Putting people at the centre. Sustainable development must enable people to enjoy a better quality of life, now and in the future. In the words of the Rio Declaration , 'human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development. Taking a long term perspective. Sustainable development thinking cannot restrict itself to the life of a Parliament, or the next decade.
Radical improvements have to begin now to safeguard the interests of future generations.
At the same time we must meet today's needs - for example, people need warm homes, which, at present, means using predominantly fossil fuels. Taking account of costs and benefits. Decisions must take account of a wide range of costs and benefits, including those which cannot easily be valued in money terms. In pursuing any single objective, we should not impose disproportionate costs elsewhere. Public values, the timing of costs and benefits and risks and uncertainties should be taken into account.