Have we the foresight for sustainable development? Available to Purchase

Sustainable development – meeting the needs of people alive today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs – will be one of the key forces guiding public policy development in the years ahead. Success depends upon continued social and technological innovation, to bring more people into a more integrated market place while reducing environmental impact and social inequity. However, while much work has been done on technology foresight, the link between the options that technology creates and the way people use these options to achieve particular objectives remains poorly understood. This article describes three scenarios for sustainable development to examine how public and corporate policies can encourage the development and deployment of cleaner, more productive technologies capable of supporting sustainable development. Critical parameters distinguishing the scenarios include uncertainty about the time available to deal with the challenge, and the system of governance that can best respond. It is proposed that a transparent, market led approach is the most likely to foster all round innovation. Consequently, the most effective policies will be those that increase public trust in technology and ensure informed consumer choice and open discussion of risks and rewards, within a context of shared standards and a market oriented regulatory framework.