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Sustainability
In just two hundred years, the planet’s population has grown from 900 million to about 8 billion. According to the United Nations, the world’s population is estimated to be between 10 and 11 billion by 2100. A minority, mostly from wealthy countries, which make up only 20 percent of the world’s population, consumes approximately 80 percent of the world’s resources. Another 4.3 billion people live in extreme poverty, earning less than $ 5 a day. We are constantly and uninterruptedly extracting and depleting the earth’s non-renewable natural resources, which in the near future will cause us severe shortages and increasingly limited resources, and the provision of food and basic necessities will a difficult task for governments.
In this way, if the frantic consumption of current resources continues, we will have no prospect other than the instability of governments, the worsening of the economic situation and, consequently, the emergence of social unrest. After all, it seems that we have long ignored the side effects of contemporary technological advances and the unfortunate consequences of continuous and uninterrupted economic growth and the exploitation of nature. The engine of this uninterrupted economic growth is nothing but excessive and increasing consumption. Thus, maintaining current economic growth coincides with the threat of the destruction of the planet’s ecosystems and the destruction of the human institution. We urgently need a clear vision, a bold policy and a strong strategy to get out of this situation.
Honestly, we need Sustainable Growth, that is the growth that is cut off from the wasteful use of non-renewable resources and will not have adverse environmental effects. Hence, two things must happen
- Separation of production of goods and services from unsustainable consumption of natural resources
- Separating the satisfaction of human needs from the dictatorship of “consume as much as you can”.
To date, these policies have been related to Sustainable Development and are environmentally friendly, and have been successful in significantly minimizing environmental damage. Climate change has been one of the most dangerous consequences of pursuing uninterrupted economic growth. It is predicted that by the end of this century we will see a 5 degree increase in climate, which means nothing but major changes in the current situation. By comparison, the last ice age was marked by a 5 degree drop in the Earth’s temperature. About two-thirds of Switzerland was occupied by ice. Yes, we mean a change of 5 degrees, such a scale.
In addition, the Covid 19 pandemic has made everyone agree on how shaky and dangerous the foundations for economic prosperity are. Thanks to this pandemic, the catastrophes that were once repeatedly talked about and postponed to an unknown future have become a true in the present, without individuals’, groups’ and Governments’ being prepared enough to deal with it. Of course, it should not be overlooked that the dangers of climate change will occur in a longer-term, slower, but more frightening process with far-reaching consequences than the Corona virus outbreak. It is safe to say that if there is a crucial moment in which Courageous leaders knowingly take important initiatives and make crucial and future-making decisions, it is the present moment.
Consequently, in view of the above, Sustainability is for us a Capability for a Sustainable Existence. In the 21st century, this concept, in general, refers to a capability that implies the coexistence of both the environment and civilization. Sustainability also describes the process by which people pursue changes in a balanced and consistent environment of Homeostasis, an environment in which the exploitation of nature and natural resources, the direction of investments, the direction of technological change and institutional changes, all happen to be in harmony, enhancing current and future potentials to meet human needs and aspirations.