Sustainable development

Development and
sustainability
The concept of sustainable development
Vitor Vieira Vasconcelos
Thais Tartalha do Nascimento Lombardi
São Bernardo do Campo - SP
October 2021

Content
 Sustainable use of natural resources
 The concept of sustainable development
 Sustainability
 Strong
 Weak
 Material decoupling
 Sustainable development as an ideology

Economics and sustainable use of
natural resources
Effort
Production
and
costs
Fixed costs
Total costs = Fixed + Variable
Variable costs
Optimal
economic
production
Net
Production

The Limits to Growth
Club of Rome (1972)
 Factors:
• Population
• Agricultural production
• Natural resources
• Industrial production
• Pollution
Meadows, D.H., Meadows, D.H., Randers, J. and Behrens III, W.W., 1972.
The limits to growth: a report to the club of Rome (1972).

Model of the report
“Limits to growth”
(Club of Rome, 1972)
Meadows, D.H., Meadows, D.H., Randers, J. and Behrens III, W.W.,
1972. The limits to growth: a report to the club of Rome (1972).
https://insightmaker.com/insight/1954/The-World3-Model-A-Detailed-World-Forecaster
The World3 model

Meadows, Dennis, and
Jorgan Randers. The limits
to growth: the 30-year
update. Routledge, 2012.

https://resistir.info/peak oil/hall p.html

http://bpm-for-sustainability.blogspot.com/2011/08/first-line-of-thought-limits-to-growth.html
Material well-being

Meadows, Dennis, and Jorgan Randers. The limits to growth: the
30-year update. Routledge, 2012.
Trend scenario 1
1) Escarcity of non-renewable natural
resources increases industrial costs
2) Investments are redirected to the
exploitation of the last natural resources,
leaving agriculture and services without
investments
3) Demand with lack of investments
leads to soil degradation in agriculture
4) Production cost exceeds depreciation
cost of industrial capital (2020) and leads
to collapse of industry and agriculture
5) Lack of food and health services lead
to population decline (2050)

Meadows, Dennis, and Jorgan Randers. The limits to growth: the
30-year update. Routledge, 2012.
Trend Scenario 2
Simulates discovering twice as many
new deposits new deposits of natural
resources
Collapse in 2050 (30 years later)

MacKenzie, Debora. "Boom and doom: Revisiting prophecies of collapse." New Scientist (2012).
Monitoring the forecasts of World3
Population Economy Development
Resources
Birth
rate
Population
Mortality
rate
Food
per capita
Services
per capita
Industrial
production
per capita Pollution
Year Year Year

Scenarios simulating the participation of
fossil fuels in the planet's energy matrix
Cova, Carlos José Guimarães. 2011. Gestão Ambiental. Rio de Janeiro: UERJ.
Oil
Environmental
degradation Solar
Wind
Hydraulic

Sustainable development
Development that meets the needs
of the present without
compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own
needs
BRUNDTLAND, Gro Harlem. Our common future—Call for action.
Environmental Conservation, v. 14, n. 4, p. 291-294, 1987.

The triplet of sustainable development
Cultural
Political
Territorial
Elkington, John (1994). Towards the Sustainable Corporation: Win-Win-Win Business Strategies for Sustainable Development. California
Management Review, 36(2), 90-100.
SACHS, Ignacy. Social sustainability and whole development: exploring the dimensions of sustainable development. In: Sustainability and the
social sciences: a cross-disciplinary approach to integrating environmental considerations into theoretical reorientation, p. 25-36, 1999.

Changing perspective
 Limits to Growth (Club of Rome):
it is necessary to reduce development
 Sustainable development
(Our Common Future): it is possible to
continue developing, as long as in a
planned way

Sustainability Sustainable
development
It is not necessarily
development
Continuity
Does it include
social justice?
Veiga, José Eli. Para entender o desenvolvimento sustentável. Editora 34, 2015.
≠

The bet of Continuous Development
Consumption of
natural resources
Economic
development
Investment in new
technologies
Technologies
with substitute
natural
resources
Technologies with
higher efficiency in
the use of natural
resources
Veiga, J.E.; ZATZ, L. Desenvolvimento sustentável, que bicho é esse? Campinas: Armazém do Ipê, 2008.

Constrasting views on Continuous
Development
 In favor
• It has been working so far
• The social indicators have continuously improved
 Against
• There are limits on the supply of natural resources (energy
and matter) on Planet Earth
• Humans will be able to adapt, but native ecosystems will be
gradually destroyed
o Debate between anthropocentrism vs. ecocentrism
 There is no way to know
• Is it worth the risk?
Veiga, J.E.; ZATZ, L. Desenvolvimento sustentável, que bicho é esse? Campinas: Armazém do Ipê, 2008.

