Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Steps Towards Realising Global Sustainable Development

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Sustainable Development in Changing Complex Earth Systems

Part of the book series: Sustainable Development Goals Series ((SDGS))

Abstract

In the first part of the chapter, the global measures made so far in the interest of sustainable development are described. The scientific antecedents of the document entitled “Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable development” are presented including Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDGs are analysed in detail regarding feasibility. According to the authors of the present book, the most important step to be taken towards sustainable development is the global reform of education, therefore the recommended changes in the content and structure of education are presented in detail together with measures already executed in the right direction. The currently ongoing technological revolution is analysed one of the main characteristics of which is the rapid development of autocatalytic technologies (information technology, biotechnology and nanotechnology). As a result of this revolution, beneficial quality changes could be expected regarding the relationship of production and the environment. The possibilities of reducing life standard differences among countries and people, the most important tasks for stabilising the population of Earth and the relationship between education and population growth are also discussed. The possibilities of making peace among different religious-cultural civilisations are considered. The last subchapter outlines views that could strengthen processes towards sustainable development, like degrowth, circular economy, theory of the second curve, massive open online courses, “revolution of sustainability” and new humanism.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Bibliography

  • Acemoglu D, Robinson JA (2012) Why nations fail: the origins of power, prosperity, and poverty. Crown Business, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Alibašić H (2017) Measuring the sustainability impact in local governments using the quadruple bottom line. Int J Sustain Policy Pract 13:37–45. https://doi.org/10.18848/2325-1166/CGP/v13i03/37-45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alibašić H (2018) Sustainability and resilience planning for local governments. The quadruple bottom line strategy, Sustainable development goals series. Springer, New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72568-0

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Allwood JM (2014) Squaring the circular economy: the role of recycling within a hierarchy of material management strategies. In: Worrell E, Reuter MA (eds) Handbook of recycling: state-of-the-art for practitioners, analysts, and scientists. Elsevier, Waltham, pp 445–477

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Asgary A (ed) (2019) Resettlement challenges for displaced populations and refugees, Sustainable development goals series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92498-4

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Assadourian E (2010) The rise and fall of consumer cultures. In: Assadourian E, Starke L, Mastny L (eds) State of the world 2010: transforming cultures from consumerism to sustainability. W. W. Norton, New York, pp 3–20

    Google Scholar 

  • Assadourian E (2012) The path to degrowth in overdeveloped countries. In: Starke L (ed) State of the world 2012: moving toward sustainable prosperity. Island Press, Washington, DC, pp 22–37

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bae SC, Chang K, Yi HC (2016) The impact of corporate social responsibility activities on corporate financing: a case of bank loan covenants. Appl Econ Lett 23:1234–1237. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2016.1148247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brennan T (2000) Exhausting modernity: grounds for a new economy. Routledge, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Carr NG (2011) The shallows: what the internet is doing to our brains. W. W. Norton, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark WC, Dickson NM (2003) Sustainability science: The emerging research program. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 100 (14):8059-8061 doi: 10.1073/pnas.1231333100

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Constanza R (ed) (1991) Ecological economics: the science and management of sustainability. Columbia University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • da Costa P, Attias D (eds) (2018) Towards a sustainable economy: paradoxes and trends in energy and transportation, Sustainable development goals series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-79060-2

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Daly HE (1991) Steady-state economics. Island Press, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Daly HE (1996) Beyond growth: the economics of sustainable development. Beacon Press, Boston, MA

    Google Scholar 

  • Daly HE (1999) Ecological economics and the ecology of economics: essays in criticism. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham

    Google Scholar 

  • Daly HE (2005) Economics in a full world. Sci Am 293:100–107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daly HE, Farley J (2004) Ecological economics: principles and applications. Island Press, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Dardot P, Laval C (2010) La nouvelle raison du monde: essai sur la société néolibérale. La Découverte, Paris

    Google Scholar 

  • Diamond J (2005) Collapse: how societies choose to fail or succeed. Viking Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Druckman A, Jackson T (2009) The carbon footprint of UK households 1990–2004: a socio-economically disaggregated, quasi-multi-regional input–output model. Ecol Econ 68:2066–2077

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Economides G, Papandreou A, Sartzetakis E et al (2018) The economics of climate change. Climate Change Impacts Study Committee. Bank of Greece, Athens

    Google Scholar 

  • Engelman R (2012) Nine population strategies to stop short of 9 billion. In: Starke L (ed) State of the world 2012: moving toward sustainable prosperity. Island Press, Washington D.C., pp 121–128

