There is no such thing as a Fourth Industrial Revolution with 9 billion thriving co-citizens in the world if it is accomplished on linear economic principles. We need a transition to circular economic principles and practice.
Johan RockstromRead
Global sustainability is now the only avenue to future inclusive progress that can deliver the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris climate agreement.
Interpretation
The importance of global sustainability in achieving equitable development and addressing climate change is emphasized.
Johan Rockstrom's quote highlights that in the context of global challenges, pursuing sustainability is imperative for achieving inclusive progress and meeting international agreements like the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris climate agreement. It implies that aligning development efforts with sustainability principles is vital for future generations to thrive in a balanced environment.
In practice
In a conference on climate action, this quote can inspire participants to focus on sustainable practices.
There is no such thing as a Fourth Industrial Revolution with 9 billion thriving co-citizens in the world if it is accomplished on linear economic principles. We need a transition to circular economic principles and practice.
Emissions of greenhouse gases warm the planet, altering the carbon and water cycles. A warmer ocean stores more heat, providing more fuel for hurricanes. A warmer atmosphere holds more water, bringing dangerous deluges. Rising sea levels threaten coastal zones.
There is an old belief that solving environmental problems can only be achieved by first building enough economic wealth so we can 'afford to save the environment.' This 'Kuznets Curve' thinking has never been correct and must be abandoned once and for all if we are serious about economic development for a thriving humanity on Earth.
Either we leave our descendants an endowment of zero poverty, zero fossil-fuel use, and zero biodiversity loss, or we leave them facing a tax bill from Earth that could wipe them out.
Even the wealth of the U.S. cannot protect against the levels of environmental destruction that we are unleashing.
If we achieve our sustainability targets and no one else follows, we will have failed.
Agricultural sustainability doesn't depend on agritechnology. To believe it does is to put the emphasis on the wrong bit of 'agriculture.' What sustainability depends on isn't agri- so much as culture.
Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
The level of consumption that we identify with success is utterly unsustainable. We're gobbling up the world.
Looking at the world through a sustainability lens not only helps us 'future proof' our supply chain, it also fuels innovation and drives brand growth.
Sustainability makes good business sense, and we're all on the same team at the end of the day. That's the truth about the human condition.
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