In Search of a Sustainable Future: Reflections on Economic Growth, Social Equity and Global Governance

The cumulative pressure the human species is putting on the planet is sapping its resources and resilience. The combination of population growth and economic growth (including change sin lifestyle and consumption patterns as wealth increases) places excess demands on the environment.We are using more resources than the earth can provide, exceeding its capacity to sustain us. Unless we change course radically, the consequences will be severe, affecting the habitability for life on earth,including humans.So, what should we do next? Continue our present modes of economic growth—with potentially catastrophic results—and hope we can find solutions to the problems they create? Or should we transition to a new, unproven development model that has the potential to reduce poverty and enhance sustainability and social equity?The essays in this book address these questions and advance the debate on achieving a sustainable future. The authors argue that part of the problem is the complexity and interconnectedness of the challenges. Any viable solution must take into account the unbreakable link between economic prosperity and environmental sustainability and the concepts of social justice and equity.Copublished with the Globalist