The Brundtland Report brought about a new way of thinking in the area of economics when concerning the environment. The report acknowledged that to keep serious problems in third world from worsening, nations needed to push for economic growth. This would create the "capital necessary to remove poverty, improve living conditions, and move to a world with fewer inequities. This was certainly not support for growth for growth"s sake.but rather an impassioned cry for a better world." (Hall, J.D., 1992, p.10). The report had hoped to create "lifestyles more in tune with the ecological realities of the planet" (Hall, J.D., 1992, p.10). It also desired to create this form of living by encouraging nations not to overuse their natural resources, but to work to improve them and then to utilize these enhanced resource that had been created as a result.

             "Ignoring the depreciation of capital assets is a recipe for bankruptcy in business, and it is becoming apparent that this is the case for planet management as well. Environmental degradation incurs an enormous cost, but it has never been incorporated into national accounts. Neither do the prices of resources and environmental services such as clean air and the protection of watersheds reflect their true value, either in the economy or to society. Even worse classical economics had not recognized that there are ultimate limits to the Earth"s capacity to provide – biological, chemical, and geological limits. We need to live off our interest and not our capital." (Hall, J.D., 1992, p.10).

             All that most conference"s can do is encourage and persuade. They have no binding control over any nations that would allow them to force these standards of conduct onto these countries. One of the principles that came out of the 1972 Stockholm Conference explains the situation best. "It acknowledged states" sovereignty over their natural resources but stipulated that states have 'the responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other states or areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.