Challenges in Overcoming Current and Future Sustainability Crises

Dear Colleagues,

Since the creation of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, many challenges and barriers have arisen that have hindered progress in achieving sustainability (Ávila et al., 2019).

Universities have been identified as one of the biggest drivers of sustainable action. The main barriers existing in educational institutions are lack of funding and negative attitudes towards sustainability (Ulmer & Wydra, 2020). People often lack knowledge of the sustainability crisis and therefore fail to understand that sustainable initiatives may minimize future costs as well as provide a more stable environment. Furthermore, it is noted that initial practices are often implemented but not completed as more capital-generating initiatives are prioritized. Additionally, minimal government policies exist to encourage the implementation of sustainability at universities despite the immense potential of the institutions (Ávila et al., 2019).

The worsening of the climate change problem has further hindered the reduction of the sustainability crisis. Extreme climate events have threatened the food security of countries due to their effects on agricultural practices. This has further increased poverty in these regions due to decreases in subsistence farming and general reductions of national GDP (Mojid, 2020).

Additionally, the economic and political status of countries differ, causing inequalities in the sustainability crisis. Certain countries have more financial capability for achieving sustainability, whereas others do not, thus preventing progress. This barrier is more prominently observed in less developed/developing countries (Barua, 2020). Furthermore, corruption within the governing systems of countries can cause funds prioritized for sustainable initiatives to be appropriated. Recovering these funds is not always possible, causing the sustainability crises to worsen (Frolova et al., 2019).

Furthermore, already existing barriers have been exacerbated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has led to a diversion of resources, whilst worsening unemployment and poverty in many countries remain. The focus has been shifted from sustainability to the pandemic (Barbier & Burgess, 2020; Jones & Comfort, 2020).

Crises increase existing uncertainty, accelerate known risks, and create new risks, simultaneously imposing unprecedented challenges on leaders in business, government, and other spheres of our lives. However, they also open room for new, more creative and socially and environmentally improved business and socio-economic solutions as well as new ways of managing crisis situations.

By providing different and more comprehensive insights on a broad range of crisis-related issues, this Special Issue will produce a deeper understanding of the causes and consequences of endogenously and exogenously generated crises. It will also offer new creative and inspiring solutions for building more powerful resilience measures to crises and creating a better future in general.

References:

Ávila, L. V., Beuron, T. A., Brandli, L. L., Damke, L. I., Pereira, R. S., & Klein, L. L. (2019). Barriers to innovation and sustainability in universities: an international comparison. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 20(5), 805–821. doi:10.1108/IJSHE-02-2019-0067

Barbier, E. B., & Burgess, J. C. (2020). Sustainability and development after COVID-19. World Development, 135, 105082. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105082

Barua, S. (2020). Financing sustainable development goals: A review of challenges and mitigation strategies. Business Strategy & Development, 3(3), 277–293. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/bsd2.94

Frolova, I., Voronkova, O., Alekhina, N., Kovaleva, I., Prodanova, N., & Kashirskaya, L. (2019). Corruption as an obstacle to sustainable development: A regional example. Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, 7(1), 674–689. doi:http://doi.org/10.9770/jesi.2019.7.1(48)

Jones, P., & Comfort, D. (2020). The COVID-19 crisis, tourism and sustainable development. Athens Journal of Tourism, 7(2), 75–86. doi:https://doi.org/10.30958/ajt.7-2-1

Mojid, M. (2020). Climate change-induced challenges to sustainable development in Bangladesh. Paper presented at the IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science.

Ulmer, N., & Wydra, K. (2020). Sustainability in African higher education institutions (HEIs). International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 20(1), 18–33. doi:10.1108/IJSHE-03-2019-0106

Prof. Marius Dan Gavriletea
Prof. Walter Leal Filho
Prof. Đula Borozan
Guest  Editor

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• sustainability crisis
• risks
• crises management
• challenges
• resilience
• pandemic