The concept of sustainable development was popularised by the 1987 Brundtland Report and became a central theme in the EU's Fifth Environmental Action Programme. It dominated the Rio Earth Summit and its promotion has been much in evidence in the subsequent follow-up to Rio. The Politics of Sustainable Development analyses how the theory of sustainable development has been related to the practice and how it has been applied within Europe at all levels of government from the EU down to the sub-national local level. The essays included here begin with an analysis of the ambiguities inherent in sustainable development and the contestable nature of the concept. The contributors explore how far it is possible to reconcile economic growth with environmental needs, asking whether sustainable developent can promote equity and development. The book breaks fresh ground in assessing the impact of deep ecological thought on sustainable development as part of a new typology of the concept.
The second section examines how sustainable development has been interpreted at EU and sub-national levels within the member states, examples are drawn from the Mediterranean and Northern European countries. Contrasting interpretations of sustainable development are examined considering political and administrative conflicts, the influence of cultural factors, and tensions between different levels of government. The ambiguity of sustainable develpment has led to extensive confusion and created the need for a clearer concensus among policy-makers as to how the concept should be interpreted.