One of the greatest challenges of the 21st century is how the world's poorest countries can develop in a way that is environmentally sustainable and just. Richard Bailey of Oxford's School of Geography and Environment and INET Oxford's Sustainability Programme and colleagues recently applied the "planetary boundaries” concept, with the addition of social well-being indicators, to create a framework for “safe and just” inclusive sustainable development, integrating environmental and social-development issues. The chief aim of this framework is to influence public policy, which happens principally at the national level, and they use South Africa as the case study. The result is a ‘barometer’ which presents the state and trajectory of key indicators, highlighting the country’s proximity to safe environmental limits and progress on the eradication of social deprivation. This acts as both a monitoring and communication tool for national government, and highlights priorities for information gathering in data-poor contexts. The barometer shows that achieving inclusive sustainable development in South Africa requires national and global action on multiple fronts, and careful consideration of the interplay between different environmental domains and development strategies.
The paper is available on the Early Edition section of the PNAS website.
Link to Early view: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/10/07/1400985111.abstract
Full reference: Tracking sustainable development with a national barometer for South Africa using a downscaled “safe and just space” framework. Megan J. Cole, Richard M. Bailey, and Mark G. New. PNAS 2014 ; published ahead of print October 7, 2014,
Latest News
All News
Double success at the AI4ABM Workshop

New thinking and evidence on real estate, monetary policy and financial stability

INET Oxford Achieves Silver Green Impact Award

Thom Wetzer appointed to ESMA’s Sustainable Finance Expert Group

Win at the Women in Tech Summit

The Great Carbon Arbitrage

How to deliver the energy transition - new article feature

The small changes that can help China phase out coal

Award for INET working paper on climate regulation

Climate Accelerators, Financial Accelerators, and the Implications of Putin’s War

New Yorker Magazine Profiles “Landmark” INET Oxford Climate Work

New Feature in 'Democracy' - Is “Middle-Out” Biden’s New Deal?
