This concise and accessible text explores how the international community is responding to the challenge of sustainable development. It also investigates the prospect for and barriers to the promotion of sustainable development in the high consumption societies of the industrialised world, including the USA and the EU, the Third World and the economies of transition in East and Central Europe. Sustainable Development considers the global impact of China's industrial boom as well as how Chinese investments are shaping the prospects for sustainable development on the African continent. This global coverage is balanced by investigating how local action, ranging from the transition towns movement in the UK to the Green Belt movement in Kenya, can contribute to the pursuit of sustainable development.
1. Introduction P
Part 1: Theoretical and Conceptual Exploration of Sustainable Development
2. The Concept of Sustainable Development
3. The Governance of Sustainable Development
4. Sustainable Production and Sustainable Consumption
Part 2: International Engagement with Sustainable Development
5. Global Governance and UN Environment Summits
6. Key Global Concerns: Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss
7. The Local Level: LA21, Societal Engagement and Public
Part 3: The Promotion of Sustainable Development in Different Social, Political and Economic Contexts
8. High Consumption Societies: The Responsibilities of the European Union
9. Challenges in the Third World
10. Changing Times – The Countries in Transition in Eastern Europe
11. Conclusion: The Promotion of Sustainable Development: What Has Been Achieved