How to Achieve Sustainable Development: Local Actions for Global Change

Aimed at practitioners and students in environmental studies, development, economics and geography, this book systematically investigates how sustainable development can be achieved at the local and global level. Instead of problems, it focuses on practical solutions for the reader to take for themselves, in their community, and in their career.

Based on the latest scientific research, case studies, and voices from the Global North and the Global South, How to Achieve Sustainable Development is divided into five key Parts. It reviews why business-as-usual is no longer an option; how to engage with governance, finance, and collective action; where transformation hotspots for achieving sustainable development exist; how local change happens in sustainable development; and finally, what happens next. Chapters take a deep dive into improved human capabilities, just economies, sustainable food and energy production, gender inequality and resilience. It moves beyond merely recognizing the challenges faced in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), instead focusing on real-world pathways to address these, beyond the 2030 timeline. Each solution is framed within this context and promotes taking complexity seriously, as opposed to ignoring it.

Alongside the book, appendix material provides guidance for personal action, and digital resources offer up-to-date opportunities for further engagement.