Human Development Report 2011: Sustainability and Equity: Towards a Better Future for All

The 2011 Human Development Report argues that the urgent global challenges of sustainability and equity must be addressed together – and identifies policies on the national and global level that could spur progress towards these interlinked goals at the same time.

Bold action is needed on both fronts, the Report contends, if the recent human development progress experienced by most of the world's poor majority is to be sustained, for the benefit of future generations as well as for those living today. Past Reports have shown that living standards in most countries have been rising – and converging – for several decades now. Yet the 2011 Report projects a disturbing reversal of those trends if environmental deterioration and social inequalities continue to intensify, with the least developed countries diverging downwards from global patterns of progress by 2050.

The Report shows further how the world's most disadvantaged people suffer the most from environmental degradation, including in their immediate personal environment, and disproportionately lack political power, making it all the harder for the world community to reach agreement on needed global policy change.

Yet the Report also outlines great potential for positive synergies in the quest for greater equity and sustainability, especially at the national level. The Report further emphasizes the right to a healthy environment, the importance of integrating equity into environmental policies, and the critical importance of public participation and official accountability. The 2011 Report concludes with proposals for bold new approaches to global development financing and environmental controls, arguing that these are both essential and feasible.

The 2011 Report will also feature the 2011 Human Development Index (HDI) and updated editions of the complementary indices introduced in the 20th anniversary Report in 2010: the Inequality-Adjusted HDI, the Gender Inequality Index, and the Multidimensional Poverty Index.