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Sustainable development FAQ

1) What does sustainable development means?

Sustainable development is a pattern of resources use that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for future generations. The term was used by the Brundtland Commission which coined what has become the most often-quoted definition of sustainable development as development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

 

  • "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".
  • It contains within it two key concepts:
  • the concept of 'needs', in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given;
  • the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs."

 

Sustainable development ties together concern for the carrying capacity of natural systems with the social challenges facing humanity. As early as the 1970s "sustainability" was employed to describe an economy "in equilibrium with basic ecological support systems." The field of sustainable development can be conceptually broken into three constituent parts: environmental sustainability, economic sustainability and sociopolitical sustainability.

 

2) Energy and Sustainable Development

Energy is central to sustainable development and poverty reduction efforts. It affects all aspects of development (social, economic, and environmental). It is the principal means for providing access to basic needs such as food and water and it facilitates various opportunities for the achievement of a decent quality of life.

Access to affordable, adequate, and appropriate energy services is a prerequisite for sustainable development, and for achieving the Millennium Development Goals adopted by the governments of the world, including the goal of reducing poverty and hunger.

Perhaps the most critical challenge related to energy for sustainable development is how to increase access to affordable, modern energy services, while also ensuring that the energy services provided do not cause further adverse environmental and socio-economic impacts.

None of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) can be met without major improvement in the quality and quantity of energy services in developing countries.

 

3) The Millennium Development goals

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are the world’s quantified targets for dramatically reducing extreme poverty in its many dimensions by 2015 – income poverty, hunger, disease, exclusion, lack of infrastructure and shelter – while promoting gender equality, education, health, and environmental sustainability.

The (MDGs) are eight goals to be achieved by 2015 that respond to the world's main development challenges. The MDGs are drawn from the actions and targets contained in the Millennium Declaration that was adopted by 189 nations-and signed by 147 heads of state and governments during the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000.

The eight MDGs break down into 21 quantifiable targets that are measured by 60 indicators.

  • Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
  • Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
  • Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
  • Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
  • Goal 5: Improve maternal health
  • Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
  • Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
  • Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development

 

The MDGs:

  • synthesize, in a single package, many of the most important commitments made separately at the international conferences and summits of the 1990s;
  • recognize explicitly the interdependence between growth, poverty reduction and sustainable development
  • acknowledge that development rests on the foundations of democratic governance, the rule of law, respect for human rights and peace and security;
  • are based on time-bound and measurable targets accompanied by indicators for monitoring progress;
  • bring together, in the eighth Goal, the responsibilities of developing countries with those of developed countries, founded on a global partnership endorsed at the International Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey, Mexico in March 2002, and again at the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development in August 2002.

While there is no MDG on energy, the global aspirations embodied in the goals will not become a reality without massive increases in the quantity and quality of energy services. This is needed to meet the most basic needs of poor men and women, especially heat for cooking, and mechanical power. Also, improved household energy technologies for the very poor can prevent the almost 2 millions deaths a year attributable to indoor air pollution from solid fuel use.