Constant growth in any aspect of life is known as development. Development is a very crucial aspect of every civilization. At some point in time, growth or development is required in different fields of any country. In the 21st century, the most common types of development are sustainable development and green development. Both of these terms are very related to each other. But certain differences can be marked between these two terms.
Sustainable Development vs Green Development
The main difference between Sustainable Development and Green Development is that sustainable development talks about constant growth in every aspect of life. It focuses on the balance between present and future. But on the other hand, green development focuses on the environment only. It talks about how the growth in the environment should be. In other words, Green Development is a subset of Sustainable Development.
Sustainable development is a crucial and popular doctrine these days. The principle of sustainable development says that man should achieve constant growth in all aspects of life but, he should keep in mind the upcoming future also. In simple words, this concept says that development should be done in a manner keeping in mind the needs of the present as well as the future.
But on the other hand, green development is a completely different concept in itself. The doctrine of green development does not focus upon the needs of the future or present. Green development signifies the constant growth sought to be achieved in matters of the environment only. Green development talks about constant growth in the ecosystem of the earth.
Comparison Table Between Sustainable Development and Green Development
| Parameters of Comparison | Sustainable Development | Green Development |
| Meaning | Sustainable development is A concept that focuses on development while balancing the needs of the future also. | Green development is A concept that focuses on the development of the environment. |
| Focuses on | This concept focuses on striking A balance between the needs of the present generation and the upcoming generation. | This concept focuses on the well-being of the environment while developing the world. |
| Basic principle | The basic principle behind this doctrine is to maintain a balance. | The basic principle behind this doctrine is to safeguard the environment. |
| Origin | This doctrine originated as a response to the overutilization of resources. | This doctrine originated as a result of environment-friendly protests and programs. |
| Goals to be achieved | This principle seeks to achieve a total of 17 goals. | This principle does not provide any definite number of goals to be achieved. |
What is Sustainable Development?
Sustainable development is an economic principle that lays down the concept of striking a balance between the utilization of resources. It says that natural resources should be utilized in a manner so that some resources could be saved for the upcoming generation also. Therefore, the main pillar of this doctrine is striking a balance between the utilization of resources.
Since the world has started developing at a very fast pace, natural resources have decreased a lot. This particular fact has raised concerns about the development being done. So, to answer all of these concerns, the principle of sustainable development has been laid down. This concept does not stop people from utilizing resources. It simply motivates them to use the resources sustainably so that these resources could be saved for the upcoming generations also.
To achieve a sustainable future, environmentalists have prepared a list of 17 goals that are called sustainable development goals. The United Nations listed these 17 goals in 2015. And the United Nations has explained that these goals should be achieved by the end of the year 2030. However, like any other concept, the concept of sustainable development was also criticized a lot. The major question was how to determine which resources should be used sustainably.
What is Green Development?
Green development is a subset of sustainable development. Green development is a concept that focuses on the growth of the environment while all other kinds of developments are being done. This concept works on the principle that every development activity has a certain impact on the environment. Green development focuses upon these impacts and tries to reduce the negative ones as much as possible.
There are three main pillars of this concept. These pillars are- environmental responsiveness, resource efficiency, and the sensitivity of culture and community. Environmental responsiveness is a concept that focuses on minimizing the damage to the environment. Development activities affect the environment negatively sometimes. Therefore, certain measures are taken to reduce these negative impacts to the lowest point possible. The concept of resource efficiency is somehow similar to sustainable development.
This concept says that resources must be used in a manner so that wastage of resources could be stopped. And lastly, green development focuses on cultural and communal sensitivity. The concept of cultural sensitivity says that development should be done keeping in mind the values of the culture of people subject to such development. In 1970, this concept was first seen.
Main Differences Between Sustainable Development and Green Development
- Sustainable Development is a concept that focuses on a balance between the needs of the present and future. Whereas Green Development is a concept of safeguarding the environment while developing the world.
- Sustainable Development lists down 17 goals to be achieved. Whereas Green Development does not list down any such definite number of goals.
- Sustainable Development focuses on maintaining a balance between the utilization of resources. Whereas Green Development focuses on saving the environmental interests.
- Sustainable Development is an umbrella term that includes Green Development in it.
- Sustainable Development originated as a way to curb the overutilization of resources by the present generation. Whereas Green Development originated as a result of numerous protests in favor of the environment.
Conclusion
Development is necessary for any generation. But certain limitations should be kept in mind while focusing upon any kind of development. In the 21st century, the world has developed at a very fast pace. And this speed of development has given rise to certain concerns. To address all such concerns, two very popular doctrines have originated. These two doctrines are sustainable development and green development, respectively.
At the very outset, these two doctrines resemble one another a lot. It can be a confusing task to exactly differentiate between these two terms. But in reality, sustainable development is a very different principle as compared to green development. Sustainable development strikes a balance between the utilization of resources. But on the other hand, green development focuses on the overall growth of the environment. Green development also focuses on safeguarding the interests of the environment.
References
- https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1533681
- https://www.mdpi.com/1196900