Sustainable development
Sustainable development
Sustainable development means meeting the needs of the present whilst ensuring future generations can meet their own needs. It has three pillars: economic, environmental and social.
What is sustainable development?
Sustainable development means meeting the needs of the present whilst ensuring future generations can meet their own needs.
It has three pillars: economic, environmental and social. To achieve sustainable development, policies in these three areas have to work together and support each other.
In 2015, world leaders agreed on Agenda 2030, a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets proposed by the United Nations.
The EU was instrumental in shaping Agenda 2030. The EU and its member countries are fully committed to implementing Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals into EU policies.
EU trade policy and sustainable development
EU law requires all relevant EU policies, including trade policy, to promote sustainable development. EU trade policy aims to ensure that economic development goes hand in hand with:
- social justice;
- respect for human rights;
- high labour standards, and;
- high environmental standards.
The EU strives to ensure trade policy helps promote sustainable development through:
- EU trade agreements;
- special incentives for developing countries, and;
- trade and development policy.
The EU promotes sustainable development by addressing specific issues in EU trade policy.
More information about the EU sustainable policies: https://policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/development-and-sustainability/sustainable-development_en
