Sustainability

Most people have heard of sustainability or ‘sustainable development’, but what does it mean? There may have been a more abused and misunderstood phrase in modern English, but it’s hard to think of one. Originally it was intended to mean ‘ecologically sustainable development’. In practice though, it often ended up meaning ‘economically sustainable development’. That’s quite a different emphasis!

‘Sustainability’ here means ‘ecologically sustainable development’ – enabling human societies to flourish within the boundaries of healthy ecosystems and protecting the habitat of the world’s vulnerable species. We cannot simply push human domination of the planet and its ecosystems as far as possible. There is little point stopping just short of complete collapse and mass extinction, which is the path we are currently on. We need to pull back from the brink well before that. Endangered species must be protected. Greenhouse gases must be brought back to a level that would return us to a pre-industrial safe climate. Animals must be treated far better. And human civilization must thrive within our world’s ecological limits. You’ve probably heard the slogan ‘No jobs on a dead planet’ – and it’s true.

We are a long way from the vision of an ecologically sustainable future, and on our current path we will not see it realised. The Stockholm Resilience Centre has shown that we have blown through a number of the boundaries needed to maintain a safe operating system for humanity, the animals and the biosphere. Building on this work, Oxfam developed the concept of ‘a safe and just space for humanity‘ living and thriving within ecological limits:

We are not in great shape at the moment – particularly with regards to climate change, habitat destruction and species extinctions. There has never been a greater need for citizens at all levels to work towards a rapid transition to an ecologically sustainable path that respects the rights of all species to thrive. The Monash Sustainable Development Institute, where I am proud to have worked previously, is helping to develop that vision.