What Do The Kyoto Protocols And European Trading Scheme 's Illustrate About Sustainable Development?

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).

The universal definition of Sustainability, defined in the Brundtland Report back in 1987 and quoted by Mulder (2007) is “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

The definition of sustainability is the ability to support a long term ecological balance while not harming the environment or depleting its natural resources. According to Robert Goodland and his essay “The Case that the world has reached limits” the world is currently being run unsustainably, “being fueled by inherited fossil fuels is the best single example” (Goodland 602). Fossil fuels are non renewable gases and oils and we are using them to provide 60 percent of the global energy, because of the extensive usage of these nonrenewable fossil fuels, we barely have fifteen years left of reserves. Goodland uses his essay to build on Brundtland’s leads to gain and maintain sustainability, claiming that we need a “new era of economic growth” to meet the needs of sustainability (Goodland 602). Goodland

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.

Table of Contents Introduction............................................................................................................................ 2 I. The development of global, European and national policies relating to sustainability. 2 1. Changing attitudes of public, politicians and businesses to the environment since 1945 .................................................................................................................................... 2 2. Brundtland definition of ‘sustainable development’ .................................................. 4 3. The international and UK policies to sustainable development since Earth Summit of 1992

In 1992, there was Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil by UN. The world leaders came and signed some of important documents that included statement of action which is Agenda 21. Agenda 21 was a blueprint about how to make better social economic.

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:

The word sustainability has been defined ‘as the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their needs’ (Mansdorf, 2010).

However, for the purpose of this essay, sustainability will be defined as “the concept of sustainability explores the relationship among economic development, environmental quality, and social equity.” Furthermore, this concept of sustainability has been evolving since 1972, where it was introduced at the UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm. (Smith 2011).

Since the creation of the UN’s World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987, the term “sustainability” has become a common term used when discussing the future of the world (Kerr &Hart-Steffes2012). Sustainability, in a broad sense, means living harmoniously with the environment, society, and economy without compromising quality of life for peoples of future generations. There are three main components to sustainability: social, environmental, and economic. The social dimension refers to housing, education, health care, and other aspects that contribute to one’s quality of life, while the economic dimension speaks to a viable local economy with job creation and incoming revenue not dependent on high consumption or population

If out of the 17 U.N. Millennium Development Goals for 2030 could be achieved, I feel that ensuring environmental sustainability would be most crucial. Environmental sustainability and development is necessary to reduce poverty and increase the wellbeing of not only today’s people, but for future generations.(1) These global environment isssues require a global solution. However inequality between countries creates environmental issues, uneven development, and difficulty and finding solutions. (2)

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).

In 1992 the Rio Earth Summit meeting was convened by 152 world leaders, who developed Agenda 21, a plan of action, which recommends to all countries that they create more national sustainable development strategies. In the years since Rio, there has