● Sustainable Development Is Unnecessary

○ the policy prescriptions that are generally endorsed by those concerned about
sustainable development are inimical to our best environmental and economic
interests. This is so for three reasons:
■ If economic growth were to be slowed or stopped, it would be
impossible to improve environmental conditions.

■ The bias for command-and-control regulations on the part of those

endorsing the concept of sustainable development will only serve to
make environmental protection more expensive; hence, we have to
"purchase" less of it.

■ Strict pursuit of sustainable development, as many environmentalists

mean it, would only do violence to the welfare of future generations.

○ What is sustainable development?

■ Sustainable development according to the United Nations
Commission on Economic Development (UNCED), in its 1987 report,
Our Common Future, defines it as that which "meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs."

■ Economists David Pearce and Jeremy Warford, two of the world's

more serious thinkers about sustainable development, disclose that by
sustainable development, many advocates mean "a process in which
the natural resource base is not allowed to deteriorate."
● Strong sustainability means that we should not use up any
natural resources at all, keeping everything as it is for the
future.

● Weak sustainability allows us to use up some natural

resources, as long as we ensure that:
○ We keep enough of these resources or other important
biological resources at a safe level.

○ The wealth we gain from using resources is saved or

invested in a way that benefits future generations, so
they don't lose out on their "inheritance."

○ Weak sustainability is about finding a balance where

we can keep using resources without running out of
them completely or harming future generations' ability
to thrive.
● Unfortunately, both "strong" and "weak" definitions of
sustainable development pose problems as well. As Robert
Hahn of the American Enterprise Institute points out, the
narrower the definition, the easier it is to pin down, but the less
satisfactory the concept.

○ The Pitfalls of “Strong” Sustainability

■ Resources are things we can use to benefit people, especially if they
can be used to make money. "Natural" resources are a part of the
environment, like plants, animals, minerals, and water, but only the
parts that are useful to us in some way.
 ■ If sustainable development is taken to mean that we should never let
our total amount of natural resources decrease, it's not very useful.
This idea mistakenly assumes that running out of resources is the
biggest danger to our economy and society. It ignores the fact that
when resources become scarce, people find new ways to create or
replace them. Economists Harold Barnett and Chandler Morse pointed
out that as resources get scarcer, prices go up, which pushes people
to invent new technologies and alternatives, eventually replenishing
the resource supply.

○ Wide-Eyed Optimism?
■ Barnett and Morse's Optimism:
● Their belief in the "just in time" delivery of new technologies
and resources is supported by historical evidence.
● They argue that when resources become scarce, people
innovate and create new resources or technologies.

■ Nature of Resources
● Natural resources are not just "found"; they are created
through human ingenuity.
● Resources are a product of human knowledge, technology,
and science.

■ David Osterfeld's View

● As human knowledge grows, so does the availability of
physical resources.
● Focusing too much on conserving current resources is like
saving eggs instead of focusing on the chickens that produce
them.

■ Criticism of Sustainable Development:

● The idea of sustainable development places too much
emphasis on conserving natural resources instead of creating
new wealth.
● Daniel Boggs criticizes the notion that we're "borrowing"
resources from future generations, arguing that previous
generations created the world we live in today.
● Boggs suggests that we should have the freedom to decide
how to use resources, rather than being constrained by fear of
depleting them.

■ Simplified:
● Barnett and Morse are optimistic that new technologies and
resources will be developed when needed, and history
supports this view. Resources aren't just discovered; they are
created by humans through innovation. As knowledge
increases, so do the resources available to us. Focusing too
much on conserving current resources is less productive than
creating new ones. Criticizing sustainable development, some
argue that preserving resources for the future overlooks the
benefits of using them now to create wealth and improve lives.
Instead of worrying about running out of resources, we should
focus on using them wisely and innovating for the future.
 ○ The Incoherence of Intergenerational Equity
■ Philosophical Inconsistency:
● The idea that future generations have rights to resources is
inconsistent.

