Fundamentals of Sustainable Development

Book excerpt: This completely revised fourth edition of Fundamentals of Sustainable Development provides an accessible and interdisciplinary introduction to sustainable development for undergraduate and postgraduate students across the natural and social sciences, and beyond. It is designed to easily align with structured modules to enable students to work through topics one by one. Building on the previous edition’s user-friendly and comprehensive overview, this edition offers a macro and micro perspective on the challenges of sustainable, holistic development, looking at the impacts on global society in addition to people, planet and profit. It discusses in detail the benefits and limitations of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, linking these to new case studies throughout to provide a broad, international lens and highlighting regionally specific environmental issues, ecological approaches, indigenous perspectives and successful development strategies. The increasing risks of zoonoses and pandemics and their impact on sustainable development are discussed, as human activities within nature rise as a result of climate change. Timely topics on sustainable business are introduced across the book, including carbon footprints, ecolabels, greenwashing, measuring and reporting, degrowth, and personal and professional action points. The book also taps into timely philosophical discussions relating to the Anthropocene, such as climate anxiety, emotional connection to nature and more-than-human debates. For instructors and students, new and revised supplemental resources can be accessed via the book’s website, including PowerPoints, lab-based exercises such as spreadsheet modelling, debate assignments and research tasks. This is the must-have resource for students and lecturers in all disciplines who have an interest in the sustainability of our planet, our human society and global economy.