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Faragó T (2016) Világunk 2030-ban: a nemzetközi együttműködés új egyetemes programjának előzményei, lényege és értékelése (Our world in 2030: the new general program of international cooperation, its antecedents, essence and valuation). Külügyi Szemle 15(2):3–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Ford M (2015) Rise of the robots: technology and the threat of a jobless future. Basic Books, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardner H (1983) Frames of mind: the theory of multiple intelligences. Basic Books, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardner G (2010) Engaging religions to shape worldviews. In: Assadourian E, Starke L, Mastny L (eds) State of the world 2010: transforming cultures from consumerism to sustainability. W. W. Norton, New York, pp 23–29

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardner G, Prugh T (2008) Seeding the sustainable economy. In: Starke L (ed) State of the world 2008: innovations for a sustainable economy. W. W. Norton, New York, pp 3–17

    Google Scholar 

  • Geissdoerfer M, Savaget P, Bocken NMP et al (2017) The circular economy: a new sustainability paradigm. J Clean Prod 143:757–768. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.12.048

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geng Y, Sarkis J, Ulgiati S et al (2013) Measuring China’s circular economy. Science 339:1526–1527. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1227059

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Geng Y, Sarkis J, Ulgiati S (2016) Sustainability, well-being, and the circular economy in China and worldwide. Science 6278(Supplement):73–76

    Google Scholar 

  • Goss A, Roberts GS (2011) The impact of corporate social responsibility on the cost of bank loans. J Bank Financ 35:1794–1810. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2010.12.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Griggs D, Stafford-Smith M, Gaffney O et al (2013) Sustainable development goals for people and planet. Nature 495:305–307. https://doi.org/10.1038/495305a

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Handy C (2015) The second curve: thoughts on reinventing society. Random House, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Harari YN (2016) Homo Deus: a brief history of tomorrow. Harvill Secker, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Hess DJ (2016) The politics of niche-regime conflicts: distributed solar energy in the United States. Environ Innov Soc Trans 19:42–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2015.09.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horbach J (ed) (2005) Indicator systems for sustainable innovation, Sustainability and innovation series. Physica-Verlag, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/b138695

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Horbach J, Reif C (eds) (2018) New developments in eco-innovation research, Sustainable development goals series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93019-0

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hunter JD (2002) To change the world. The Trinity Forum Briefing 3(2):1–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Huntington SP (1996) The clash of civilizations and the remaking of the world order. Simon and Schuster, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • IPCC (2008) Climate change 2007: synthesis report. Contribution of working groups I, II and III to the fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ar4_syr_full_report.pdf. Accessed 3 Oct 2018

  • Jackson T (2011) Prosperity without growth: economics for a finite planet. Earthscan, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Jansen D, Ostertag K, Walz R (eds) (2012) Sustainability innovations in the electricity sector, Sustainability and innovation series. Physica-Verlag, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7908-2730-9

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Jiao W, Boons F (2017) Policy durability of circular economy in China: a process analysis of policy translation. Resour Conserv Recycl 117:12–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2015.10.010

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaku M (2011) Physics of the future: how science will shape human destiny and our daily lives by the year 2100. Doubleday, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Khanna P (2016) Connectography: mapping the future of global civilization. Random House, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Kogan F (2019) Remote sensing for food security, Sustainable development goals series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96256-6

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar P (ed) (2010) The economics of ecosystems and biodiversity. Earthscan, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumar D, Singh RB, Kaur R (2019) Spatial information technology for sustainable development goals, Sustainable development goals series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58039-5

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lang A, Murphy H (eds) (2014) Business and sustainability: between government pressure and self-regulation, Sustainability and innovation series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07239-5

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • László E (2008a) Világváltás (Qantum shift in the global brain). Nyitott Könyvműhely, Budapest

    Google Scholar 

  • László E (2008b) Quantum shift in the global brain: how the new scientific reality can change us and our world. Inner Traditions, Rochester

    Google Scholar 

  • Latouche S (2009) Farewell to growth. Polity Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Latouche S (2010) Growing a degrowth movement. In: Assadourian E, Starke L, Mastny L (eds) State of the world 2010: transforming cultures from consumerism to sustainability. W. W. Norton, New York, p 181

    Google Scholar 

  • Lieder M, Rashid A (2016) Towards circular economy implementation: a comprehensive review in context of manufacturing industry. J Clean Prod 115:36–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.12.042

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ma S, Wen Z, Chen J et al (2014) Mode of circular economy in China’s iron and steel industry: a case study in Wu’an city. J Clean Prod 64:505–512. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.10.008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mal S, Singh RB, Huggel C (eds) (2018) Climate change, extreme events and disaster risk reduction. Towards sustainable development goals, Sustainable development goals series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56469-2

