Sustainable Development and Climate Change By its meaning, sustainable development has been

variously defined, but one of the most quoted definitions of this term is from the Brundtland Report also
known as Our Common Future, which is a publication released by the World Commission on
Environment and Development in 1987, “sustainable development is development that meets the needs
of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” 207 As
this term primarily relates to how the needs of the people basically through the consumption and
utilization of resources, sustainable development is often linked with climate change which due to its
hazardous effects in the environment is known to be a major restriction in achieving sustainability. The
Contemporary World 2020 104 This link between sustainable development and climate change is
considered strong. Poor developing countries particularly those developed countries tend to be the
most severely affected by climate change. Undoubtedly, climate change is often seen as a part of the
broader challenge in sustainable development thru a two-fold link: 208 1. Impacts of climate change can
severely hamper development efforts in key sector (e.g. increased threat of natural disasters and
growing water stress will have to be factored into plans for public health infrastructure) 2. Development
choice will influence the capacity to mitigate and adapt to climate change (e.g. policies for forest
conservation and sustainable energy will improve communities’ resilience reducing thereby the
vulnerability of their sources of income to climate change) In the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development, Member States express their commitment to protect the planet from degradation and
take urgent action on climate change. The Agenda also identifies, in its paragraph 14, climate change as
“one of the greatest challenges of our time” and worries about “its adverse impacts undermine the
ability of all countries to achieve sustainable development. Increases in global temperature, sea level
rise, ocean acidification and other climate change impacts are seriously affecting coastal areas and low-
lying coastal countries, including many least developed countries and Small Island Developing States.
The survival of many societies, and of the biological support systems of the planet, is at risk”. 209
Various efforts are underway to deal with climate. However, strong resistance on the part of
governments and corporations counters these. There are significant challenges involved in
implementing various measures such as “carbon tax” and ‘carbon neutrality” to deal with environmental
problems. 210 It is also difficult to find alternatives to fossil fuels. For instance, the use of ethanol as an
alternative to gasoline has an attendant set of problems - it is less efficient and it has led to escalation in
the price of corn, which currently serves as major source of ethanol. Although biofuels themselves
produce lower emissions, their extraction and transport contribute significantly.