● Future generations are said to have rights before they are

conceived, but once conceived, they have no legal rights (e.g.,
in the context of abortion).

● There's an inconsistency in granting resource rights before

conception but not after birth, where only limited rights exist.

■ Intergenerational Equity Issues:

● The concept is incoherent because if future generations have
rights to resources, so should the current generation, as they
are the "future" generation of the past.

● If no generation can deplete resources due to future

generations' rights, then no generation will ever have the right
to use resources, except possibly the last generation before
extinction.

● This raises the question of how intergenerational equity can

function if only one generation out of many has the right to
deplete resources.

■ Premise of Resource Rights:

● The idea of resource rights for future generations implies that
one generation can forcibly take property (resources) from
another to satisfy their needs.

● This premise is controversial and not widely accepted by

philosophers due to its expansive and dangerous implications.

● Sustainable development is necessary to protect global resources

○ Defining Terms
■ Background:
● In 1987, the World Commission on Environment and
Development published *Our Common Future*, also known as
the Brundtland Report.
● This report laid the foundation for the modern understanding of
sustainable development.
■ Sustainable Development Definition (Brundtland Report):
● Defined as "development that meets the needs of the present
generation without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs."
● Sustainable development must integrate three elements:
environmental, economic, and social development.

■ World Bank's Perspective:

● The World Bank agrees with the need for environmental,
economic, and social elements in sustainable development.
● However, it criticizes the Brundtland definition for being vague,
particularly regarding what constitutes "needs."
 ● The World Bank questions how to compare the needs of
different populations (e.g., the poor in developing countries vs.
the wealthy in industrialized countries) and how to predict
future generations' needs.

■ World Bank's Alternative Goal for Sustainability:

● Suggests that the goal of sustainability should be to leave
future generations with as many opportunities as, if not more
than, the current generation has.
● To achieve this, the World Bank emphasizes the importance of
growing our "stock of capital."

■ Definition of Capital:
● The World Bank uses a broad definition of capital, including:
● Produced assets (e.g., houses, roads, factories).
● Natural resources.
● Human resources (e.g., labor, education, health care).
● Cultural institutions that enable societal functioning.

○ Getting there from here

■ Need for Major Changes:
● To achieve sustainable development goals, big changes are
needed in how we live and operate.
● We must reduce the environmental harm caused by how we
produce and consume goods.

■ Areas of Change:
● Changes are needed in:
○ Economics: How we manage money and resources.
○ Technology: Advancing and adopting new, cleaner
technologies.
○ Society: Changes in population dynamics and
lifestyles.
○ Education: Teaching people about sustainability and
its importance.
○ Media & Politics: Influencing public opinion and
policies.
○ Ethics & Spirituality: Shaping values that support
sustainability.

■ Simultaneous Actions:
● We need to act in all these areas at the same time for the best
results.
○ Example:
■ Fuel Subsidies: Removing them while
educating people about the environmental harm
from cars and providing alternative transport
options.
 ■ Mutual Support:
● Changes in one area can help other areas improve too.
○ Example:
■ Electricity Subsidies: Removing them can
encourage investment in energy-efficient
technology, which can also reduce overall
consumption.

○ Green Accounting
■ Current Economic Measures & Environmental Costs:
● Traditional ways of measuring national income and wealth (like
GDP) don't account for the costs of environmental damage and
resource depletion.
● We need to adjust these measures to include the impact of
environmental degradation.

■ Valuing Natural Resources:

● When calculating the value of natural resources, we should
consider both:
● Direct Benefits: Such as the health benefits of clean water or
the enjoyment of visiting a national park.
● Indirect Benefits: Benefits from environmental resources
without directly using them

■ Types of Indirect Benefits:

● Existence Value: Knowing that an environmental service (like
trees absorbing CO2) exists.
● Vicarious Value: Indirect enjoyment of nature through books
or movies.
● Option Value: The possibility of using the resource in the
future.
● Quasi-option Value: Future potential benefits, like discovering
new medicines from plants.
● Bequest Value: The benefit of preserving the environment for
future generations.