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Maniates M, Meyer JM (eds) (2010) The environmental politics of sacrifice. MIT Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Meadows DH, Meadows DL, Randers J et al (1972) The limits to growth. Universe Books, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Meadows D, Randers J, Meadows D (2004) Limits to growth: the 30-year update. White Chelsea Green Publishing Company, White River Junction

    Google Scholar 

  • Mészáros R (2016) Földrajz a nanotechnológia világában (Geography in the world of nanotechnology). Földrajzi Közlemények 140(2):97–106

    Google Scholar 

  • Monkelbaan J (2019) Governance for the sustainable development goals: exploring an integrative framework of theories, tools and competencies, Sustainable development goals series. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0475-0

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Nordhaus WD (1994) Managing the global commons: the economics of climate change. The MIT Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Pantzar M (2010) Future shock: discussing the changing temporal architecture of daily life. J Futures Stud 14(4):1–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearce DW, Turner RK (1990) Economics of natural resources and the environment. Harvester Wheatsheaf, Brighton

    Google Scholar 

  • Perrings C, Duraiappach A, Larigauderie A et al (2011) The biodiversity and ecosystem services, science–policy interface. Science 331:1139–1140

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pullanikkatil D, Shackleton Ch M (eds) (2019) Poverty reduction through non-timber forest products, Sustainable development goals series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75580-9

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Rockström J, Steffen W, Noone K et al (2009) Planetary boundaries: exploring the safe operating space for humanity. Ecol Soc 14(2):1–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Romer PM (1994) The origins of endogenous growth. J Econ Perspect 8(1):3–22

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sachs JD, Reid WV (2006): Investments Toward Sustainable Development. Science 312 (5776):1002 doi: 10.1126/science.1124822

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sandhu JS, Sidhu MK, Yadav JS (2017) Control of fungal diseases in agricultural crops by chitinase and glucanase transgenes. In: Lichtfouse E (ed) Sustainable agriculture reviews. Series 22. Springer, Cham, pp 163–212. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48006-0

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Schor JB (1999) The overspent American: why we want what we don’t need. Harper Perennial, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Schor JB (2010) Plenitude: the new economics of true wealth. Penguin Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Scotti M, Bondavalli C, Bodini A (2009) Ecological footprint as a tool for local sustainability: the municipality of Piacenza (Italy) as a case study. Environ Impact Assess Rev 29:39–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson M (2011) An optimist’s tour of the future: one curious man sets out to answer “what’s next?”. Penguin Books, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Su B, Heshmati A, Geng Y et al (2013) A review of the circular economy in China: moving from rhetoric to implementation. J Clean Prod 42:215–227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.11.020

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Talberth J (2008) A new bottom line for progress. In: Starke L (ed) State of the world 2008: innovations for a sustainable economy. W. W. Norton, New York, pp 18–31

    Google Scholar 

  • Thipe EL, Workneh T, Odindo A et al (2017) Greenhaus technology for agriculture under arid conditions. In: Lichtfouse E (ed) Sustainable agriculture reviews, Series 22. Springer, Cham, pp 37–56. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48006-0

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Toffler A (1970) Future shock. Random House, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Ulli-Beer S (ed) (2013) Dynamic governance of energy technology change: socio-technical transitions towards sustainability, Sustainability and innovation series. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39753-0

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Van Nimwegen C (2008) The paradox of the guided user: assistance can be counter-effective. Dissertation, Utrecht University

    Google Scholar 

  • Wackernagel M, Rees WE (1996) Our ecological footprint: reducing human impact on the Earth. New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island

    Google Scholar 

  • Walz R, Schleich J (2009) The economics of climate change policies: macroeconomic effects, structural adjustments and technological change. Physica-Verlag, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7908-2078-2

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Wiederman T, Minx J, Barnett J et al (2006) Allocating ecological footprints to final consumption categories with input-output analysis. Ecol Econ 56(1):28–48

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilkinson R, Pickett K (2009) The spirit level: why more equal societies almost always do better. Allen Lane, London

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Landscape Protection and Environmental Geography, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary

    Attila Kerényi

  2. Mineralogy and Geology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary

    Richard William McIntosh

Authors
  1. Attila Kerényi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Richard William McIntosh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Kerényi, A., McIntosh, R.W. (2020). Steps Towards Realising Global Sustainable Development. In: Sustainable Development in Changing Complex Earth Systems. Sustainable Development Goals Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21645-0_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation