Sustainable development: pillars and goals
The Brundtland definition, the three pillars, weak and strong sustainability, planetary boundaries, greenhouse gases, carbon footprint and neutrality, the sustainable development goals and the dated milestones.
- 31 cards
- 5 topics
- Free
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Each topic is weighted the way the exam weighs it.
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A few cards from the deck
Sustainable development: what is it?
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Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own (Brundtland report, 1987).
It holds three dimensions together: environmental, social and economic. A decision that sacrifices one is not sustainable.
A city swaps its lamps for LEDs, which cuts its bill and its emissions, but picks a model its staff cannot repair. What should be concluded?
- The gain may vanish: lamps that cannot be repaired will be replaced sooner
- The decision is sustainable, since it cuts both the bill and emissions
- There is no gain at all, because LEDs use more power in operation
- Only the social pillar matters here, as the staff will have less work
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The gain may vanish: lamps that cannot be repaired will be replaced sooner
A gain on one pillar does not make a decision sustainable: if the equipment cannot be repaired it will have to be replaced, raising cost and adding manufacturing emissions.
Sustainable development rests on three pillars: the … pillar, the … pillar and the … pillar.
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Sustainable development rests on three pillars: the environmental pillar, the social pillar and the economic pillar.
A company cutting its energy bill acts on the economic pillar; the same move cuts emissions, so also the environmental one. One action often touches several pillars.
Weak sustainability: what is it?
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The view that manufactured capital (machines, knowledge) can replace natural capital, as long as total capital does not shrink.
It assumes technology can make up for exhausted soil or a disrupted climate. Strong sustainability disputes this: some functions of nature have no substitute.