The bet of the Precautionary Principle
Economically viable enterprise
Investment in:
• Risk analysis
• Impact analysis
• Impact mitigation
• Impact compensation
Sustainable development
Oliveira, L.D. A Cidade e o Modelo de Desenvolvimento Sustentável. Rio de Janeiro: UERJ/CEDERJ. 2016
“When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment,
precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause-and-effect
relationships are not fully established scientifically"
Rio Declaration (ECO-92, UN). Principle15.

Content
 Sustainable use of natural resources
 The concept of sustainable development
 Sustainability
• Strong
• Weak
 Material decoupling
 Sustainable development as an ideology

Weak sustainability
Production
factors:
• Human labor
• Produced capital
Consumption:
• Goods
• Services
Investment:
restoration
• Education
• Production
infrastructure
Current
well-being
Future
well-being

Weak sustainability
Natural resources
Labor and Produced Capital can
offset the decrease in natural
resources
Substitution and
technological innovation
can prolong natural
capital stocks
Wilson, Maxwell C., and Jianguo Wu. "The problems of weak sustainability and associated indicators." International
Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology 24, no. 1 (2017): 44-51.

Examples
 An effluent treatment plant could replace
a forest's water purification environmental
service.
 Assessment of sugar cane plantations
• Natural biomass X Agricultural production
• Soil fertility X Fertilizers
• Environmental services of pollination and
seeding X Human labor

Optimal liquidation of natural capital
O’Naill, Danny. A Bigger Economy doesn’t mean a better economy
https://steadystate.org/discover/video-audio-and-presentations/

Gross national savings
 Includes individual, enterprises and government
savings
 Savings
• Positive: wealth is increasing
• Negative: wealth is decreasing
 Gross national savings =
Gross domestic product – Consumption (costs)
 Quantified as % of GDP

Adjusted net savings
Gross
savings
Net
savings
Net savings
+
investment
in education
Genuine
savings
excluding
pollution
damage
Genuine
savings
Fixed capital
depreciation
Investment in
education
Natural resources
depletion
Pollution
damage

Brazil – National savings
Year: 2019
Gross national savings 12.5
- Fixed capital costs -8.1
= National net savings 4.4
+ Investment in education 6.3
- Net forest depletion -0.0
- Depletion of energy resources -1.7
- Depletion of mineral resources -0.3
- Damage from greenhouse gas emissions -1.2
- Air pollution damage -0.1
= Adjusted net savings 7.4
https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/dataset/adjusted-net-savings

Adjusted net savings – Brazil – 2019
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Poupança bruta Poupança líquida Poupança líquida + gastos em
educação
Poupança genuína + ajuste de
recursos naturais
Poupança genuína
% of GDP
Minus
consumption
of fixed
capital
Plus
investment in
education
Minus natural
resources
depletion
Minus damage
from pollution
Gross
savings Net savings
Net savings+
investment in
education
Genuine savings +
adjustment for
natural resources
Genuine
savings

0
5
10
15
20
25
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
Adjusted net savings – Brazil
1990-2019
Gross savings
Adjusted net savings
Consumption of fixed capital
Investment in education
Depletion of natural resources
Emissions of CO2
% of GDP

Adjusted net savings – 2019
(% of GDP)

Adjusted net savings – Brazil X World (% of GDP)
1990-2019
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
Brazil
World

Criticism to Adjusted Net Savings
 Does not include all costs for environmental damage and
not all natural resources
• Including the effect of one country on another
 Current market price of natural resources does not take
into account externalities
 Positive savings in the present year does not guarantee
future sustainability
 Are these savings being reinvested sustainably?

https://sustainabilityadvantage.com/2011/03/08/5-reasons-why-a-gpi-should-replace-the-gdp/
GDP does not measure well being
(parentheses means negative impact)

Genuine progress index
Economic sector
+/- Indicator
+ Expenses on Personal Consumption
÷ Inequality
(PCE/IDI)*100 Adjusted personal consumption
- Consumption of durable goods
+ Durable Goods Value
- Unemployment cost
+/- Net investment in capital

+/- Indicator
- Water pollution
- Air pollution
- Noise pollution
- Loss of wetlands
- Loss of agricultural areas, erosion and fertility
- Loss of native forests
- Emissions of CO2
- Damage to ozone layer
- Depletion of non-renewable resources
Enviromental sector

+/- Indicator
+ Housework and family care
- Divorces
- Crime
- Household water and air cleanliness
+ Voluntary labor
- Loss of leisure time
+ Higher education
+ Use of transportation system
- Transportation time
- Traffic accidents
Social sector

Kubiszewski, Ida; Costanza, Robert; Franco, Carol; Lawn, Philip; Talberth, John; Jackson, Tim; Aylmer, Camille (September 2013). "Beyond
GDP: Measuring and achieving global genuine progress". Ecological Economics. 93: 57–68. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2013.04.019
GDP per capita vs. Genuine Progress Index per capita

GDP per capita
Genuine Progress Index
per capita

GDP per capita vs. Genuine Progress Index in
Brazil
Andrade, D.C. and Garcia, J.R., 2015. Estimating the genuine progress indicator (GPI)
for Brazil from 1970 to 2010. Ecological Economics, 118, pp.49-56.

