Discussing the Concept of Green Sustainable Development and its Implications (PDF)

Academic Paper from the year 2022 in the subject Geography / Earth Science - Economic Geography, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, language: English, abstract: In four subchapters, this small paper looks at the definition of Green Sustainable Development and its implications for the life of us as citizens on planet Earth.

Not only does it define the concept, but does also contrast it to existing neoliberal and capitalist imaginations being fixated on ever-more growth, production, and consumption. Finally, it involves the policy-making process, that is, how do we politically achieve things like the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs) in a real world and not just on paper. Therefore, the paper contributes to a fruitful debate on the necessity for sustainable alternatives to our current thinking and doing.

Over the last years and decades, our planet has seen major changes on various scales. Not only has our climatological situation changed - more and more severe droughts, storms, flooding, for example - but also several social, political, and economic patterns have shifted. They include urbanization, racial violence, polarization, and accessibility problems.

To address these issues, a new understanding was necessary for organizing and advancing our world and the elements of it. It is the idea of Green Sustainable Development. Evidently, to adequately put such a concept to use, we must define and understand its three components, both on their own and in context of the whole term.