Sustainable development

In the EU and Sweden, there are policies concerning how we as a union and a nation should act in order to promote sustainable development. Policies for sustainable development have also been produced at municipal and regional levels. In the Brundtland Commission’s report, Our Common future (1987, The World Commission on Environment and Development, UN) sustainable development is defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” In the report, there is a division into ecological, social and economic aspects of sustainable development. The report formed the basis for the UN’s future environmental work and the summit meetings that came to deal with the environment and sustainable development. The concept of sustainable development is also a target in Swedish legislation. The overarching aim of the Environmental Code is to promote sustainable development that means that present and future generations will be assured a healthy and good environment. The Environmental Code shall be applied so that the recycling and reclamation and other housekeeping of materials, raw materials and energy are promoted so that a cycle is achieved. Renewable energy sources shall be used before other sources.

In order to be able to create an ecologically sustainable society, renewable energy sources that can provide for our energy needs will be required if we are to live at the same standards as we do today. That is why the Swedish Government and the EU are working on the production of targets for renewable energy and, in addition to the Environmental Code, we have 16 environmental targets in Sweden today to ensure the wellbeing of people and sustainable development.
In order to ensure that people’s health and the environment are permanently protected, the Government also has the power to issue regulations on the quality of land, water, air and the environment in general or redress damage to or nuisances to people’s health or the environment. These regulations are called environmental quality standards. These environmental quality standards may be laid down for the entire country or for certain geographical areas and state levels of pollution or noise levels that people may be exposed to without danger or the pressure that the environment and nature can be subjected to without danger. Environmental quality standards can be indicated for a specific date, for one or more periods of time, pollution or noise levels that are to be strived for (that are not to be exceeded or to be fallen short of) and the highest or lowest incidence in nature. When authorities and municipalities examine applications for environmentally dangerous activities and when planning developments they must ensure that environmental quality standards are complied with.