IB Environmental systems and societies 1.3B Sustainable Development Notes

Sustainable development: meeting today's needs without robbing future generations

1. Sustainable development applies the idea of sustainability to human progress.
2. It meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
3. This principle is called intergenerational equity: fairness between present and future generations.
4. Sustainable development balances the environmental, social and economic pillars, covered in detail in article 1.3A.
5. It gives governments, businesses and societies a shared development framework.

Brundtland Report (1987): the origin of the definition

1. The Brundtland Report, titled Our Common Future, gave sustainable development its standard definition.
2. It stressed that development must not come at the expense of environmental protection.
3. It called for global cooperation to tackle sustainability challenges.
4. It shaped later policy, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Models: see 1.3A for weak and strong sustainability

Giddings' nested-circles model, in which the economy sits within society and society within the environment, is the strong sustainability model covered in detail in article 1.3A.

Why it matters: development within environmental limits

1. Human wellbeing and economic activity ultimately depend on a healthy environment.
2. Sustainable development keeps progress within environmental limits so future generations are not left worse off.