Some of the critical issues for sustainable development in developing countries and the policies to deal with them include:-
• Jobs: Economic recession has caused a lot of unemployment in the developing nations. Labor markets are vital not only for the production and generation of wealth. "Green jobs" are positions in agriculture, industry, services and administration that contribute to preserving or restoring the quality of the environment. In order to create more jobs, sustainable development strategies need a strong employment component which aims at raising the productivity of the poorest workers, and at ensuring that they get to keep most of their increased earning power by progressively strengthening labor market institutions. Increase in trade will also lead to creation of more jobs.
• Energy: Energy is central to nearly every major challenge and opportunity the world faces today. Be it for jobs, security, climate change, food production or increasing incomes, access to energy for all is essential. Sustainable energy is needed for strengthening economies, protecting ecosystems and achieving equity. Government should look for the financing of new energy sources. Government need to look for more foreign investment and encourage domestic investment also.
• Food: Due to rapid increase in world population, there is scarcity of food everywhere. The food and agriculture sector offers key solutions for development, and is central for hunger and poverty eradication. Attempts to cut public expenditure may affect various agricultural support services, such as the provision of extension services, or the financing of public sector research initiatives, which could lead to improved crop varieties or more effective production techniques. Changes in the foreign exchange rate, usually a devaluation, can also have an effect on the provision of government services, to the extent that these services use imported goods, such as fuel, or imported capital equipment. This may be particularly important for the upkeep of state-owned infrastructure, such as roads and market places, all important in the decision to provide food products to the market, rather than keep them for household consumption.
• Water: Clean, accessible water for all is an essential part of the world we want to live in. Drought afflicts some of the world's poorest countries, worsening hunger and malnutrition. Policies should be majorly targeted at discouraging the wastage of water. Campaigns should be run by government to tell people about the importance of water. Efficient use of water in agricultural practices should be encouraged. policies and institutions must evolve to: (1) maintain growth in irrigated and rainfed agricultural production; (2) facilitate efficient inter sectoral allocation of water, likely to include transfers of water out of agriculture.
• Oceans: The world's oceans - their temperature, chemistry, currents and life - drive global systems that make the Earth habitable for humankind. Our rainwater, drinking water, weather, climate, coastlines, much of our food, and even the oxygen in the air we breathe, are all ultimately provided and regulated by the sea.
• Poverty: Various countries have tried to implement policies to eradicate poverty in their country but the problem that arises with all of them is that non-poor people ultimately get benefitted from it and it does not reach to the targeted population. So, first the government need to ensure that the assistance reaches to the poor people. They should be given subsidies in basic needs like food, water etc. They should be given shelter and government should try to provide them employment as unskilled workers so that they can earn income to live a better life.