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Among the useful outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, came an important addition to the official, international definition of "sustainable development," in which heads of state agreed that the "three over-arching objectives of sustainable development are (1) protecting natural resources, (2) eradicating poverty, and (3) changing unsustainable production and consumption patterns.
This acknowledgement of SPAC as one of the three "overarching objectives" of sustainable development highlights the necessity of including SPAC as a core aim in every sustainability strategy -- whether at the international, national, regional, or local level.
Among the immediate and major challenges here is in defining what it means to achieve sustainable production and consumption. How are we to measure progress towards that objective? What are the tangible targets and timetables and indcators by which to operationalize this still rather unclear objective?
How can people know whether the world is making progress or giving diplomatic lip service to this overarching objective?
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