Sustainable Development: concept, history and the SDGs

1987 BRUNDTLAND REPORT - World Commission on Environment and

Development (WCED) Our Common Future: “development that meets the needs of
the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs”
1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development – AGENDA 21.
recognized each nation’s right to pursue social and economic progress and assigned to
States the responsibility of adopting a model of sustainable development; RIO
DECLARATION: enshrined sustainable development as one of the main principles
of international law
2000 United Nations Millennium Declaration established measurable, universally-
agreed objectives for tackling extreme poverty and hunger, preventing deadly
diseases, and expanding primary education to all children, among other development
priorities.”: the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs)
2002 The Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development; Plan of
Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development
2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development - or Rio+20: SDGs,
post2015 development agenda, building on the MDGs; The Future We Want
Guidelines on Green Economy Policies
2015 Sustainable Development Goals The SDGs are a bold commitment to finish
what we started, and tackle some of the more pressing challenges facing the world
today. All 17 Goals interconnect, meaning success in one affects success for others.
Dealing with the threat of climate change impacts how we manage our fragile natural
resources, achieving gender equality or better health helps eradicate poverty, and
fostering peace and inclusive societies will reduce inequalities and help economies
prosper. In short, this is the greatest chance we have to improve life for future
generations.”

The role of renewable energies in the achievement of

sustainable development according to international law
UNCED’s AGENDA 21, Johannesburg’s Plan of Implementation of the World
Summit on Sustainable Development, The Future We Want – all reinforce and
recognize the critical role that energy plays in the development process,
Aganda 21 Acknowledged the role of renewable energies in achieving sustainable development
4.18: (a) Encouraging greater efficiency in the use of energy and resources
7.49 the provision of more energy-efficient technology and alternative/renewable energy for
human settlements and to reduce negative impacts of energy production and use on human health and
on the environment.
7.51. a. Developing countries, in particular, should: ii. Formulate national action programmes
to promote integrated development of energy-saving and renewable energy technologies, particularly
for the use of solar, hydro, wind and biomass sources;
9.9. Energy is essential to economic and social development and improved quality of life.
Much of the world's energy, however, is currently produced and consumed in ways that could not be
sustained if technology were to remain constant and if overall quantities were to increase substantially.
The need to control atmospheric emissions of greenhouse and other gases and substances will
increasingly need to be based on efficiency in energy production, transmission, distribution and
consumption, and on growing reliance on environmentally sound energy systems, particularly new and
renewable sources of energy. 1/ All energy sources will need to be used in ways that respect the
atmosphere, human health and the environment as a whole.
9.10. The existing constraints to increasing the environmentally sound energy supplies required
for pursuing the path towards sustainable development, particularly in developing countries,
need to be removed.
9.11. The basic and ultimate objective of this programme area is to reduce adverse effects on the
atmosphere from the energy sector by promoting policies or programmes, as appropriate, to
increase the contribution of environmentally sound and cost-effective energy systems,
particularly new and renewable ones, through less polluting and more efficient energy
production, transmission, distribution and use. This objective should reflect the need for equity,
adequate energy supplies and increasing energy consumption in developing countries, and should take
into consideration the situations of countries that are highly dependent on income generated from the
production, processing and export, and/or consumption of fossil fuels and associated energy-intensive
products and/or the use of fossil fuels for which countries have serious difficulties in switching to
alternatives, and the situations of countries highly vulnerable to adverse effects of climate change.

