The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), held in Johannesburg, South Africa, was the fourth major conference on the environment and sustainable development in a period of thirty years.The conference came at a moment when most of the indicators of sustainable development in industrialised countries reached historical depths, in particular, biodiversity indicators and sustainable patterns of production and consumption. A credible and objective evaluation of globalisation’s costs and benefits is proving to be difficult. Poverty remains the world’s most serious problem in attaining sustainable development. This book provides an overview of the most important issues as they are dealt with in the WSSD’s Plan of Implementation. It addresses the science behind the discussions on poverty, production and consumption patterns, water, energy, Small Island Developing States, sustainability issues in Central/Eastern Europe and Latin America, and the role of the financial world in the sustainable development of education, science and research. The book offers a unique framework to follow up and evaluate the progressing international discussion on sustainable development. It is essential background reading for all those interested and involved in this discussion: policy-makers, researchers, students and experts.