Sustainable Development

Reflecting on the [Millennium Development Goals] and looking ahead to the next 15 years, there is no question that we can deliver on our shared responsibility to put an end to poverty, leave no one behind, and create a world of dignity for all." Ban Ki Moon, UN Secretary General.

Sustainable development, a concept that the Brundtland Report put forward back in 1988, has acquired a new dimension with the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015. The international community needs to rise up to the challenge of implementing the SDGs in a way to leave no one behind. But sustainable development is not only about the SDGs. The three-fold dimension of sustainable development is embedded in most aspects of society and of the economy we live in. We consider sustainable development as a cross-cutting theme in our work. These are just some of the areas in which we work on sustainable development:

implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
water and sustainable development
climate change and sustainable development
oceans and integrated SDG implementation
biodiversity mainstreaming in productive sectors (agriculture, fisheries, forestry, tourism, infrastructure) in the framework of the SDGs

With 17 goals and 169 targets the Sustainable Development Goals constitute a complex and sophisticated framework that should enable countries and wider stakeholders to drive their development agendas in the years to come. SCELG will work closely with the research community and interested partners to deliver clarity on the implementation of the SDGs and on their effect on the future of environmental law and governance.”

SCELG’s work on sustainable development builds on its members' collaborations with global practitioners. Research is carried out both independently and in conjunction with students as part of a team that enables Strathclyde postgraduate students to acquire much needed practical experience. Finally, work on sustainable development benefits from partnerships with leading centres and institutions within the University of Strathclyde such as the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Strathclyde International Public Policy Institute.