What is the notion of sustainability in the context of environment? Has inequality any effect on sustainability? Please clarify.
Relationship Between Sustainability and Inequality
Sustainability, in the context of the environment, has attracted significant scholarly attention over the last few years, probably because of the growing international focus on pro-environment initiatives. Fundamentally, the notion of sustainability in the environmental framework refers to the objective of promoting the wellbeing of the environment- natural, industrial, and social- over a long period. In other words, ecological sustainability encompasses all measures put in place to foster responsible interaction between living things and the natural environment and promote environmental quality in the long term. While there are limited studies on the relationship of inequality and sustainability, empirical evidence shows that inequality has a significant negative impact on sustainability through its influence on channels such as the household of a country.
A growing literature suggests that inequality harms environmental sustainability through the influence on the household channel. Most notably, research indicates that in the context of the household channel, high-income earners have a higher ecological footprint compared to the low-income earners. For example, a study conducted among Canadian households showed that the wealthiest 10 percent have an environmental footprint of 12.4 hectares per capita, which is 2.5 times greater than the poorest 10 percent (Islam, 2015). These statistics reveal that the rich consume more damaging environmental components, such as owning vehicles that pollute the environment (Islam, 2015). As such, a widening gap of inequality among households adversely affect sustainability, as the household in the upper decile consume more resources and significantly damage the environment.
The fact that inequality affects sustainability implies that the latter can be altered to promote environmental quality. As averred by Masud, Kari, Banna, and Saifullah (2018), evidence shows that policymakers in ASEAN countries, where income gap has widened since the 1990s, can strengthen environmental sustainability by reducing income inequality. Hence, similar policies can be replicated in other countries to help foster sustainability.
References
Islam, S.N. (2015, August). Inequality and environmental sustainability. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Working Paper No. 145. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/esa/desa/papers/2015/wp145_2015.pdf
Masud, M.M., Kari, F.B., Banna, H., & Saifullah, K. (2018). Does income inequality affect environmental sustainability? Evidence from the ASEAN-5. Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, 23(2), 213-228. https://www.un.org/esa/desa/papers/2015/wp145_2015.pdf
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