Reconciling Economic Development with Environmental Protection: Sustainable Development in America

Saturday - September 23 2023, 10:28 UTC - 1 year ago

America is striving to balance economic development with environmental protection, and has made progress in doing so in recent years. This progress is reflected in UN Sustainable Development Goals, and efforts have been made recently to further support progress in this field. Despite this success, there is still more work to be done to reduce poverty, improve healthcare and address climate change.

In a Zen parable, a man sees a horse and rider galloping by. The man asks the rider where he’s going, and the rider responds, "I don’t know. Ask the horse!" .

It is easy to feel out of control and helpless in the face of the many problems Americans are now experiencing – unaffordable health care, poverty and climate change, to name a few. These problems are made harder by the ways in which people, including elected representatives, often talk past each other.

Most people want a strong economy, social well-being and a healthy environment. These goals are interdependent: A strong economy isn’t possible without a society peaceful enough to support investment and well-functioning markets, or without water and air clean enough to support life and productivity. This understanding – that economic, social and environmental well-being are intertwined – is the premise of sustainable development.

In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted17 Sustainable Development Goals, known as the SDGs, with 169 measurable targets to be achieved by 2030. Though not legally binding, all nations, including the U.S., agreed to pursue this agenda.

The world is now halfway to that 2030 deadline. Countries have made some progress, such as reducing extreme poverty and child mortality, though the COVID-19 pandemic set back progress on many targets.

On Sept. 18-19, 2023, countries are reviewing global progress toward those goals during a meeting at the United Nations. It’s a good opportunity for Americans to review their own progress because, as we see it, sustainable development is fundamentally American.

Environment, economy and health intertwined .

Though not widely recognized, sustainable development has been a core American policy since President Richard Nixon signed the National Environmental Policy Actinto law in 1970. The law says that Americans should "use all practicable means and measures … to create and maintain conditions under which man [sic] and nature can exist in productive harmony and fulfill the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations of Americans." .

While it is tempting in today’s sour political climate to dismiss this as wishful thinking, the U.S. has made some progress reconciling economic development with environmental protection.

Gross domestic product, for example, grew 196% between 1980 and 2022, while total emissions of the six most common non-greenhouse air pollutants, including lead and sulfur dioxide, fell 73%, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, a major sustainable development law, is designed to further accelerate the use of renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through tax credits and other incentives. Goldman Sachs estimated the law would spur about US$3 trillion in renewable energy investment. The law has already been credited with creating 170,000 new jobs and leading to more than 270 new or expanded clean energy projects. That impact further demonstrates that environmental goals can align with economic growth.

The 2015 Sustainable Development Goals cover a broader range of environment, health and social issues. Some of those targets, such as reducing neonatal mortality rates and increasing access to clean energy, are especially relevant to the U.S. Additional progress is needed to achieve a range of sustainable development goals, including reducing poverty, improving health outcomes and mitigating the effects of climate change. Fortunately, recent social movements supporting racial justice, environmental protection and health equity have highlighted that these issues are profoundly intertwined. This provides an opportunity to unite behind concrete actions such as the previously mentioned federal sustainable development legislation and build the bridges necessary to cross this chasm.