Abstract
This brief introduction discusses the concept of strong sustainability from three basic pillars: The non-substitutability of natural capital, the necessity to have holistic analysis of sustainability using multi-dimensional criteria, and the construction of a new social contract to formulate sustainable trajectories.
More than fifty years post the release of the Meadows Report on October 1, 1972, numerous ecological and environmental challenges persist despite many advancements achieved in this half a century. Current carbon emission trends are pushing us toward a minimum warming of +2.5 degrees, and the overexploitation of natural resources poses a threat to billions of people. In the present landscape, marked by a growing recognition of the interconnected nature of the challenges and the urgency to respond, society is increasingly rallying at various levels to address climate change and promote environmental sustainability in the economy. Globally, during events such as the G20, COP15, and COP27, several countries have made robust commitments to ensure fair transitions based on the principle of “common but differentiated” responsibilities.
Despite these commitments at the political level in the international arena, the geopolitical, environmental, economic, and democratic conditions have severely worsened in the last decade, underscoring the pressing need to enhance dialogue between academic and political communities across all governance levels. This dialogue is essential in order to continue raising awareness and encourage actions commensurate with the urgency of the situation. The somewhat mixed performance of different countries in achieving their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), along with repeated warnings from reports by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IBPES), and the issues of financing and financial stability, have contributed significantly to a renewed interest in the concept of “strong sustainability.” Decision-makers and academics are now viewing this approach as a promising means of fulfilling new emission reduction commitments while addressing socio-economic inequalities and safeguarding cultural and natural biodiversity.
Although strong sustainability has been associated with ecological economics since the 1990s, it has recently gained traction in other disciplines, often remaining a somewhat nebulous concept with various proposed action plans. In essence, strong sustainability represents a paradigm shift in how we perceive and address the intricate interplay between the environment, society, and the economy. Unlike traditional models that treat natural capital as interchangeable with other forms of capital, strong sustainability emphasizes the irreplaceable nature of critical environmental assets. Within the framework of strong sustainability, economic and social domains are intricately connected with the environment and cannot be isolated. This approach acknowledges the necessity of respecting social standards, recognizing the finite nature of planetary resources, and understanding the limitations imposed by these environmental and social objectives on growth. Simultaneously, it considers macroeconomic imbalances and underscores the importance of preserving critical natural capital, enabling policies to ensure the inheritance of this legacy by future generations.
From the standpoint of strong sustainability, evaluating climate damages is not merely about listing impacts, assigning a monetary value, and summing them up. This method is misleading for two main reasons. Firstly, some impacts, whether physical or intangible, are challenging to identify or quantify. Secondly, aggregating monetary values associated with each impact to assess damage overlooks crucial parameters, such as societies’ capacity to reorganize (e.g., induced migrations due to sea level rise), deploy technical solutions, or secure necessary financing.
The importance of considering critical natural capital as essential goes beyond potential economic damage. Its uniqueness and ability to provide multiple services simultaneously explain why some damage cannot be compensated. The strong sustainability approach advocates for the protection of essential environmental goods (critical natural capital) that cannot be substituted by other forms of capital (financial, manufactured, and social). Applying the principle of substitutability is deemed ethically unacceptable when the goal is to preserve these essential environmental goods. The international community has codified this into a precautionary principle: limiting global warming to +2 °C within a cost-effectiveness analysis that aligns with strong sustainability, aiming to minimize costs for a climate target below 2 °C.
In the realm of strong sustainability, implementing social policies requires addressing socioeconomic emergencies in tandem with environmental issues. Failing to do so overlooks a root cause of inequality, increases social budgets, and exacerbates the impact on nature. Conversely, changes in socio-economic inequalities can compound environmental imbalances, constraining the effective implementation of adaptation or mitigation strategies. The more unequal a country, the more significant its environmental impact. Therefore, combating social inequalities and safeguarding the environment are interconnected objectives in public policy. The tradeoffs between these objectives should reflect collective preferences and account for nature’s uniqueness. The extent of tensions between objectives varies based on the damage incurred, available technologies, the population’s characteristics, governance structures, geographical considerations, and the state of public finances. The deployment of the strong sustainability approach is strategically crucial as it aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals, integrating environmental, social, and economic knowledge to achieve the SDGs by 2030 and enhance the effectiveness of this guiding framework.
