Although the need for new systems of production and consumption is constantly stressed in policy discussions, the sustainable consumption concept has not been largely translated into practice. The efforts of environmental policy makers to pay more attention to the consumption side are still...

Canadian researchers and policy makers dealing with climate change adaptation in the agriculture field frequently point to an apparent lack of interest from producers when the topic is raised. This attitude may be the result of several conditions, including the fact that adaptation, as a term,...

This paper summarises some of the challenges to science that are posed by the search for sustainability. These challenges are not only technical ones, such as more affordable or reliable equipment for health care, water quality control and refrigeration. There are also fundamental empirical and...

This introductory article presents the general theme studied in this special issue of the IJSD, concerning the relations between proximity economics and sustainable environmental management at local level. Interest in this research theme has grown significantly in recent years because of the...

This paper presents an integrated assessment study into global change and sustainable development. A global, integrated assessment model called TARGETS, is used to develop a range of global futures. The model is intended to assess a number of the most important links between social, economic and...

The harnessing of science and technology as forces for sustainable development depends on processes that will ensure the involvement of all appropriate scientific input and expertise in problem identification and response. Scientific excellence and integrity need to be combined with a close...

Sustainable development, on a local level, requires incentives whose comprehension and identification depend on various stakes and the involvement of socio-economic actors. The complexity of the task could not be compounded without the aid of modern decision-methods such as Multi-Criteria...

'Sustainable development' is a widely used, but less practised, complex term. Using the idea of 'Viability Loops' (VL) based on a System Dynamics (SD) approach and considering sustainability as an ideal for development efforts, this paper argues that sustainable development should be considered...

The need for households in rich countries to develop more sustainable consumption patterns is high on the political agenda. An increased awareness of environmental issues among the general public is often presented as an important prerequisite for this change. This article describes how the...

The creation and development process of College Student Loan (CSL) in China is the one that is fulfilled gradually and interlacing with Chinese higher education system reform and fiscal financial system reform. To ensure limited CSL to flow to millions of poor college students from limited...