2002 The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on

Sustainable Development
9. Take joint actions and improve efforts to work together at all levels to improve access to reliable and
affordable energy services for sustainable development sufficient to facilitate the achievement of the
Millennium development goals, including the goal of halving the proportion of people in poverty by
2015, and as a means to generate other important services that mitigate poverty, bearing in mind that
access to energy facilitates the eradication of poverty. This would include actions at all levels to:
(a) Improve access to reliable, affordable, economically viable, socially acceptable and
environmentally sound energy services and resources, taking into account national specificities
and circumstances, through various means, such as enhanced rural electrification and
decentralized energy systems, increased use of renewables, cleaner liquid and gaseous fuels and
enhanced energy efficiency, by intensifying regional and international cooperation in support of
national efforts, including through capacity-building, financial and technological assistance and
innovative financing mechanisms, including at the micro - and meso - levels, recognizing the
specific factors for providing access to the poor;
20; (c) Develop and disseminate alternative energy technologies with the aim of giving a greater
share of the energy mix to renewable energies, improving energy efficiency and greater reliance
on advanced energy technologies, including cleaner fossil fuel technologies;
(d) Combine, as appropriate, the increased use of renewable energy resources, more efficient use of
energy, greater reliance on advanced energy technologies, including advanced and cleaner fossil fuel
technologies, and the sustainable use of traditional energy resources, which could meet the growing
need for energy services in the longer term to achieve sustainable development;
(e) Diversify energy supply by developing advanced, cleaner, more efficient, affordable and cost-
effective energy technologies, including fossil fuel technologies and renewable energy technologies,
hydro included, and their transfer to developing countries on concessional terms as mutually agreed.
With a sense of urgency, substantially increase the global share of renewable energy sources with the
objective of increasing its contribution to total energy supply, recognizing the role of national and
voluntary regional targets as well as initiatives, where they exist, and ensuring that energy policies are
supportive to developing countries’ efforts to eradicate poverty, and regularly evaluate available data to
review progress to this end;
2005 Beijing International Renewable Energy Conference 2005
BEIJING DECLARATION ON RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
The UNGA aims for action to promote the integration of the three components of
SD—economic development, social development and environmental protection—as
interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars (This view subscribes to an
understanding where a certain set of actions (e.g., substitution of fossil fuels with
RE sources) can fulfil all three development goals simultaneously.
3. emphasize the multiple benefits of increased energy efficiency and the use of renewable sources
of energy for improving access to energy services, thereby contributing to the eradication of poverty
as called for in the UN Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), increasing job opportunities,
improving air quality and public health, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and combating
climate change, enhancing energy security, and offering a new paradigm for international
cooperation.
8. We recognize that significantly increasing the use of renewable energy faces a number of challenges.
Government policies have a significant impact on attracting private sector investment and the
pace of expansion of renewable energy as demonstrated in several developed and developing
countries. Experience has shown that successful actions for scaling up the use of renewable
energy, include: (1) creating supportive policy, legal, and institutional frameworks; (2) securing
public sector commitment, including for R&D and procurement policies; (3) leveling the playing
field; (4) promoting private sector involvement and a stronger alignment between policy
timeframes and timelines for investment; (5) supporting the establishment of national renewable
energy industries including small and medium enterprises; and (6) providing access to affordable
finance, including micro-finance, and consumer credit mechanisms.
10. We further emphasize the need for enhanced international cooperation for capacity building
in developing countries for: (1) strengthening national policy frameworks and the integration of
renewable energy use into national sustainable development strategies for poverty reduction,
health, education, and agriculture; (2) enhancing national capacity for R&D and transfer and
diffusion of renewable energy technologies; (3) establishing markets for renewable energy; (4)
increasing access to finance; (5) enterprise development for sourcing, installing, operating, and
maintaining renewable energy systems; and (6) combining the increased use of renewable energy,
energy efficiency, and greater application of cleaner fossil fuel technologies.
The Future We Want
125. We recognize the critical role that energy plays in the development process, as access to
sustainable modern energy services contributes to poverty eradication, saves lives, improves health and
helps to provide for basic human needs. We stress that these services are essential to social inclusion
and gender equality, and that energy is also a key input to production. We commit to facilitate support
for access to these services by 1.4 billion people worldwide who are currently without them. We
recognize that access to these services is critical for achieving sustainable development.
127. We reaffirm support for the implementation of national and subnational policies and
strategies, based on individual national circumstances and development aspirations, using an
appropriate energy mix to meet developmental needs, including through increased use of
renewable energy sources and other low- emission technologies, the more efficient use of energy,
greater reliance on advanced energy technologies, including cleaner fossil fuel technologies, and
the sustainable use of traditional energy resources. We commit to promoting sustainable modern
energy services for all through national and subnational efforts, inter alia, on electrification and
dissemination of sustainable cooking and heating solutions, including through collaborative actions to
share best practices and adopt policies, as appropriate. We urge governments to create enabling
environments that facilitate public and private sector investment in relevant and needed cleaner
energy technologies.
128. We recognize that improving energy efficiency, increasing the share of renewable energy
and cleaner and energy-efficient technologies are important for sustainable development,
including in addressing climate change. We also recognize the need for energy efficiency
measures in urban planning, buildings and transportation and in the production of goods and
services and the design of products. We also recognize the importance of promoting incentives in
favour of, and removing disincentives to, energy efficiency and the diversification of the energy
mix, including promoting research and development in all countries, including developing
countries.
2011 Renewable energy in the Context of Sustainable Development. In.: IPCC –
Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigations –
Final Release
RE offers the opportunity to contribute to a number of important SD goals:
(1) social and economic development;
[p. 84] The energy sector has generally been perceived as key to economic development with a strong
correlation between economic growth and expansion of energy consumption. Historically, increased
energy use has also strongly correlated with growth in GHG emissions. While considerable cross-
sectional variation of energy use patterns across countries prevails, the correlation is confirmed by both
analyses of single measures such GDP as well as composite indicators such as the Human
Development Index. Developing and transition economies may have the opportunity to ‘leapfrog’ to
less energy- and carbon-intensive growth patterns. This requires strong policy and institutional
frameworks, as experiences show that rapid economic growth can outpace any declines in energy or
carbon intensity.
(2) energy access;
(3) energy security
RE deployment can contribute to energy security by diversifying energy sources and diminishing
dependence on a limited number of suppliers, therefore reducing the economy’s vulnerability to price
volatility;
Scenario analysis confirms that RE can help to diversify energy supply and thus enhance energy
security. Local RE options can substitute for increasingly scarce or concentrated fossil fuel supplies,
diversifying energy supply and diminishing dependence on a small number of suppliers.
(4) climate change mitigation and the reduction of environmental and health
impacts.
The mitigation of dangerous anthropogenic climate change is seen as one strong driving force behind
the increased use of RE worldwide.
RE technologies can provide important environmental benefits compared to fossil fuels, including
reduced GHG emissions. Maximizing these benefits often depends on the specific technology,
management and site characteristics associated with each RE project.

CONCLUSION
 when evaluating RE with respect to the multi-dimensional challenge of SD, no single global
answer is possible. Many solutions will depend strongly on local, regional and cultural
conditions, and the approaches and emphases of developing and developed countries may also
be different.
 different RE facilities, that is, distributed versus central supply, face very different constraints,
with the latter experiencing similar barriers as conventional energy systems, that is, high
upfront investments, siting considerations, infrastructure and land requirements as well as
network upgrade issues.
 RE has historically been construed as relatively expensive in developing countries, but cost
reductions and energy security concerns have in some cases recast it as a potentially useful
source of supply in energy system studies (Goldemberg et al., 2000).

2015 Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all