Sustainable Development

Building on the previously established Millennium Development Goals, which ran from 2000-2015, the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide the UN with a roadmap for development until 2030. This topical book explores the associated legal and normative implications of these SDGs, which in themselves are not legally binding.

This volume is the most comprehensive textbook on sustainable development. It has been developed with students and professionals from around the world specifically for those who need a thorough grounding in the subject. Coverage includes: background to sustainable development and global environmental issues; measurement and sustainability indicators; environmental assessment, management and policy; approaches and linkages to poverty reduction; impacts and infrastructure development; economics, consumption, production and market failures; governance; participation; disaster management; international financial institutions; international environmental agreements; and the role of civil society.

Fundamentals of Sustainable Development is an accessible and interdisciplinary textbook that introduces the concept of sustainable development to students from across the disciplines from economics, management, teacher education, arts and humanities to the natural and social sciences. The impact of development needs to be considered beyond the narrow focus of economic, ecological or social concerns. This new edition builds upon the second edition’s user-friendly and comprehensive overview of the challenges linked to striving for a sustainable, holistic approach to development. Providing a multifaceted approach to the subject in order to encompass what is referred to as ‘people, planet and profit’, this third edition provides a complete update of the text, with an emphasis on topics including the Sustainable Development Goals, the circular economy, climate and energy, and sustainable and future-focused entrepreneurship. This stimulating book is an invaluable resource for students and lecturers in all disciplines who have an interest in the sustainability of our planet, and our human society and economy.

Environment and Sustainable Development answers the need for an introductory, comprehensive, yet critical, book that explores the challenges involved in the implementation of sustainable development.

Jeffrey D. Sachs is one of the world's most perceptive and original analysts of global development. In this major new work he presents a compelling and practical framework for how global citizens can use a holistic way forward to address the seemingly intractable worldwide problems of persistent extreme poverty, environmental degradation, and political-economic injustice: sustainable development. Sachs offers readers, students, activists, environmentalists, and policy makers the tools, metrics, and practical pathways they need to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. Far more than a rhetorical exercise, this book is designed to inform, inspire, and spur action. Based on Sachs's twelve years as director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, his thirteen years advising the United Nations secretary-general on the Millennium Development Goals, and his recent presentation of these ideas in a popular online course, The Age of Sustainable Development is a landmark publication and clarion call for all who care about our planet and global justice.

A truly comprehensive introduction to the topic, Understanding Sustainable Development is designed to give students on a wide range of courses an appreciation of the key concepts and theories of sustainable development. Fully updated, the third edition includes detailed coverage of the Sustainable Development Goals and their impact on global development. Major challenges and topics are explored through a range of international case studies and media examples which maintain the ‘global to local’ structure of the previous edition. With an extensive website and pedagogy, Understanding Sustainable Development is the most complete guide to the subject for course leaders, undergraduates and postgraduates.

This book contains assessment of the progress, or the lack of it, in implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through review of the assessments and of case studies, readers can draw lessons from the actions that could work to positively address the goals. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is designed to catalyze action in critical areas of importance to humanity and the planet. The effort to implement the SDGs, however, demands a sense of urgency in the face of environmental degradation, climate change, emerging conflicts, and growing inequality, among a number of other socio-economic problems. Five years after the launch of the 2030 Agenda, this book takes stock of how far the world has come and how we can position ourselves to achieve the global targets. The book is one of the first to assess how the implementation is impeded by the onset of COVID-19. It contains a special chapter on COVID-19 and the SDGs, while many thematic chapters on different SDGs also assess how COVID-19 adversely affects implementation, and what measures could be taken to minimize the adverse effects. This publication thus provides a fresh look at implementation of the SDGs highlighting impactful and creative actions that go beyond the business-as-usual development efforts. The volume reinforces this analysis with expert recommendations on how to support implementation efforts and achieve the SDGs through international and national strategies and the involvement of both the public and private sectors. The result is an indispensable textual tool for policy makers, academia, intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as well as the public, as we march toward the 2030 deadline.

This publication provides an overview of how international standards are used by policymakers to support sustainability and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is based on case studies that illustrate the use of standards for SDG 6, Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 7, Standards for Affordable and Clean Energy, SDG 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities, and SDG 13, Climate Action. The publication documents the practical experience of regulatory authorities, governments and local administrations, as well as regional groups of countries, in using standards towards the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. With examples ranging from the subnational and national to the global levels, and from all regions, we hope this reading will inspire you to consider your local context and how you may apply standards to best realize the Global Goals in your constituency.