PLANNING FOR A SUSTAINABLE EUROPE? - TU Berlin

59
with a compatibility-oriented approach aiming to reconcile growth and environmental
protection rather than defining the two as being in conflict. The Brundtland Commission
defined sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” This is
now readily accepted by most countries and international institutions as a fundamental
development goal.
Of course, the Brundtland report is not without its critics. Langhelle (1999) has
demonstrated that the assumed relationship between sustainable development and
economic growth contained in “Our Common Future” has been overemphasized and lead
to a “neglection of other vital aspects” of the concept. However, at present it will suffice
to note that the Brundtland report was highly successful in influencing future policy
making in the environmental area and beyond. The two key concepts of the Brundtland
report were needs (especially the basic needs of the world’s poor) and limitations on the
environment’s ability to meet humans’ (present and future) needs. The report
subsequently identified the eradication of poverty in the development and the realignment
of consumption patterns in the developed world as key elements of a global strategy for
sustainability. It also struck a different tone than previous documents such as the IUCN’s
1980 World Conservation Strategy by moving away from an ecology-based approach to a
much more anthropocentric line of argument. The message of Our Common Future “is,
above all, directed towards people, whose well-being is the ultimate goal of all
environment and development policies” (WCED 1987:xiv, quoted in Baker, Kousis et al.
1997:4).