Roles of Energy in Sustainable Development Goals
Introduction
History of sustainable development
Sustainable development is the ‘development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of the future generation from meeting their own needs ‘(Brundtland, 1987). This concept has developed more from the intergenerational framework as indicated in the brundtland report to incorporate the three pillars (social, environment and economic) as a whole through series of environmental meeting held.
Today, the focus is on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which was established in 2015.It is an improvement of the millennium development goals (MDGS) in that, its focus is in all countries in terms of not what the developed nations should do for the developing nations but addresses major global challenges and the need for all nations to work together in order to promote global wellbeing for the present and future generation. This contrast with the MDGs, where the focus was on only developing countries (Sachs, 2012). Additionally, SDGs provides a better coverage of social economic, environmental and institutional dimensions by discussing the global environmental issues on water, ocean, ecosystem and climate change as stipulated in (ICSU, ISSC, 2015).
Energy being core in ensuring sustainable development by addressing global issues such as climate change, poverty, has been an agenda in various environmental meeting for instance agenda 21 which
The most commonly used definition of sustainable development is still that given in the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development (1987), i.e. sustainable development is ‘a process to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.’ Sustainable development is therefore about creating a better life for all people in ways that will be as viable in the future as they are at present. In other words, sustainable development is based on principles of sound husbandry of the world’s resources, and on equity in the way those resources are used and in the way in which the benefits obtained from them are distributed (Making Tourism More Sustainable, 2005).
Sustainable development is defined as “Development that meets the needs of the present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (IISD, par. 1 ).
“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. (Brundtland Report,
Sustainable development means that the present generations should be able to make use of resources to live better lives in such a manner that it does not compromise the ability of future generations. For sustainable development to occur, there needs to be sustainable economic, ecological and community development. Society needs to be educated about ways in which they can use resources, especially natural, in such a manner that it does not cause harm to the environment and put future generations lives at risk.
Sustainable development is the improvement that addresses the issues of the present without bargaining the capacity of future eras to address their own issues. It consists of two key ideas:
Sustainability: the equality of environmental, social and economic necessities between today’s generation and tomorrow’s generation.
Of the various definitions for “sustainability” and “sustainable development” put forth by Agyeman, Bullard, and Evans, the most compelling and useful defines one sustainability as “the need to ensure a better quality of life for all, now, and into the future, in a just and equitable manner, while living within the limits of supporting ecosystems (Agyeman et al., p. 2). This definition is particularly suitable to sustainability because it captures its social justice component rather than portraying it as a solely environmental issue. Another key part is the mentioning of intra-generational equity which is crucial because many people fighting for sustainability will not be able to see the fruits of their labor but must still
The need to link the economical development with a greater concern about our planet gave birth to a new concept of sustainable development, which identifies a progress compatible with the preservation of the environment and resources for the future generations.
Energy is a big part of our lives. We are heating our homes with natural gas or electricity and driving to and from work and any other outdoors activities. Our main source of the energy people use is fossil fuels and in the future, the availability of those sources has an end date. As studies show there are renewable resources of fuel and other equipment used for energy like wind, nuclear power plants and solar hydroelectric. There are many pros and cons to all forms of energy source, and they all have their own merit. Also, the energy sources that people use does have floss and can cause a negative impact on the environment, and humans. The most important goal is reducing the overall use of our energy sources.
Sustainable development suggests the implementation of state-imposed limitations, with the purpose of reducing the amount of resources and space we overtake and ultimately, the amount of damage we cause to our planet’s future. It requires that we view the earth as a system that both contains space and connects time. We are all interconnected, and the selfish, wasteful lifestyle that a country might live in North America can affect people all around the world, presently even. Generally, sustainable development can be separated into sections-two of them being social and environmental. Social sustainability places emphasis on the importance of public policy-making. It requires a political framework that consists of six areas-natural resource management, measurement and assessment, international trade and investment, climate change and energy, economic policy and communication technologies. Environment sustainability is concerned with the diversity and productivity of natural environments, and requires our generation to innovate activities so that they cause minimal harm to our natural environments. Our future on this earth will directly depend on our ability to introduce and implement the sustainable development techniques discussed in these fundamental sectors.
Sustainable development is at the heart of the National Planning Policy Framework of 2012, and is defined as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable development includes three key pillars- social, environmental and economic, however in reality these issues often overlap and do not fit directly into one category (Hopwood, Mellor and O’Brien, 2005).
Sustainable development. A concept that has only recently become highlighted and pursued by the international community. In a country like Nigeria, there is focus on economic growth on the sustaining of their people, not the interest of the environment, however this trend is beginning to change as the country is moving toward a future of power from alternative sources, such as solar power and wind power (Our Objectives, n.d.). Sustainable development, according to the Brundtland Report, “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to the meet their own needs.”(IISD) The United Nations has been at the forefront of this drive for a more sustainable, namely with the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which highlight not only environmental aspects, but also societal (human right-based) (e.g. No Poverty, focus on Gender Inequality). Prior to the creation of the SDGs, were the Millennial Development Goals (MDGs) during the beginning of the 21st Century, which eventually became the SDGs. The SDGs implemented several new points that seemingly “filled the gaps”, so-to-speak, left by the MDGs. These goals were adopted in September of 2015 with an expected fruition date of 2030 (Madeley 2015).
Sustainable development is about meeting the needs of today without over-using the resources for future. It requires the integration of environmental, economic and social priorities into policies and programs[b]. It is different from green growth as green growth does not take social priorities into account which means that green growth is more focusing on improvement of quantity but sustainable development focusing more on quality of human’s life experience.
Personally, when talking about Energy issues, I need to analyze the topic from two aspects, ‘The history of energy’ and ‘Prospective and challenge of the new sustainable energy. The following I will show the relative information in details
The concept of sustainable development has become a major topic among intellectuals from various fields. Sustainable development has gone through various changes in its definitions and at present does not have a commonly accepted definition. The origination of the concept of sustainable development is debatable. In 1974 at a conference on Science and Technology for Human Development by the World Council of Churches the concept of a “sustainable society” is believed to have been first noted. This early concept focused on equitable distribution of scarce resources and the need for democratic decision making. In 1980 the currently used term of sustainable development emerged in the