Sustainable development means meeting the needs of the present without stopping future generations from meeting their own needs. It links the economy, society and the environment.
The idea of sustainability
Many resources are limited. Non-renewable resources, such as oil and coal, cannot be replaced once used. Renewable resources, such as forests and fish, can last forever only if we use them no faster than they regrow. Pollution and climate change are costs that often fall on people who did not cause them, and on generations not yet born.
Balancing growth and the environment
There can be a conflict between growth now and the environment later. A factory may create jobs and income yet pollute a river. Cutting a forest brings quick timber sales but destroys resources and habitats forever. Sustainable development tries to gain the benefits of growth while limiting lasting harm.
Policies for sustainability
- taxes on pollution to make firms pay for the harm they cause;
- rules and limits, for example on fishing or emissions;
- supporting clean technology and renewable energy;
- protecting forests and encouraging recycling.
Stewardship
Sustainability is also a moral idea. Many traditions teach that people are stewards (trustees) of the earth, not owners free to waste it. In Islam this is the idea of khalifah, a responsibility to care for creation and avoid israf (wasteful excess). Whatever one's beliefs, the principle is shared: use resources fairly, avoid waste, and hand on a healthy world to those who come after us.
Sustainability is not only a task for governments. Households and firms play a part too, by saving energy, avoiding waste and choosing cleaner products. Small choices, repeated by millions of people, add up to a large effect on the environment and on the resources left for the future.
Sustainable development is not anti-growth; it is growth that lasts and that treats future generations justly.