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Sustainable development is a noble and necessary aspiration. It is a visionary development paradigm; and over the past 20 years governments, businesses, and civil society have committed to sustainable development goals. Maurice Strong, former Secretary-General of the Rio Summit, remarked in 1998 that sustainable development “has been embraced by people throughout the world.” Despite recognition of and commitment to the principles of sustainable development, action has not moved beyond the margins and certainly has not led to the core changes needed to support a transition to sustainable development.
The term, sustainable development, was popularized in Our Common Future, a report published by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) in 1987. Also known as the Brundtland report, Our Common Future included the “classic” definition of sustainable development: “development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (WCED, p. 43). Acceptance of the report by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly gave the term political salience; and in 1992 leaders set out the principles of sustainable development at the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, also referred to as the Rio Summit and the Earth Summit.
Sustainable development is a fluid concept and various definitions have emerged over the past two decades. Despite an on-going debate on the actual meaning, a few common principles tend to be emphasized. The first is a commitment to equity and fairness, in that priority should be given to the improving the conditions of the world’s poorest and decisions should account for the rights of future generations. The second is a long-term view that emphasizes the precautionary principle, i.e., “where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation” (Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, Principle 15). Third, sustainable development embodies integration, and understanding and acting on the complex interconnections that exist between the environment, economy, and society. This is not a balancing act or a playing of one issue off against the other, but recognizing the interdependent nature of these three pillars.
Despite a general acceptance that sustainable development calls for a convergence between the three pillars of economic development, social equity and environmental protection; the concept remains elusive. Since the Brundtland report and the Rio Summit, governments and organizations have taken up sustainable development as a desirable goal and developed metrics for sustainable development, but implementation has proven difficult. Matthews and Hammill (2009: 1119) note that main problem since the Rio Summit has been “in designing the move from theory to practice. Here the tenacious grip of technological, political and other constraints becomes clear.”
Uptake of sustainable development has also been hampered by development being defined primarily as economic growth. This has been the framework used by developed countries in attaining their unprecedented levels of wealth, and it should be no surprise that major developing economies are following the same course. The problem with such an approach is that natural resources are in imminent peril of being exhausted (whether in terms of supply [e.g., oil reserves] or quality [e.g., air or water pollution]).
Addressing this challenge calls for changes at the consumer level in developed countries. Developed countries have the wealth and technical capacity to implement more sustainable policies and measures, yet the required level of political leadership and citizen engagement is still a long way off. The situation reflected by President George H. W. Bush in 1992 prior to the Rio Summit that “The American way of life is not negotiable”, has not drastically changed.
This is compounded by another real and growing threat to the planet’s wellbeing—economic growth in developing countries that follows the resource-intensive model of developed countries. Without change and real action to address levels of consumerism and resource use in developed countries, one can hardly expect a receptive audience among developing countries when attempts are made to direct attention to their economic development practices. More sustainable development pathways are needed in both developed and developing countries; which require a level of dialogue, cooperation and, most importantly, trust that simply is not reflected in today’s multilateral institutions or regimes.
There is a huge gap between the multilateral processes, with their broad goals and policies; and national action, which reflects domestic political and economic realities. A huge constituency around the world cares deeply and talks about sustainable development, but has not taken serious on-the-ground action. Deep structural changes are needed in the ways that societies manage their economic, social and environmental affairs; and hard choices are needed to move from talk to action.
This paper, prepared as background for the work of the United Nation Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Global Sustainability, assesses the evolution in the thinking and practice on sustainable development. The paper first reviews the origins of sustainable development, and then looks at progress on sustainable development in the 20-plus years since the Brundtland report and the Rio Summit. This is followed by an analysis of why headway on sustainable development has been less than expected; and the concluding section provides thoughts on moving forward.
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