Sustainability Flashcards
(22 cards)
What is sustainability?
Sustainability deals with meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
What are sustainable development goals?
To address the current sustainability issues going on around the world, the United Nations outlined 17 sustainable development goals for addressing the current global challenges
What are the 17 sustainable goals?
No poverty
No hunger
Good health and well-being
Quality education
Gender equality
Clean water and sanitation
Affordable and clean energy
Decent work and economic growth
Industry innovation and infrastructure
Reduced inequalities
Sustainable cities and communities
Responsible consumption and production
Climate action
Life below water
Life on land
Peace, Justice, and strong institutions
Partnerships for the goals
Challenges of sustainable goals?
International instability: the Great Recession, political upheaval in various parts of the world, and the growing problems caused by climate change have all brought instability and insecurity into our lives
Implementing the goals: converting the aims and goals into relevant local programmes is also challenging. Countries and communities need to raise finance and then measure the return on interest (using a cost benefit analysis)
Political will and leadership: the successful implementation of the goals requires political will and leadership at the national level. However political instability, corruption, and competing priorities can hinder progress
What are the three pillars of sustainability?
Social
Environmental
Economic
What is social sustainability?
Social sustainability is the ability of a social system, such as families and businesses, to operate at a certain level of social well being and peace. Socially sustainable communities are equal and diverse and provide a good quality of life
What are the barriers to social sustainability?
Difficulties such as poverty, injustice (e.g racism), and poor levels of basic education create barriers to socially sustainable economies
What is environmental sustainability?
Environmental sustainability means taking actions that ensure the wellbeing of the planet and its resources for present and future generations. It involves making choices and adopting practices that minimise negative environmental impacts, such as reducing waste, conserving energy and preserving natural ecosystems
What is economic sustainability?
Economic sustainability refers to an economy’s ability to support itself and grow over the long term without harming its essential resources or harming the environment. It involves maintaining a balance between economic growth, social well being and economic health to ensure that current and future generations can meet their needs
Key aspects of economic sustainability?
Resource conservation: efficient use of natural resources to prevent depletion and ensure their availability for future generations
Stable economic growth: promoting a steady and balanced economic growth that doesn’t lead to excessive debt, inflation or economic instability
Increase GDP: this will allow all individuals to experience growth in their own lives
Effects of inequality
Threatens economic growth: individuals at the bottom of the income distribution pyramid lack the resources to invest in their skills and education. As a result, they will not be able to reach their full potential.
Can lead to inequality of opportunity: if income is distributed unequally, families with higher income and wealth will have more opportunities than those who are down the distribution pyramid
What is inequality?
What is income inequality?
Inequality can include unequal access to education, discrimination for opportunities and prejudice in society. It is the state of not being equal, especially in status, rights and opportunities.
Inequality of income/ wealth is how income earned in an economy is distributed unequally across the population.
What is the main measure of inequality?
The GINI coefficient
What is the gini coefficient?
It measured income inequality by comparing each households income position to that of all households. The measurement is between 0 and 100. The close to zero a country is on the gini coefficient, the better equality of income. The closer to 100, the more inequality of income
How could the government reduce income inequality?
- Progressive taxation: higher taxes on those with higher salaries which allows the government to redistribute income
- Minimum wage legislation: to ensure a living wage for all
- Education and social welfare services: to help people on lower incomes
- Spending on healthcare: universal healthcare for all
What is economic growth?
Economic growth can be measured by the changes in the national output over a period of time. The national outpost is all the goods and services produced by a country. It is measured by the gross domestic product.
Measures of economic growth
Gross national income
Human development index
GDP
What is gross national income
It is a measure used to assess the total income earned by a country’s residents, including both individuals and businesses, within its borders as well as income earned from abroad. It helps give an overall picture of a country’s economic performance and standard of living
What is the human development index?
It was introduced to measure living standard in a country. It includes data on life expectancy (which is a measure of a country’s health standards), average education level (a measure of educational achievements by students) and GNI per capita (an overall measure of economic welfare). The HDI is a measure between 0 and 1. Countries closer to 1 are developed countries and countries closer to 0 and developing countries
What are developed/first world countries?
Countries that are developed in terms of their economy and industrialisation
What are developing/ third world countries?
Countries going through the initial levels of industrial development and have low per capita income
What is GDP
Gross domestic product measures the total output of goods and services in a country
