Sustainable development (SD) is the practice of encouraging economic growth while taking into account environmental and social needs of society. SD requires ensuring that resource extraction rates and waste production stay within Earth’s capacity for absorption.
At its core, development must meet both basic needs of individuals as well as their legitimate aspirations; yet without jeopardizing future generations’ ability to meet their own requirements.
Environment
Environment plays a key role in sustainable development by providing human society with essential natural resources and ecosystem services – such as food, water, energy and raw materials – which cannot be replaced with economic capital such as buildings or technology. Furthermore, ecosystem services may become unsustainable over time due to CFC emissions or degradation caused by forests’ climate stabilizing role.
Environmental sustainability encourages individuals and communities to reduce their ecological footprint through practices such as recycling, limiting waste generation and using renewable energy sources; in addition to this it can be achieved through education, awareness and advocacy efforts.
Environmental sustainability demands an approach to economic and social growth that strikes a balance between economic expansion, social progress, and environmental protection. This balance may be referred to as the three pillars or domains of sustainability; some scholars prefer using ecological, economic and social dimensions instead. Each element must be addressed concurrently for maximum efficiency.
Economic Growth
Economic analysts and central banks have long considered economic growth — measured as an increase in gross domestic product (GDP) — essential for national prosperity. Yet many scholars and researchers now question if unchecked expansion is indeed sustainable for our planet.
One factor behind sustainable development is Earth’s limited natural resources, which limit economic expansion. Therefore, sustainable development entails managing all three forms of capital: financial, human and environmental. Natural resources cannot be replaced easily and may have irreversible repercussions when consumed – unlike financial and human capital which may be replaced with replacement options.
Sustainability refers to an equilibrium between human population and environment in order to safeguard its ability to meet humanity’s future needs, and other concepts like the Triple Bottom Line or social progress, environmental sustainability, and economic growth. These goals are articulated by United Nations Member States through 17 Sustainable Development Goals set as targets.
Social Development
Sustainable development holds immense promise for improving people’s lives and well-being, by addressing various social issues essential for alleviating poverty and protecting human rights, such as gender equality, education, culture and health care provision.
Gray (2010) and Guo (2017) note, however, that SD faces its own set of hurdles. One key one is overcoming the “Malthus dilemma”, in which population growth exceeds available resources that support life; by making sure future generations have sufficient food, shelter and other basics they need for survival.
Sustainable development should also consider population control to help mitigate environmental damage and ensure economic development is supported without needing continuous expansion in response to human demand. The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were devised in response to this global ‘triple crisis’.
Governance
With the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a powerful new governance potential exists to advance both societal progress and environmental equilibrium. This Agenda includes 17 overarching goals in poverty reduction, health improvement, education equality gender equity climate change adaptation as well as sustainable use of natural resources – with targets set by each goal for their implementation.
Contrary to radical “green romanticism” and “limits to growth”, which both emphasize a revolution against current systems or their eventual collapse, sustainability advocates for an approach of transformation that reconceptualizes current systems from within – this requires understanding existing governance landscapes in detail in order to reorient them towards sustainability.
Meta-governance provides a historicized yet pragmatic conceptual repertoire for such efforts, integrating quality of life and ecological limits considerations into governance arrangements, adapting their temporal logic, and assuring ongoing deliberative clarification of meanings. Furthermore, meta-governance facilitates identification of tradeoffs between sectoral problems objectives means and offers, creating alliances of stakeholders across disciplines.