Sustainable Pathways
Forty years ago, when the Bruntland Commission first defined sustainable development as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs, sustainability was about preserving what we had. Sustainability could afford an intrinsically conservative and prudent orientation. That opportunity has lapsed!
Today, sustainability calls for something much more radical. Confusion abounds! Is it about about rapid degrowth and scale-down? Is it fast-tracking towards a technological cornucopia? Or is it about accepting that deep transformation cannot be designed in advance? How might we integrate these three pathways?
The EU Green Deal and the more optimistic IPCC SSP scenarios assume that global social democracy will thrive and that the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions will be deep and rapid. Meanwhile, even if current mitigation commitments are implemented as promised, we face 3C of warming this century and a myriad of interlinked environmental, social and governance challenges.
In these circumstances, we need the humility and capability to use uncertainty as a resource. It’s counterintuitive. Seeking the security of the familiar in the present exposes us to future catastrophe.