According to the World Commission

on Environment and Development, the

definition of Sustainable Development
(SD) is “development that meets the
needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own need”
(Our Common Future, 1987).

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According to the World Commission on
Environment and Development, the
definition of Sustainable Development
(SD) is “development that meets the
needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own need”
(Our Common Future, 1987).
The share of renewable energy in final energy
consumption grew modestly from 2012 to
2014, from 17.9 per cent to 18.3 per cent.
Most of the increase was from renewable
electricity from water, solar and wind power.
Solar and wind power still make up a relatively
minor share of energy consumption, despite
their rapid growth in recent years. The
challenge is to increase the share of renewable
energy in the heat and transport sectors,
which together account for 80 per cent of
global energy consumption.
Interdependent and Mutually Reinforcing Pillars
of Sustainable Development
Since 1987, there have been many different definitions for SD
and a most commonly used and illustrative one is “balance on
the social, economic and environmental developments” which is
often expressed in the following diagram :
The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, was first held in Stockholm,
Sweden, in June 1972, and marked the emergence of international environmental law.
The Declaration on the Human Environment also known as the Stockholm Declaration set
out the principles for various international environmental issues, including human rights,
natural resource management, pollution prevention and the relationship between the
environment and development. The conference also led to the creation of the United
Nations Environment Programme.
The Brundtland Commission set up by Gro Harlem Brundtland, the pioneer of sustainable
development, provided the momentum for first Earth Summit 1992 – the United Nations
Conference on Environmental Development (UNCED), that was also headed by Maurice
Strong, who had been a prominent member of the Brundtland Commission – and also
for Agenda 21.

Agenda 21 is a non-binding action plan of the United Nations with regard to sustainable
development.[1] It is a product of the Earth Summit (UN Conference on Environment and
Development) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. It is an action agenda for the UN,
other multilateral organizations, and individual governments around the world that can be
executed at local, national, and global levels.
The "21" in Agenda 21 refers to the 21st Century. Although it is also the area
code for Greater Rio de Janeiro, plus Teresópolis and Mangaratiba in the countryside. It
has been affirmed and had a few modifications at subsequent UN conferences. Its aim is
achieving global sustainable development. One major objective of the agenda 21 is that
every local government should draw its own local agenda 21.
Evolution of SD Concept: Rio to Paris

• The landmark event in the evolution of the concept of

sustainable development had been the 1972 Stockholm
Conference on the Human Environment convened by the
United Nations, the report of the World Commission on
Environment and Development (WCED)

• Our Common Future and the 1992 United Nations

Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)
or Rio Earth Summit as it is commonly referred to. The
many activities between successive landmark events
sought to build on the outcome of the previous event, to
clarify issues, and to provide inputs into the preparatory
process of the following events.
Evolution of SD Concept: Rio to Paris
• The UN established the Commission on Sustainable
Development (CSD) in December 1992 to ensure an
effective follow-up of UNCED and to monitor and report on
the implementation of the Earth Summit agreements at the
local, national, regional, and international levels

• A (Rio+5) Special Session of the General Assembly, held in

June 1997, adopted a comprehensive programe for further
implementation of Agenda 21 as well as the work programe
of the CSD for 1997-2002.

• The Kyoto Protocol adopted in December 1997 and the

Conferences of the Parties (COPs), held over the years, have
made some advances relating to clarification of various
aspects of financing and implementing sustainable
development globally.
 The World Summit on Sustainable Development, WSSD or ONG Earth Summit 2002 took
place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 26 August to 4 September 2002. It was
convened to discuss sustainable development by the United Nations. WSSD gathered a
number of leaders from business and non-governmental organizations, 10 years after the
first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. (It was therefore also informally nicknamed
"Rio+10".)

