As I mentioned earlier, people have very different ideas on how to develop sustainably. But this simple figure explains its central idea precisely.
But, in the current political and economic climate, the circles are no longer concentric. The economy is the principal focus and the circles become more of a ‘Mickey Mouse’ model.
Hence, there are varied perspectives on how to create and maintain sustainable development.
One such perspective is that environmental protection is a business opportunity. An example of this would be how Singapore aspires to build a sustainable economy as described by the former Deputy Prime Minister Mr Teo Chee Hean. The story of sustainable development in Singapore is a successful one.
At the heart of this success are the 4 pillars of sustainable development in Singapore :
- Sustainable Economy
- Sustainable Living Environment
- Sustainable Development for the People
- International Collaboration
Sustainable Economy
Mr Teo Chee Hean believes that economic growth generates the resources to invest in education, research and development, security, infrastructure, and public services. And, according to the ‘Better Business, Better World” Asia report launched in 2017, opportunities in sustainability could contribute US$12 trillion to global GDP and create 380 million new jobs by 2030.
Sustainable Living Environment
Singapore calls itself the Garden City, owing to its 47% green cover and 80% of its households located within a 10-minute walk from a park. Singapore also has more than 72 hectares of rooftop gardens and green walls and this area is constantly increasing, through an incentive program, wherein the greenery lost on the ground from development is replaced with greenery in the sky through high-rise terraces and gardens.
Sustainable Development for the People
With no natural resources, Singapore’s only resource is its people, therefore, it has ensured investment in human resource development. Since the 1960s, it has worked to achieve mass education at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. Singapore’s public housing program has transformed it from a nation of squatters to a nation of homeowners: More than 90 percent of its people own their homes, one of the highest home-ownership rates in the world. The public housing system here is unique. Through the Housing and Development Board (HDB), the government builds flats [apartments] that are sold to citizens with a 99-year lease. The flats are priced to be affordable, at about 20 to 25 percent of income. As these flats appreciate over time, they may become a key source of financing retirement needs. Elderly flat owners can sublet; sell off a larger flat for a smaller one; or sell part of their lease back to HDB so that the proceeds can be used to buy an annuity that provides income while they remain in their own home.
International Collaboration
Singapore remains committed to the Paris Agreement and supports the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which provides a framework to guide national efforts in achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. In support of this agenda, they have trained more than 112,000 officials from over 170 developing countries in key areas such as sustainable urban, water, and human resource management, health, and education. Mr Teo Chee Hean also believes that, “through international partnerships, we can collectively find more efficient, more comprehensive, and more sustainable solutions to address global challenges.”
The four aspects of sustainable development that have been highlighted here, work in combination with one another. Strong partnership between the public, private, and people sectors will be required to shape a sustainable future for all of us.
Undoubtedly, since its independence in 1965, Singapore has transformed from being a city filled with slums, choked with congestion, where rivers became open sewers, people were struggling to find decent jobs and with limited land and no natural resources to a a clean, modern metropolis with a diversified economy,reliable infrastructure and a thriving natural environment.
But there is a contradicting perspective towards sustainable development, put forward by Samuel Alexander in 2015 in his article Sustained economic growth: United Nations mistakes the poison for the cure. He argues that the Sustainable Development Goals are based on the assumption of sustained economic growth, which is environmentally unsupportable and an incredibly inefficient pathway to poverty alleviation. For example, for every $100 in global growth merely $0.60 is directed toward resolving global poverty.
Hence, he puts on the table 5 ideas, which he believes, can genuinely lead us to a more sustainable future.
Prohibition of corporate campaign funding of political parties and recreation of a free press
This might not seem related to sustainable development in a direct sense but it sure has an impact. We need to acknowledge the fact that corporate interests have acquired a grossly undemocratic influence on governments around the world, privileging profits over people and planet.
In recent decades, mass media has become concentrated into fewer hands. This concentration of power gives a few big players an alarming capacity to insidiously shape the public consciousness according to their narrow ideologies. This puts democracy in sheer danger.
