Bonnedahl, KJ, Heikkurinen, P and Paavola, J orcid.org/0000-0001-5720-466X (2022) Strongly sustainable development goals: Overcoming distances constraining responsible action. Environmental Science and Policy, 129. pp. 150-158. ISSN 1462-9011
Abstract
Sustainable development has been an important policy goal for the international community for over three decades. Still, the state of the planet continues to worsen. This conceptual article considers the failure largely a result of structural obstacles and the so-called weak sustainability discourse, popularized by the Brundtland report and manifested today in The 2030 Agenda. The article adopts a strong sustainability perspective for examining structural distances between actors and the consequences of their acts. We argue that these impede responsible action and that policy should aim to reduce or eliminate distances in the four dimensions of space, time, functions and relations. The article concludes by suggesting Strongly Sustainable Development Goals, which could help transitioning humanity towards sustainability, lower the anthropogenic environmental impact on the planet, and enable the continuity of diverse life on Earth.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
Keywords: | 2030 Agenda; IPAT; Policy; Responsibility; Strong sustainability; Sustainable development goals |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Sustainability Research Institute (SRI) (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council) ES/R009708/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 17 Jan 2022 10:01 |
Last Modified: | 17 Jan 2022 10:01 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.envsci.2022.01.004 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:182541 |