Title: Five criteria for global sustainable development

Authors: Kristin Linnerud; Erling Holden

Addresses: CICERO Center for International Climate and Environmental Research – Oslo, NO-0318 Oslo, Norway ' Sogn og Fjordane University College, NO-6851 Sogndal, Norway

Abstract: A clear understanding of the global-level sustainable development concept is necessary before applying it to projects at a national, local or firm level. Such lower-level projects may concern managing production and consumption of energy, organisation of cities and using land productively. However, the sustainable development goals adopted at the United Nations Summit in September 2015 do not provide adequate guidance, even at the global level, because the goals are too many, too vague and often not quantified. Based on the 1987 report Our Common Future, we derive five criteria for the development of primary goals and corresponding indictors and quantified thresholds to be met.

Keywords: sustainable development; indicators; thresholds; human needs; ecological limits; equity; participation; sustainability; criteria; primary goals.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGENVI.2016.081044

International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, 2016 Vol.15 No.4, pp.300 - 314

Received: 10 Nov 2015
Accepted: 07 Feb 2016
Published online: 19 Dec 2016 *

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