United States
GDP/capita
GPI/capita
Ecological footprint/capita
Biocapacity/capita
Satisfaction with own life
HDI

GDP/capita
GPI/capita
Ecological footprint/capita
Biocapacity/capita
Satisfaction with own life
HDI
China

Criticism to Genuine Progress Index
 Uncertainty and subjectivity when
calculating social and environmental costs
 It is difficult to calculate and update all
indicators for all countries
 Perception that we can offset environmental
damage for economic and social gains
Goossens, Yanne. "Alternative progress indicators to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a means towards
sustainable development" . European Parliament. Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food
Safety (EVNI). Retrieved 27 September 2015

Scott Cato, M., 2008. Green Economics: An introduction to theory, policy and practice. Earthscan, London

Medium sustainability
 Allows for some substitutions, but with limits
 Example: a planted forest would replace part of the
services provided by a native forest, but not all
Daly, H, E., 1977, Steady-Estate Economics, Freeman, San Francisco.
Ecosphere Econosphere
Sociosphere

Strong sustainability
Biosphere
Society
Economy
Wilson, Maxwell C., and Jianguo Wu. "The problems of weak sustainability and associated indicators." International
Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology 24, no. 1 (2017): 44-51.

Types of
capital
Examples
Financial Money
Physical Produced Stocks of industrial goods,
infrastructure
Natural Natural resources and
ecosystem services
Human Education, habilities, experience
Social Social networks and relationships
Cultural Customs and beliefs
BOURDIEU, Pierre. The forms of capital.(1986). Cultural theory: An anthology, p. 81-93, 2011.
GOODWIN, Neva R. Five kinds of capital: Useful concepts for sustainable development. Medford,
MA: Tufts University, 2003.
THROSBY, David. Cultural capital. Journal of cultural economics, v. 23, n. 1, p. 3-12, 1999.

The types of capital in the Strong sustainability
https://slideplayer.com/slide/6221083/

Implications of strong
sustainability
 It is not possible to grow beyond our
biophysical limits
 Damages to the biophysical system causes
damages to social and economical
systems

UNEP. (2014). Decoupling 2: technologies, opportunities and policy options. A
Report of the Working Group on Decoupling. Nairobi: UNEP.
Material decoupling

Material decoupling
UNEP. (2014). Decoupling 2: technologies, opportunities and policy options. A
Report of the Working Group on Decoupling. Nairobi: UNEP.
Decoupling between GDP and greenhouse gas emissions
GDP
Emissions
Relative
decoupling
Absolute
decoupling
Emissions
Emissions
Δ GDP > Δ Emissions
Δ GDP > 0
Δ Emissions < 0

Water domestic consumption
Taniguchi, M (2011) Groundwater and Subsurface Environments: Human Impacts in Asian Coastal Cities. Springer, 312pp
Pattern for cities in
developing
countries?

Circular Economy
http://www.materialflows.net/circular-economy/

http://www.materialflows.net/decoupling-material-use-and-economic-performance/
Activity
Is material decoupling taking place? Relative? Absolute?
Global trend from 1970 to 2015

Jevons paradox
Rebound effect - Khazoom-Brookes postulate
1º - Increase in the efficiency of the use of a resource
• Innovation in production
• Public policy
2º - Products become cheaper
3º - More capital remains for consumers
4º - Rebound effect
• Microeconomic: Increases consumption
 Direct: same product
 Indirect: other products
• Macroeconomic: Accelerates economic growth
 Demand for resources accelerates
Jevons, William Stanley (1866). "VII". The Coal Question (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan and Company. OCLC 464772008
Alcott, Blake (2008). "Historical Overview of the Jevons paradox in the Literature". In JM Polimeni; K Mayumi; M Giampietro. The Jevons
Paradox and the Myth of Resource Efficiency Improvements. Earthscan. pp. 7–78. ISBN 978-1-84407-462-4.
Saunders, Harry (1992). "The Khazzom-Brookes Postulate and Neoclassical Growth". Energy Journal. 13 (4): 131–148.

