ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
environment. Not surprisingly, policymakers the world over, told that they
can have their cake and eat it, have seized on the idea. Almost every coun-
try is now committed, at least on paper, to the principles of sustainable
development. Yet sustainable development is an ambiguous concept, with a
meaning that is contested and complex. This elusiveness is both a strength
and a weakness: it allows a multitude of political and economic interests to
unite under one banner, while attracting the criticism that it is an empty
slogan with little substance. Policymakers have also found it difficult to
turn this loose set of ideas into practical policies. Indeed, in those indus-
trialised countries that boast the most progressive environmental policies,
thenarrower concept of ecological modernisation has acquired increasing
resonance.
Sustainable development and its half-sister, ecological modernisation,
offer an alternative policy paradigm to the traditional model of environ-
mental policy. The first part of this chapter examines the various mean-
ings attributed to sustainable development and identifies five core principles
underpinning most definitions of the concept. The second half outlines the
keyfeatures of ecological modernisation before analysing its strengths and
limitations.◗ Sustainable development
◗ Spreading the word
Sustainable development has rapidly become the dominant idea, or dis-
course (Dryzek 2005 ), shaping international policy towards the environ-
ment. The concept was first endorsed in the World Conservation Strat-
egy (IUCN/UNEP/WWF 1980 )produced by three international NGOs. This
document was primarily concerned with ecological sustainability, or the
conservation of living resources, and directed little attention to wider
political, economic or social issues. Sustainable development was given a
broader social meaning inOur Common Future, published by the World Com-
mission on Environment and Development (WCED 1987 )andcommonly
known as the Brundtland Report (see Box8.1). The Brundtland Report pop-
ularised sustainable development so successfully that it has since been
taken up by almost every international institution, agency and NGO. The
principles of sustainable development underpinned the Rio Earth Summit
agenda where approval was given to the Agenda 21 document outlining
a‘global partnership for sustainable development’ (see Box8.2). This mas-
sive document addresses a wide range of environmental and developmental
issues and is intended to provide a strategy for implementing sustainable
development throughout the world. The UN Commission on Sustainable
Development (see http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/review.htm) was estab-
lished to monitor and promote the implementation of Agenda 21 in each
country and it now provides policy guidance for the Johannesburg Plan