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), also

known as Rio 2012, Rio+20 (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈʁi.u ˈmajʒ ˈvĩtʃi]), or Earth
Summit 2012 was the third international conference on sustainable
development aimed at reconciling the economic and environmental goals of the
global community. Hosted by Brazil in Rio de Janeiro from 13 to 22 June 2012,[citation
needed][dubious – discuss] Rio+20 was a 20-year follow-up to the 1992 United Nations

Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in the same city, and
the 10th anniversary of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable
Development(WSSD) in Johannesburg.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (or Global Goals for Sustainable
Development) are a collection of 17 global goals set by the United Nations in 2015. The
formal name for the SDGs is: "Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development." That has been shortened to "2030 Agenda."[1] The goals are broad and
interdependent, yet each has a separate list of targets to achieve. Achieving all 169 targets
would signal accomplishing all 17 goals. The SDGs cover social and economic development
issues including poverty, hunger, health, education, global warming, gender
equality, water, sanitation, energy, urbanization, environment and social justice.[2]
Paragraph 54 of United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/70/1 of 25 September
2015 contains the goals and targets.[3]The UN-led process involved its 193 Member
States and global civil society. The resolution is a broad intergovernmental agreement that
acts as the Post-2015 Development Agenda. The SDGs build on the principles agreed upon
in Resolution A/RES/66/288, entitled "The Future We Want".[4] This was a non-binding
document released as a result of Rio+20 Conference held in 2012.[4]
Implementation as of 2016 is described as "Localizing the SDGs" to highlight the role of
local institutions and local actors.[5] Regional efforts included agreements like the Baltic
2030 Action Plan[6] and another similar agreement called NITI Aayog was developed for
India. Some remain pessimistic about the potential for achieving the SDGs, especially
because of estimates of the cost of achieving all 17.[5] However, progress had been
reported by 2018. For example, fewer African children under the age of 5 are suffering
from stunting and wasting. However, the same study concluded that it is unlikely there will
be an end to malnutrition by 2030.[7]
conserve and enhance, as appropriate, sinks
and reservoirs of GHGs as referred to in Article
4, paragraph 1(d) of the Convention, including
forests.
Voluntary cooperation/Market- and non-
market-based approaches (Art. 6) – The Paris
Agreement recognizes the possibility of
voluntary cooperation among Parties to allow
for higher ambition and sets out principles –
including environmental integrity, transparency
and robust accounting – for any cooperation
that involves internationally transferal of
mitigation outcomes. It establishes a
mechanism to contribute to the mitigation of
GHG emissions and support sustainable
development, and defines a framework for
non-market approaches to sustainable
development.
Adaptation (Art. 7) – The Paris Agreement
establishes a global goal on adaptation – of
enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening
resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate
change in the context of the temperature goal
of the Agreement. It aims to significantly
strengthen national adaptation efforts,
The Paris Agreement (French: Accord de Paris)[3] is an agreement within the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), dealing with greenhouse-
gas-emissions mitigation, adaptation, and finance, starting in the year 2020. The
agreement's language was negotiated by representatives of 196 state parties at the 21st
Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC in Le Bourget, near Paris, France, and adopted
by consensus on 12 December 2015.[4][5] As of July 2018, 195 UNFCCC members have
signed the agreement, and 179 have become party to it.[1] The Paris Agreement's long-
term goal is to keep the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 °C above
pre-industrial levels; and to limit the increase to 1.5 °C, since this would substantially
reduce the risks and effects of climate change.
Under the Paris Agreement, each country shall determine, plan, and regularly report on
the contribution that it undertakes to make in order to mitigate global warming.[6] There
is no mechanism to force[7] a country to set a specific target by a specific date,[8] but each
target should go beyond previously set targets. In June 2017, U.S. President Donald
Trump announced his intention to withdraw his country from the agreement. Under the
agreement, the earliest effective date of withdrawal for the U.S. is November 2020,
shortly before the end of President Trump's current term.
In July 2017 French Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot announced a five-year plan to
ban all petrol and diesel vehicles in France by 2040 as part of the Paris Agreement. Hulot
also stated that France would no longer use coal to produce electricity after 2022 and
that up to €4 billion will be invested in boosting energy efficiency.[9]
Global carbon dioxide emissions by jurisdiction.
 The principle

• Protect the environment and at the same time

fulfill economic and social objectives
• Operational criteria:
– Economic objectives should not be maximized without
satisfying environmental and social constraints
– Environmental benefits should not be maximized without
satisfying economic and social constraints
– Social benefits should not be maximized without satisfying
economic and environmental constraints

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The SD Strategy as outlined in Rio Agenda
21 is “government’s strategy should build
upon and harmonize the various sectoral,
economic, social and environmental policies
and plans that are operating in the
country….. It’s goal should be to ensure
social responsible economic development
while protecting the resource base and the
environment for the benefit of future
generations. It should be developed through
the widest possible participation”.

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