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Many nations around the world are trying their best to accommodate to the global threat of climate change: such as by building more energy efficient infrastructure or setting up renewable energy sources wherever possible – but do fully sustainable countries already exist?
Sustainable countries must make an extensive effort to ensure not only their internal operations remain eco-friendly, but integrate sustainable valuables into their culture as well to ensure citizens on their part to keep the country on track towards their environmental goals.
In this article, we’ll explain what sustainable countries are, examples of sustainable countries, and if sustainable countries already exist.
Sustainable countries refer to countries that work to integrate sustainable values into their culture to ensure that the country still works towards its climate goals.
Sustainable countries often work towards the following:
👉 Ultimately, the main goal of sustainable countries is to ensure the environment is protected without sacrificing social equity or economic development – as this directly correlates to the quality of life satisfaction amongst its citizens.
There are several examples of sustainable countries, such as Denmark, New Zealand, Finland, Sweden, and Norway – but it is important to note that sustainable countries are still a work in progress and have yet to become entirely carbon neutral.
Here are some examples of sustainable countries:
👉 It is important to remember that sustainable countries do not currently demonstrate the end-goal all countries should strive to achieve, but rather a model for other nations to follow and start and continue working towards reduced carbon emissions and overall environmental impact.
Sustainable countries are bound to face several challenges in the journey towards reducing their environmental impact, such as by facing criticism from other countries, falling subject to greenwashing, or facing inequality issues.
First off, many countries will face some sort of bad backlash in their attempt to go green – such as what happened with Deutsche Bank in Germany in 2022. Also known as one of Europe’s more sustainable countries, this German bank was accused of greenwashing as a result of a fraud investigation and failure to take ESG criteria into account.
💡 This reveals how many sustainable countries must remain mindful of the possibility of being accused of taking superficial measures to appear more sustainable than they are in reality.
Countries may also face challenges to meet their sustainability goals if nearby countries or partnerships fail to come to fruition. For instance, a developing country will often need the help of a wealthier nation or government funding to finance their sustainable initiatives – but if two partners looking to fund that country disagree on the priorities, it makes it more difficult to work together and effectively achieve sustainable development goals.
Lastly, some countries may struggle to implement sustainability as a result of their locale. For instance, southeast asian countries could find themselves more prone to extensive heatwaves, flooding and coastal inundation, or even tsunamis – meaning that more effort is required to protect buildings and citizens, such as the need for increased funding for green infrastructure.
👉 Both countries looking to become sustainable, and countries already considered sustainable countries are likely to meet obstacles in the journey towards greater sustainability.
Sustainable countries don’t all have to be the same to one another, but there are striking similarities amongst some of the world’s existing sustainable countries – such as ease of mobility, value in local cuisine, and government assistance to move forward with achieving climate goals.
Here are some of the similarities found in sustainable countries around the world:
👉 Even though sustainable countries may have these similarities in common, it is important to note that sustainability can be integrated in more than one way – meaning that a country does not need to precisely follow the model of other sustainable countries to be successful in reducing emissions or promoting the value of green living.
Many of the world’s existing sustainable countries have made use of technology to help them be as eco-friendly as they are today, but luckily – new technologies and valuable partnerships may help them to take their environmental efforts one step further.
A prime example of this is with new car models, which often start and stop automatically when you’re at a long traffic light in order to preserve either gasoline or power. As a new form of technology previously unused 30 years ago, this kind of AI technology can be integrated into public transportation systems, such as electric buses, in countries looking to join the list of sustainable countries.
A few other ways sustainable countries could take their sustainability game up-a-notch moving forward include:
💡All in all, there are sustainable countries in the world – as countries such as Sweden, Norway, and Finland are currently exceeding the UN’s expectations in terms of sustainable development goals.
However, none of them are 100% perfect or entirely carbon-emission free. We have a while to go before we can truly deem any of these sustainable countries guilt-free of greenhouse gas emissions, but it is still important to recognise them for their existing and continuous efforts to improve their sustainability.
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