Sustainable development
environmental damage. It would encourage Governments to consider and regulate environmental degradation perpetrated within their borders in order to perform well internationally. A universal set of tight guidelines would need to be agreed, so that different forms of environmental degradation can be valued uniformly. With this systemestablished, Governments would benefit from investing in green energy and other environmentally sustainable alternatives as these would be reflected in their GGDP. However, even with faultless implementation and governance of sustainable policies, there are certain uncontrollable variables that have the potential to imperil a region’ s development (such as political instability or the recent Covid-19 pandemic). Nevertheless, although these types of events tend to increase poverty and inequality, they could also be seen as an opportunity to create more radical positive change. For example, following the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, 6 schools and hospitals were rebuilt with drastically improved facilities, directly improving the region’s public welfare conditions. I recognize that this potential for development relies on such issues as the severity of the incident and the foreign aid available, but a focus on maximizing the efficient use of resources is vital in all future situations if development is to be globally sustainable. In 2005, the United Nations published a science-based report on how the ambitious Millennium Development Goals could be accomplished. Its key suggestion was for donor countries to contribute the full money they pledged to give, highlighting how vital international cooperation is for global progress. Thus, sustainable development is a panacea that can only be achievedwith a unified approach where the long-term potential of its three key factors (economy, environment and social community) are realized. Immense international cooperation and at all levels are required to manage the compromise between these dimensions. This is the major issue facing sustainable development. International cooperation is vital for sustainable development to be achieved this century. Developed countries must lead by example, support struggling nations with aid and honour their promises. At a national level, Governments must improve public services to increase individual environmental awareness in the long-term and use economic tools to pass the environmental burden of responsibility to private firms. Private investors should move further in support for renewable energy and other ‘green’ ventures, while withdrawing support from fossil fuel firms and other companies refusing to use environmentally sustainable processes. Finally, we must change the way in which wealth and national economies are measured to consider environmental factors. Thus, executing coordinated strategies at all levels of official policy across the developed world is how sustainable development can now be achieved.
Bibliography
Adhikari, O. Sustainable development and its challenges in developing countries. http://www.iynf.org/2018/08/a- guide-to-sustainable-development-and-its-challenges-in-developing-countries/ Consulted: 30/7/20 Amadeo, K & Boyle, M. Income inequality in America. https://www.thebalance.com/income-inequality-in- america-3306190 Consulted: 4/8/20 Andester, N. GDP alternatives: 7 ways to measure a country’s wealth. https://ethical.net/politics/gdp-alternatives- 7-ways-to-measure-countries-wealth/ Consulted: 4/8/20
6 On October 8th, 2005, a Richter-scale magnitude 7.6 earthquake shook the Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, causing the deaths of around 80,000 and leaving around 4 million others homeless.
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