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The Age of Sustainable Development
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Length Length

14 modules, accessible at any time

Effort Effort

2-4 hours per module

Price Price

FREE

Languages Languages

English

Video Transcripts Video Transcripts

English, Português, Pусский

Prerequisites Prerequisites

None

Requirements Requirements

An internet connection to access course materials

THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Learn the basics – how do we build

a sustainable world?

THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
THE ROLE OF THE PLANET
From planetary boundaries, to renewable energy, to sustainable consumption of

natural resources

THE ROLE OF THE PLANET
THE ROLE OF PEOPLE
From inequality, to poverty, to health and

human rights

THE ROLE OF PEOPLE
ECONOMICS OF SUSTAINABILITY
How do nations and economies flourish without

leaving anyone behind?

ECONOMICS OF SUSTAINABILITY

Overview

This course is self-paced – you can enroll immediately and complete the course materials at any time.

Sustainable development is the most urgent challenge facing humanity. Its fundamental question is: How can the world economy continue to develop in a way that is socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable? This course provides a broad overview of the interactions between the economy, our environment, and humanity, from the constraints of finite resources to the activities that drive climate change, to equality for all.

This course is an updated version of Professor Sachs' popular 2015 course of the same name. It includes new perspectives and a reorientation towards Agenda 2030 and the SDGs.

Join us for this introduction to the tenets of sustainable development, developed by experts on the latest in the social, policy, and physical sciences.

structure

  • Pre-recorded lectures
  • Readings
  • Quizzes and final exam
  • Discussion forum

Lead Faculty

  • Faculty Image

    Jeffrey Sachs

    Columbia University

This course is for

Anyone new to the concept of sustainable development who wants to understand its foundations and its relevance to their life and work

Graduate students and advanced undergraduate students interested in the key concepts and practices of sustainability and global values

Sustainable development practitioners – as well as private-sector actors, such as those who work in corporate sustainability and responsibility – who want a concise overview of the latest developments in the field

Questions?

Course logistics and requirements

This course is self-paced. All course components are available now and can be completed at any time that is convenient for the students.

Please note that this course is not facilitated by a course team. We encourage students to engage with one another via the discussion forum. Any specific questions can be sent to the SDG Academy team at courses@sdgacademy.org.

Certificates

Learners who successfully complete the course will be eligible to purchase an edX Verified Certificate signed by the course instructor.

syllabus

Module 1: What is Sustainable Development?

1.1

Introduction to Sustainable Development

1.2

Economic Growth and Progress

1.3

Continuing Poverty

1.4

Environmental Threats

1.5

The Business-As-Usual Path versus the Sustainable Development Path

1.6

From the MDGs to the SDGs: Agenda 2030

Module 2: Economic Development – How We Measure It, How It Varies Around the World

2.1

Incomes Around the World

2.2

Urban/Rural Inequality

2.3

Income Inequality Within Countries

2.4

Measuring Wellbeing

2.5

Convergence or Divergence?

Module 3: A Short History of Economic Development

3.1

Economic Development is New, Starting Around 1750

3.2

The Industrial Revolution Starts in England

3.3

The Great Waves of Technological Change

3.4

The Diffusion of Economic Growth

3.5

Economic Development Since World War II: The Making of Globalization

Module 4: Why Did Some Countries Advance While Others Remained in Poverty?

4.1

The Idea of Clinical Economics

4.2

The Role of Physical Geography: Transport, Energy, Disease, Crops

4.3

The Role of Culture: Demography, Education, Gender

4.4

The Role of Politics

4.5

Which Countries are Still Stuck in Poverty?

Module 5: The MDGs and the End of Extreme Poverty

5.1

The Reasons to Believe that Extreme Poverty Can Be Ended

5.2

A Strategy to End Extreme Poverty in Africa

5.3

South Asia: The Continuing Challenge of the Food Supply

5.4

A Closer Look at Official Development Assistance

5.5

Designing Practical Interventions: The Case of Millennium Villages

Module 6: Growth within Planetary Boundaries

6.1

The Origins of the Boundary Concept: Thomas Malthus

6.2

Neo-Malthusian Frameworks: Growth Dynamics

6.3

The 9 Planetary Boundaries

6.4

Living Within Limits: Energy, Agriculture, Industry

Module 7: Human Rights and Gender Equality

7.1

The Ethics of Wealth, Poverty, and Inequality

7.2

Major UN Covenants and Declarations

7.3

Divided Societies

7.4

Forces of Widening Inequalities

7.5

Gender Inequality and Solutions

Module 8: Education

8.1

Life-Cycle Approach to Human Development

8.2

Early Childhood Development

8.3

The Rising Returns to Education and the Supply Response

8.4

Social Mobility

8.5

The Role of Higher Education in Sustainable Development

Module 9: Universal Health Coverage

9.1

The Human Right to Health

9.2

Poverty and Disease

9.3

Designing and Financing a Primary Health System in Low-Income Settings

9.4

Ten Recommended Steps to Health for All in the Poorest Countries

9.5

The Challenges of Health Coverage in High-Income Countries

Module 10: Sustainable Food Supply and the End of Hunge

10.1

Malnutrition

10.2

Farm Systems, Ecology, and Food Security

10.3

How Environmental Change Threatens the Food System

10.4

How the Food System Threatens the Environment

10.5

Towards a Sustainable Global Food Supply

Module 11: Sustainable Cities

11.1

The Patterns of Urbanization Around the World

11.2

What Makes a City Sustainable?

11.3

Smart Infrastructure

11.4

Urban Resilience

11.5

Planning for Sustainable Development

Module 12: Curbing Climate Change

12.1

The Basic Science of Climate Change

12.2

Consequences

12.3

Mitigation

12.4

Adaptation

12.5

Mitigation Policies

Module 13: Saving Biodiversity

13.1

What is Biodiversity?

13.2

Biodiversity Under Threat

13.3

Oceans and Fisheries

13.4

Deforestation

13.5

International Dynamics

Module 14: The Sustainable Development Goals

14.1

The Proposal for Sustainable Development Goals

14.2

Goal-based Development

14.3

Financing for Sustainable Development

14.4

Principles of Good Governance

14.5

Is Sustainable Development Feasible?

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