efforts worldwide. The European Union has already incorporated these goals into its strategy, and it will serve as the basis for the EU’s policies in the future.

Challenges of Sustainability

One of the biggest challenges of sustainability is that there is a poor track record of companies who have achieved a sustainable business model. There are theoretical arguments that no-regret solutions such as energy efficiency can always be implemented, but this has not yet been conclusively demonstrated.

The first fundamental challenge of sustainability is the energy consumption of human activities. Since the Industrial Revolution, the biosphere’s capacity to provide resources and services to humanity has been greatly exceeded by humanity’s consumption of those resources and services.

The second fundamental challenge is climate change.

The atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (CO) has risen by more than a third since the Industrial Revolution to a level not seen in at least 800,000 years, and possibly more than 15 million years. But, in the last 50 years, we have also made a lot of progress toward the goal of sustainability. 

The concept of sustainability has been around for a while, but has only recently become a hot topic. (Sustainability, as you can probably read for yourself, is about how we can maintain our current way of life without damaging the environment too much.) Some of the problems we have already caused the planet might be too difficult to fix. 

While the challenges are many, even in today’s world, there are some things that are being done to at least prepare or help make a sustainable future possible. One of the biggest challenges, however, is the mindset that people have on sustainability.

People don’t generally think of the world’s limited resources and how they can be used more wisely. Instead, they see the world as unlimited and don’t think about the long-term consequences of their actions. This is a direct cause of the unsustainable future that most people are concerned about.

Education for sustainable development

In the past, education has been a driver for the development of sustainable energy, as well as for the general well-being of societies. Now, in the 21st century, sustainable energy – like all other sectors – is increasingly becoming characterised by new, rapid developments, changes and transformations.

However, education systems are not always able to keep up. (Which is why some governments are now creating specific ministries of education for sustainable development)

Limits To Growth And Sustainable Development [1972]

With the increasing population of our planet and the need for resources to meet the demands of that growth, the issue of sustainability is often raised. The questions are, just how sustainable is our planet and what can we do to maintain that sustainability?

This is a question that is touched on in the book Limits to Growth, written by Donella Meadows in 1972. The book was written with a group of scientists and mathematicians that had been funded by the United Nations.

The global population is continuing to grow causing increases in demands on natural resources. Can we keep growing the economy while maintaining human wellbeing? The Limits to Growth created by the Club of Rome in 1972 was the first attempt to model the future of the planet.

It combined computer modeling with a range of historical data, and showed that unrestricted economic growth could not continue indefinitely. Among other things, the book predicted that the limits to growth would hit by the early 21st century: global population peaks around 2030, with average incomes leveling off shortly afterward.

Limits to growth “The Limits to Growth” was commissioned by the Club of Rome. The Club of Rome is an organization of people who share a common concern for the future of humanity. It was founded

Last Words

The Earth is in its sixth mass extinction. Scientists estimate that since 1970, we have lost half of all wildlife on the planet and 60% of our wildlife in the past 100 years. We have severely damaged our ocean ecosystems, and more than 2 billion people are without clean drinking water. Our world is changing faster than it has at any other time in human history. The best way to ensure a future that is healthy and prosperous for your children is to give them an education that teaches them about the world around them, and, most importantly, how to be active participants in their own future.