Since there are manifold books and papers dealing with 'sustainability governance' bearing the terms 'sustainable development' and 'governance' in their titles, it is now time to explore the meanings of these two essentially contested terms and to evaluate the extent to which the material on them constitutes an important, coherent, and cumulative body of scholarship.

In the first part of the article Andrew Jordan explores the existing literatures on the two terms, and elaborates some of the most important similarities and differences among them. Falling back on papers being published throughout the last decade, the second part addresses the attempts that have been made to build empirical and/or theoretical bridges between the two terms. In the final sections various key topics of current and future research are identifed being vibrant and highly policy-relevant areas of environmental social science research.