Desafios e possibilidades acerca do princípio jurídico do desenvolvimento sustentável

Abstract

This paper discusses the applicability of the principle of sustainable development from the perspective of International Environmental Law, in the current context permeated by the capitalist economic system. It presents the historical evolution of international environmental protection alongside the current economic system; the legal concept on the principle of sustainable development; and case studies that illustrate the debate about the applicability of this principle. The goal is to demonstrate that the concept spread in international society through legal standards, in practice, distances itself from the legal sphere, and can be recognized in viable alternatives that arise from an array of civil society and government agencies, which incorporate environmental values and create suitable alternatives to specific regional, social and economic contexts. This argument is demonstrated through an interdisciplinary approach between law, history, economics and related fields, as well as a research of Brazilian and foreign literature related to the topic.