4. Criticism of sustainable development idea and goals

Critics of Agenda 2030 have called it a ‘bubble’ with a beautiful vision that no country will take real steps towards, but its proponents have recognised that these are sketches showing the necessary direction, not a direct route to solving global problems par excellence. The stated objectives provide a structural background for a wide range of social initiatives and businesses with a social nerve. Besides, they offer a motivational slogan that forces countries to take responsibility for sustainable development and show results. It is a memorable frame that helps catch the attention of citizens.⁴⁵

Lerch (2010)⁴⁶ and Hopkins⁴⁷ concluded that it is not possible to maintain the state of the environment in conditions of continuous economic growth. According to Lerch we should be preparing for change – society should be reorganised in a way where we are ready to survive the shocks of climate change and resource depletion. Hopkins sees a solution in community-based approaches: local food farming (also in cities); a community-owned energy network and alternative local money where possible.

‘Planetary Project’ sums up all criticism of the concept of sustainable development and its goals⁴⁸:

• The concept of ‘sustainable development’ is incorrect, and the internal logic of this concept is contradictory.
• The term is too narrow and labels global problems only within the environmental context. Thus, it is believed that only environmental concerns cover the entire strategy of sustainable development.
• The lack of a coherent concept of sustainable development, together with several definitions of the concept, causes significant difficulties in implementation.
• The selectivity of the concept of sustainable development, its original elitism and imperialist character will benefit only a certain part of humanity, not all people.
• The methods exploited in the concept of sustainable development are debatable. The extrapolated modelling used in the growth limits study cannot be definitive: it must be understood that predictions based on modelling will only materialise if all its assumptions materialise. The initial parameters of the model should be constantly updated based on the current situation. 
• SDGs are understood in totally different ways. It stems from the cultural, social and political backgrounds of the participants applying the new model of civilization and from the different worldviews of the people. Undoubtedly, the greatest goal of the concept of sustainable development is to create a fair and balanced world. Nevertheless, it should be borne in mind that different countries, scientists and politicians interpret justice and balance differently. In itself, the readiness of humanity and individual countries for global integration, which requires a major transformation of their political and economic systems, is quite controversial. 

Both opponents and proponents of the concept of sustainable development are convinced that the transition to sustainable development requires a dramatic transformation of the current civilization. At the heart of this transformation is the changing of all major human activities into sustainable ones. In particular, this means abandoning the hydrocarbon energy economy and switching to alternative energy sources. This technological development must also be socially acceptable. Still, the concept of sustainable development does not say anything about the sources of funding or the mechanisms for its implementation. Anyway, we do not have much time to save the world, so we should stop creating slogans and should take real action.