Vives-Rego, J., Uson, E. and Fumadó, J., 2015. Passive designed buildings for active citizens became schools
of sustainability: A proposal for sustainable architecture. Journal of Green Building, 10(1), pp.85-96.
Microeconomic effects of Jevon’s Paradox
Indirect effect
Direct effect
Consumed
energy
More
efficient car
Less energy
Lower cost per
drive
Driving further
and more
frequently
Less expenses
with gasoline
Vacations
abroad
More energy
More energy

https://www.sketchplanations.com/post/180715615931/jevons-paradox-word-on-the-street-is-that-back

Jevon’s Paradox
 Trains that consume less energy increased the
number of trains during the industrial revolution
 Depletion rate of coal reserves accelerated after
increased vehicle efficiency
 General economic growth has increased demand
for other natural resources
Jevons, William Stanley (1866). "VII". The Coal Question (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan and Company. OCLC 464772008
Alcott, Blake (2008). "Historical Overview of the Jevons paradox in the Literature". In JM Polimeni; K Mayumi; M
Giampietro. The Jevons Paradox and the Myth of Resource Efficiency Improvements. Earthscan. pp. 7–78.
Saunders, Harry (1992). "The Khazzom-Brookes Postulate and Neoclassical Growth". Energy Journal. 13 (4): 131–148.

Microeconomic effects of
Jevon’s Paradox
Demanda
inelástica
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:InelasticDemand.svg
10 12,5
Fuel cost
X
Travel
remains constant

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ElasticDemand.svg
Reinvestment in
new activities
10 12,5
Macroeconomic effects
of Jevon’s Parados
Fuel cost
X
Travel
increases

Alex B. (2017). The lightning Pardox.
https://medium.com/@bergealex4/the-lightning-paradox-f15ce0e8e374
Jevon’s Paradox

How to escape from Jevon’s Paradox?
 Sustainability will not be achieved just through
technological improvements, but it needs
institutional and behavioral changes
 Examples:
• Increase taxes to curb consumption
• Direct surplus capital to restore natural resources
Giampietro, M. and Mayumi, K., 2018. Unraveling the Complexity of the Jevons Paradox: The Link
Between Innovation, Efficiency, and Sustainability. Frontiers in Energy Research, 6, p.26.
Wackernagel, Mathis; Rees, William (1997). "Perceptual and structural barriers to investing in natural
capital: economics from an ecological footprint perspective". Ecological Economics. 20 (3): 3–24.
Bindewald, E. (2013). "An R of sustainability that can tame the "conundrum"". PeerJ PrePrints: 1:e46v1.

Sustainable development as an ideology
 Vague definition:
• everyone agrees with the principle
• but hide the conflicts
 It does not propose to change capitalism
• Structural social inequality
• Exploitation of the impoverished population
 Bet on a continuous and unlimited development
 Ideological use
• Isolated cases are conveyed as green marketing
• Summing up, the environmental impact continuous to
accelerate
BOFF, Leonardo. Sustentabilidade: o que é: o que não é. Petrópolis: Vozes, 2012.
OLIVEIRA, Leandro Dias de. A Geopolítica do Desenvolvimento Sustentável: um estudo sobre a Conferência
do Rio de Janeiro (Rio-92), 2011. 283 p. Tese de Doutorado. UNICAMP, Campinas – SP, 2011.

Geopolitics of Sustainable Development
Mission of the central countries:
to make sure that the peripheral countries take care nature
Mission of the peripheral countries: to take care of nature

Our common future
Brudtland report as an Ideology
And our “common present” (intragenerational)?
Social and environmental inequality already exists today
Directs the look to the future and takes the focus away from
the present
Intergenerational
Portilho, Fátima. Sustentabilidade ambiental, consumo e cidadania. Cortez, 2005.
Intragenerational

Example of sustainable cities
 Green technologies:
• Green roofs, water collectors, solar panels, water infiltration
systems, vertical gardens
• They are sold as environmental marketing for buildings
• Just the wealthiests are able to pay
 Further increase the spatial inequality of
environmental impacts
• Poor areas X Rich areas (Intra- and inter-city)
 Per-capita urban resource consumption trend
continues to increase

“Vertical Forest” building in Milan
Referência: BBC Brasil, 2014. http://www.bbc.com/portuguese/noticias/2014/11/141114_predio_milao_ga
Activity:
Analyze whether the Vertical
Forest represents a viable
solution for sustainable
development

Referência: BBC Brasil, 2014. http://www.bbc.com/portuguese/noticias/2014/11/141114_predio_milao_ga
Services of “Vertical Forest”
• Decreases temperature
• Filters pollution
• Decreases atmospheric CO2
• Increase in air humidity
Critical reflection
• Inequality in the distribution of
the benefits
• Consumption of natural resources
• Cost-benefit regarding the
services
“Vertical Forest” building in Milan

Questions?
Comments?
Thank you!
Vitor Vieira Vasconcelos
vitor.v.v@gmail.com

Sustainable development

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