In simple terms, sustainable development means meeting basic needs in ways that protect our environment for future generations to enjoy.

Sustainable development has two components: environmental sustainability and economic feasibility. This means that sustainable development must be both environmentally friendly and funded sufficiently to meet people’s basic needs today and in the future.

Think about this: most of us woke up this morning with electricity, heat or air conditioning and a seemingly endless supply of water in our home. Toilets were conveniently located in our home bathrooms. Food stored in a refrigerator was prepared using appliances like electric or gas stoves, microwaves or toasters. We were confident that water from our taps was safe for drinking. Little thought went to the number of resources we enjoyed. It’s just part of our reality—one that we take for granted all too often.

Yet millions of people around the world don’t have access to these resources. Clean water and proper sanitation systems are not always available, meaning every year millions of people die from diseases. In poor and rural communities, people don’t have access to electricity, so they end up cutting down trees for fuel. This depletes the environment, is ultimately unsustainable and the fumes from burning firewood in homes lead to deadly respiratory conditions.

These are just a few of the issues surrounding sustainable development. There are many lasting repercussions facing people who don’t have access to resources that we all too often take for granted in North America.

With all of the resources we have access to here, there comes a responsibility. Part of sustainable development means using our resources in a way that doesn’t deplete our planet. It also means helping other less developed countries to achieve a better quality of life.

This global support for a sustainable world means offering more and better aid, debt relief and fair trade. It also means reducing our environmental footprint here in North America.

Global Environmental Footprint

The Facts Paint the Picture:

• Two million children die each year from infections spread by dirty water or the lack of toilets.
• 1.2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water and 2.4 billion people lack access to proper sanitation facilities.
• Exposure to indoor air pollution from cooking fires is responsible for more than 900,000 deaths due to pneumonia in children under five and nearly 700,000 deaths in adults. Women suffer the most.
• 924 million people are living in slums—that’s about one-seventh of the world’s populations. Slums are overcrowded places that are not sustainable. They are not safe, especially for girls and women, who are at greater risk of sexual assault.

Sustainable Development and the Millennium Development Goals

The theme of sustainable development includes two specific Millennium Development Goals. These are:

Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability

What We Need To Do:

Reverse the loss of environmental resources, including biological diversity, forests and the Earth’s ozone layer, and provide adequate sanitation, affordable housing and safe water for the world’s poor.

The Challenge:

• Fifteen percent of the world’s population living in high-income countries account for 56 percent of the world’s total consumption; the poorest 40 percent account for only 11 percent of global consumption.
• Climate monitoring indicates that the global average temperature has increased more in the last century than over the past 1,000 years.

Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development

What We Need To Do:

Ensure richer countries support poorer countries through aid, trade and debt relief. Global partnerships also mean ensuring that people in developing countries have access to productive work opportunities for youth, affordable essential drugs and the benefits of new technologies.

The Challenge:

• Only five countries—Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden—have achieved the 1970 UN target of 0.7 percent of gross national income as official development assistance.
• The poorest 49 countries make up 10 percent of the world’s population, but account for only 0.4 per cent of world trade.
• Between 1970 and 2002, the poorest African countries received $294 billion in loans, paid back $298 billion in interest and principal, but still owed more than $200 billion. If debt relief is made a priority, and poor governments no longer need to worry about repaying debt, they can spend more on things like food, clean water, housing, health care, jobs, education and building their economies.