In order to move toward a world that genuinely promotes the diverse interests of people and planet, we need people, not profits, shaping collective action – otherwise any hope for sustainable development is lost.
Adoption of new, alternative global indicators to progress “beyond GDP”
GDP is merely a monetary valuation of all the goods and services produced by a nation over a specific period of time. This does not give us any idea regarding the progress of a society as a whole. Also, it does not differentiate between transactions which positively contribute to sustainable well-being and the ones which diminish it. Nevertheless, growth in GDP remains the overriding objective of governments around the world. And, the masses are kept in an illusion that the growth in GDP will lead to a better quality of life for them. But, the need of the hour is to develop an economic system which is not driven by growth, but is “beyond growth” and hence is stable and thriving.
We can begin this transition by adopting alternative indicators to progress such as the Genuine Progress Indicator. These are not exact measures of well-being but are a vast improvement on GDP. The GPI recognises economic activity that diminishes both natural and social capital. It measures sustainable economic welfare rather than economic activity alone.
Reduction of military spending and redirection of funds to other forms of national security
This might give some of you goosebumps, because it is imperative for a government to secure its geopolitical security. In fact, it is unheard of any nation giving up its balance of economic or military power for environmental and social justice reasons if that would imply an increased threat of invasion or dominance by another nation. Radical though it may sound, sustainable development implies spending less on killing each other and more on supporting each other and the Earth we hold in common. It is imperative for this contraction in military expenditure to occur simultaneously across all nations because economically, it is a zero-sum game.
Today, threats of military invasion are not more pressing than things like climate change, at least on a global scale. So, the governments all around the globe need to agree upon a certain percentage of decrease in military expenditure and the money saved so should be re-invested in renewable energy, poverty alleviation and family planning initiatives to stabilise global population.
Declaration of a moratorium on new coal mines, establishment of a strong carbon tax and abolishment of fossil fuel subsidies
We need to enforce a moratorium on our coal mines as a report released a few years back stated that 88% of coal must stay in the ground to avoid dangerous climate change. The establishment of a strong carbon tax and the abolishment of fossil fuel subsidies will go a long way in making renewable energy more price competitive and hence will decrease the stress on the environment. Fossil fuels were globally subsidised by a whopping $5.2 trillion in subsidies in 2017. This amounts to 6.4 percent of the global gross domestic product. This is more than the total health spending of all the world’s governments. On the other hand, Carbon polluters are dumping their waste in the atmosphere for free. In fact, about 87% of greenhouse gas emissions don’t face any kind of carbon tax at all. This makes the establishment of carbon taxes even more important. The rich nations also need to consume much less energy and not just increase the generation of renewable energy.
Embracing the radical implications of living in an age of limits
At last, as a culmination of the other 4 ideas, we all need to take these radical changes in our stride and embrace all these small changes which will be the beginning steps towards a more sustainable future.
Furthermore, we need to abolish third world debt, we need to come to terms with a bioregional economy in the post-carbon world and we also need to re-imagine the good life beyond consumerism.
Although our governments have much to be ashamed of, we must realise that our current situation is also due to apathetic citizenries who were overly focused on their own material advancement. In this sense, it won’t be wrong to say that we are the crisis of capitalism.
My thinking is more aligned towards the second perspective because at the end of the day the success story of Singapore’s journey of sustainable development is not easily replicable in all parts of the world but the second perspective has a more global outlook towards developing sustainably.
Hence, I believe that ‘ if we do not change direction, we are likely to end up where we are headed.’
P.S. I have shifted my series of articles on sustainable development from being daily to weekly. So, be on the lookout for the next edition of ‘Sustainable Development Sundays’.
Links to references:
https://www.eco-business.com/opinion/the-four-pillars-of-singapores-sustainable-development-success/
https://www.vox.com/2019/5/17/18624740/fossil-fuel-subsidies-climate-imf
“We cannot solve our problems with the same kinds of thinking that caused them.”
Albert Einstein
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2 replies on “Creating Sustainable Development”
How can we sustain cottage industry in India
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Something which we all can do is actually buy things from them. Something illustrated well in
The Roadside Stand by Robert Frost.
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