The turning point in foreign and security policy brought about by Russia's invasion of Ukraine also gives rise to revaluations in areas relating to sustainable development. Unilateral dependencies in the supply of raw materials and food must be remedied, while simultaneously striving for both supply security and sustainability.
The war could also have implications for the EU Green Deal. Here, a flexible and pragmatic approach to the application of selected objectives seems to be sensible. Multilateral organisations now need to be strengthened through necessary reforms, not least in the area of global health.
The countries of the Global South have a key role to play in solving the challenges associated with sustainable development. It is therefore necessary that the increasing sense of estrangement between these countries and the industrialised countries of the West be overcome.
The consistent pursuit of a transformation to sustainability is - in the interest of building resilience for the natural world, the economy and society - part of the solution, not part of the problem.
