Lecture 3 - Operationalization Of Sustainability Flashcards
(27 cards)
What are the two main routes to sustainability discussed in the lecture?
Answer: The Scientific route and the Ethical route
What are the two main routes to sustainability discussed in the lecture?
Answer: The Scientific route and the Ethical route
How does the Economic Route view sustainability?
Answer: It focuses on future generations’ ability to produce and meet needs, promotes weak sustainability concept, and emphasizes replacing non-renewable resources with alternatives
What is the Scientific Route to Sustainability? What does it include?
tries to define sustainability precisely - sustainability is seen as an observable property of a system
- includes the economic route, natural science route, ecological-economic route
What is the natural science route?
- Aims to maintain Earth’s life support system integrity; finds conditions for the long-term preservation of nature
- Introduces planetary boundaries concept as safe operating space for humanity
- Focuses on biophysical sustainability
What is the ecological-economic route?
- created by ecological economists; combines economic and environmental perspectives
- Views development as vector of social objectives → a list of attributes society seeks to achieve or maximize
- defines sustainable development as a situation in which the development of each vector does not decrease over time
- Aligns with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
What are the main characteristics of the Ethical Route to sustainability?
- Complementary to scientific route
- Considers sustainability as an ideal → source of guidance on how to act fairly towards our descendants, fellow citizens, nature, etc.
- Aims to change human norms and behavioral patterns in the long run
- Relies on voluntary compliance with rules
- cannot be forced or planned → no guarantee that the ethical approach will result in sustainability
According to Klauer (1999), what are the three components of operationalizing sustainability?
- Translating abstract sustainability norms into concrete, empirically testable sustainability targets
- Achievement of targets measurable by a system of indicators
- Management rules as normative rules of thumb
How many goals and targets are included in the UN Sustainable Development Goals?
Answer: 17 goals and 169 targets (2015-2030)
How is the SDG Index measured?
Answer: It’s measured on a 0-100 scale, and the index is an average of all 17 SDGs, with each SDG having 1 to 11 indicators
What are the limitations of the SDGs?
Answer:
- Non-binding nature
- Data quality issues
- Selection of monitoring indicators is questionable
- Limited impact on day-to-day politics
What is the EU Water Framework Directive?
Answer: It is legislation that rules water resource management in EU, sets targets for water body status, and implements monitoring systems & defines management plans
What are the three steps in operationalizing sustainability through environmental standards?
- Define measurable indicators and targets for sustainability
- Analyze deficits between current and target status
- Develop action plans
Name four common elements to all sustainability approaches.
Answer:
- Intra- and intergenerational justice
- Long-term perspective
- Comprehensive approach
- Nature preservation
What are the main challenges in the Scientific Route to sustainability?
Answer: Operationalization issues, social problem of agreement, and social problem of implementation
Why can’t the ethical approach guarantee sustainability?
Answer: Because it relies on voluntary compliance with rules and cannot be forced or planned
What are the achievements of the Water Framework Directive?
Answer:
- Has had considerable effect on water management in EU
- Made water status measurable, testable, specific, and litigable
- Implementation progress can be observed
What complicates the understanding of sustainability in the scientific route?
Answer: The complex interrelationships between ecosystems, atmosphere, economy, and other systems
How are the SDGs implemented in Germany?
Answer: Through the “National Strategy for Sustainability”
What are the current challenges in sustainability?
- Dealing with uncertainty and ignorance
- Integrating soft knowledge
- Understanding long-term effects
- Managing complexity & addressing holistic perspectives
What are the issues with operationalizing sustainability (with the scientific route)?
- Complex system understanding required → there are interrelationships between ecosystems, atmosphere, economy, etc. which complicate things
- Limited knowledge of environmental-economic interactions (ignorance)
- Uncertainty in cause-effect relationships (sustainability cannot be completely operationalized in the form of an if-then relationship)
What is the social problem of agreement?
- people must really want sustainability → members of society must accept the knowledge & agree upon necessary measures
- limits need to be formulated as bills and passed as laws by relevant political institutions → democratically organized society may run into challenges with agreement
What is the social problem of implementation?
- society must accept and obey the instructions and laws
- Need for voluntary compliance & people to take responsibility
- Monitoring and enforcement difficulties
What are some achievements of the SDGs?
- comprehensive monitoring
- good overview of development in many sustainability-relevant fields
- setting concrete political goals