■ Estimating Environmental Value:

● Willingness to Pay: Asking people how much they'd pay to
protect or improve an environmental resource.
● Travel Expenditures: Estimating the value of a recreation site
based on how much visitors spend to get there.
● Property Values: Analyzing how local environmental quality
affects property prices.

■ Sustainability & Capital:

● A country is sustainable if it builds up more capital (including
human and natural resources) than it depletes.
● Capital includes human resources (like education), natural
resources, and traditional assets (like factories and roads).
 ■ Importance of Education:
● Investing in education is crucial for increasing a country's
capital stock.
○ Example: In 1960, Korea and Pakistan had similar
incomes, but Korea invested more in education, leading
to much higher economic growth over the next 25
years.

○ The Effects of Pricing

■ Traditional Environmental Regulation:
● Typically, environmental degradation has been managed
through regulations (command-and-control measures).
● These methods are often not the most cost-effective.

■ Alternative Approach: Price Adjustment:

● A more effective method is to adjust the prices of goods and
services to include the true economic, social, and
environmental costs.
● This ensures the costs of environmental damage are
considered in production and consumption decisions.

■ Polluter Pays Principle (PPP) & User Pays Principle (UPP):

● PPP: The polluter is responsible for covering the costs of
pollution prevention and control (adopted by the OECD in
1972).
● UPP: The price of a natural resource should reflect the total
costs of using it (not officially adopted by the OECD).

■ Economic Instruments:
● Tools like subsidies, taxes, and tradeable emissions rights can
adjust prices to include environmental costs.
● Benefits include reducing pollution and increasing government
revenue (a "double dividend").
● Extra revenue from taxes on harmful activities can be used to
lower taxes on positive activities (work, savings, investment).

■ Compensating the Impacted:

● Revenue from higher prices can be used to help those most
affected, such as the poor and small businesses.
○ Example: Increased water prices can fund better
irrigation systems for small farmers.

■ Incentives for Environmental Investment:

● Economic instruments encourage consumers and producers to
invest in eco-friendly technologies (e.g., energy-efficient
machinery) by making harmful activities more expensive.

○ Taxes should equal harm

■ Polluter Pays Principle (PPP):
● Ideally, this involves setting a tax equal to the environmental
damage caused by a product.

■ Environmental Taxes:
● Used in industrialized countries but less common in developing
countries due to lower living standards.
 ● Developing countries often subsidize natural resources (e.g.,
water, fuel) instead.
● Globally, $700 billion is spent yearly on such subsidies, which
often lead to excessive pollution and resource depletion.

■ Impact of Subsidies:
● Subsidies can lead to more pollution and resource depletion
and often don’t achieve their intended social welfare goals.
● Case studies show that removing subsidies can improve
welfare and economic conditions without harming the poor or
competitiveness.

■ Economic Instruments:
● Examples include taxes on fuels and electricity for high-income
groups, with revenues used to support the poor and fund
environmental projects.
● Studies show that higher fuel prices alone might not
significantly reduce fuel demand or pollution; combining taxes
with efficiency standards and education can be more effective.

■ Behavior and Beliefs:

● Human values, ethics, and spirituality influence environmental
behavior.
● Shifting beliefs to see humans as part of nature and respecting
the Earth is essential for sustainability.

■ Ethical and Spiritual Change:

● Traditional religions have taught respect for the Earth.
● Ecological spirituality and ethics can help build a universal
respect for the environment.

■ Education and Awareness:

● Incorporating environmental ethics into education can promote
equity and sustainability.
● Increased awareness through education, media, and politics
can help address environmental and social issues.

■ Role of Government and Community:

● Support through financial incentives and investments is crucial
for changing behaviors and promoting sustainability.

■ Collective Responsibility:
● Everyone has a role in environmental degradation.
● A global effort is needed to move towards sustainability and
protect the Earth.