The Concept of Environmental Sustainability

This paper reviews the current status of the debate about the concept of environmental sustainability and discusses related aspects of growth, limits, scale, and substitutability. While the paths leading to environmental sustainability in each country or sector will differ, the goal remains constant. But this conceptualization is far from an academic exercise. Ensuring, within less than two human generations, that as many as 10 billions people are decently fed and housed without damaging the environment on which we all depend represents a monumental challenge.