A sustainable future: a world in which sustainable development is possible and guaranteed? In this book, the Dutch Committee for Long-Term Environmental Policy, an expert advisory board to the Dutch Minister of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment, shows possible ways in which society can move towards a sustainable future.

The book goes in search of a new social order, an order in which sustainability is guaranteed. This search holds four main elements: signs of hope: which positive initiatives and developments exist which will lead to a sustainable future?

transformations: which transformations are needed to reach a sustainable future?



philosophical and methodological reflections: can one predict the future?



institutions: what are the necessary changes in the basic institutions of society to reach a sustainable future?





The committee has invited well-known experts from different disciplinary backgrounds to check the existing social order from a point of sustainability and to give recommendations for a sustainable future. The central conclusion is that we are in need of an evolving green strategy aimed at sustainability. The contours of this strategy are described and a large set of recommendations to reach a sustainable future are given. As the committee states: `There is no certainty and no statistical probability for a sustainable future, but there is at least a chance.'

Introduction. 1. Long-Term Environmental Policy: Towards a Sustainable Future; CLTM. Part I: Signs of Hope. 2. Signs of Hope for the 21st Century? E.U. von Weizsäcker, F. Schmidt-Bleek. Part II: The Transformation to a Sustainable Future. 3. Socialization of Environmental Policy Objectives: Tools for Environmental Marketing; P. Ester, T. Mandemaker. 4. Management of Environmental Policy Networks; J.A. de Bruijn, E.F. ten Heuvelhof. 5. The Science/Public Policy Dialogue on Long-Term Environmental Planning; J.L.A. Geurts, J.M. Kasperkovitz. Part III: Internationalization. 6. The Environment as a Security Issue; R.A. Perelet. 7. Sustainability - a New Challenge for Japan? E.J. Tuininga. 8. International Decision Making on Sustainability; (anon.) 9. International Views on Long-Term Environmental Policy; G.H. Vonkeman, P.A. Maxson. Part IV: Philosophical and Methodological Considerations on Planning the Future. 10. Environmental Policy in Transformation: a Philosophical Approach; P. Kockelkoren, W. Achterberg, H. Achterhuis, G.A. van der Wal. 11. Trends and Discontinuities: Their Relevance for Sustainable Development Strategies; H.J.M. de Vries. Part V: Contours of a Sustainable Future. 12. An Econologically Sustainable Biosphere; P. Vellinga, R.S. de Groot, R.J.T. Klein. 13. Decrease of Population Growth: a Condition for a Sustainable Future; J.K.S. van Ginneken, A. van Diepen. 14. Towards a Sustainable Economy: the Need for International Cooperation on the Environment;H. Folmer. 15. Sustainable Future: What can we Expect from the Next Generation? A Dutch Perspective; M. de Waal. 16. Environment and Emancipation of (Wo)Men; E.A. de Vries. 17. A Political Basis for a Sustainable Society; M.A. Mentzel, P.B. Lehning. 18. Virtues and Values in Science; M. Boon, S.J. Doorman. 19. Towards a Sustainable Future, en route with Technology! J.L.A. Jansen. 20. Indicative Spatial Picture: a Dutch Perspective; T.M. de Jong, D.H. Frieling. Interlude: The World we Do or Do Not Want; L. Vroman. Part VI: Towards a Sustainable Future. 21. Conclusions and Recommendations; CLTM. Abbreviations.