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12:24

Introducing Sustainable Development

In this chapter, Professor Jeffrey Sachs introduces the course "Sustainable Development: the Post-Capitalist Order" and defines sustainable development. This video is licensed under the CC BY-NC-SA license. Please give attribution to the SDG Academy.

14:35

Virtue Ethics: An Indigenous Perspective

In this chapter, Grand-father T8aminik (Dominique) Rankin and Grand-mother Marie-Josée Tardif discuss ethics and the connections between people and the Earth in the Anishinaabe tradition of northeast North America. This video is licensed under the CC BY-NC-SA license.

06:17

Growth and Inequality

This chapter focuses on growth and inequality, and more specifically, the Kuznets Curve, in order to show the relationship between income per capita and inequality. Kuznets suggested that the relationship has an inverted U-shape. In the final stages of a country’s development, he argued, inequality would increase; after a certain point, however, inequality would decrease. This curve, and the points in question, are different for each country. The rise of inequality has had political…

12:40

Hitting Planetary Boundaries

The sixth wave of globalization is the one expected to characterize the 21st century. In this chapter, Professor Sachs provides an overview of the Planetary Boundaries framework and discusses the reality that, due to the scale of human population and economic activity, we are detrimentally changing our planet’s physical environment. The Planetary Boundaries are a set of limits that humanity needs to observe for the well-being of our own species and the future of our planet; they are…

13:56

The Challenge of Sustainable Development

This chapter serves as a conclusion to the course Macroeconomics for a Sustainable Planet. In this final video, Professor Sachs talks about the environmental challenges that have come from the growth of the world economy due to globalization. The challenge of economic growth and prosperity, together with the challenges of social inclusion and fairness and environmental crises, make up the work of sustainable development, or creating economies that are smart, fair, and inclusive. Since the…

14:26

Growth on a Finite Planet: Is it Inherently Impossible?

This chapter discusses two important questions: is it feasible to have economic growth from this point forward and does economic growth even make sense on a finite planet? This video is licensed under the CC BY-NC-SA license.

17:15

The Three Big Challenges: Climate Change, Biodiversity, Pollution

This chapter focuses on the three main environmental challenges facing the world today: human-induced climate change, biodiversity loss, and the pollution caused by economic activity. This video is licensed under the CC BY-NC-SA license.

06:13

Welcome to the Anthropocene

There is rising scientific evidence that humanity has now entered a new era that is defined as the Anthropocene, in which humanity is shaping the entire biosphere in a globalized phase of environmental change. We have gotten used to defining sustainable development as the three pillars—economic, social, and ecological. This course suggests that we must rather think in terms of providing wealth, development, and livelihoods within the safe, resilient life support systems on Earth. Social…

11:10

The Role of Business in the SDGs

In this chapter, Professor Sachs discusses the role of profit-oriented business in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. He explores the considerations that business managers should have in mind when considering the SDGs, including the role of the SDGs to define the kind of world and economy we want in the future, the issues of corporate responsibility and governance, and the creation of public-private partnerships. This video is licensed under the CC BY-NC-SA license.