In accordance with these foundational principles, the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) orchestrated its 15th International Research Conference, titled “How Sustainable are Net-Zero Development Trajectories,” held from December 7–9, 2022, in Paris. The conference was meticulously designed to encapsulate three guiding principles for shaping strongly sustainable trajectories: the first principle rejects the inherent substitutability of various capital types a priori; the second underscores the necessity for multidimensional analyses and indicators, elucidating the synergies and tensions among diverse dimensions, all firmly rooted in scientific evidence; and the third underscores the importance of collaboratively constructing a new social contract, grounded in a vision of a desirable “good state,” which delineates trajectories for its realization.
This dedicated special issue is devoted to academic papers curated from the conference, aligning seamlessly with the journal’s ethos. Our article selection is characterized by its diversity, considering the global landscape for developments and bringing together researchers from diverse countries. Adopting a perspective that extends beyond Net-Zero, the authors seek to dissect the intricate dynamics among individuals, governments, and the financial system. They advocate for a departure from a development model that strains ecosystems, proposing a realignment of production and consumption systems within the confines of planetary limits. Particularly noteworthy is the increasing prevalence of the strong sustainability approach in numerous industrial and emerging economies, perceived as a promising avenue for meeting new emission reduction commitments, alleviating socioeconomic inequalities, and preserving cultural and natural biodiversity—all while navigating macroeconomic constraints.
The article entitled “Economic Impacts and Institutionalizing Climate Change in Vietnam” presents a broad assessment of the economic impacts of climate change in Vietnam under a Net Zero scenario and considers how climate change and the political discourse on climate change are currently progressively institutionalized and becoming an integral component of Vietnamese social dynamics. “The Economic and Environmental Effects of a Green Employer of Last Resort: A Sectoral Multiplier Analysis for the United States” assesses the sectoral impact of the implementation of a “green” employer of last resort program in the US, based on an environmental modification of an extended Kurz’s multiplier framework and data from OECD Input-Output tables. “Low-Carbon Transition and Macroeconomic Vulnerabilities: A Multidimensional Approach in Tracing Vulnerabilities and its Application in the Case of Colombia” proposes a holistic framework that assesses the macroeconomic vulnerability that emerges from a low-carbon transition, especially in developing economies. The framework is then applied to the Colombian economy, using an SFC model. “How Can Accounting Reformulate the Debate on Natural Capital and Help Implement its Ecological Approach?” shows that the mainstream usage of “natural capital” associated with “capital as a debit concept” is incompatible with an ecological approach in the framework of strong sustainability. “Beyond Technology and towards Sustainable Trajectories for Mining Territories: A Challenge for the Present” compares mining companies’ actions with recommendations aimed at reaching “sustainable mining” and identifies existing gaps from a strong sustainability perspective.
Endorsed by a stringent scientific committee, these papers traverse various fields, spanning economic and political dynamics. We are most grateful to all the contributors to this special issue for having written some truly remarkable papers on diverse aspects of strong sustainability. The authors provide actionable recommendations that cover economic and ecological sustainability, climate resilience and governance, environmental accountability, as well as the complex landscape of mining and energy transition. It is our aspiration that this volume will make a meaningful contribution to the ongoing academic discourse, enriching the exploration of strongly sustainable development trajectories in both the Global North and South.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Sakir Devrim Yilmaz
Sakir Devrim Yilmaz is a senior economist at the GEMMES Macro-modelling unit at Agence Française de Développement and a research associate at Istanbul Kadir Has University.
Antoine Godin
Antoine Godin is a senior economist and the head of GEMMES Macro-modelling unit at Agence Française de Développement. He is an associate researcher at the Centre d’Économie et de Gestion de l’Université Paris Nord (CEPN).