Are we out of time for reaching sustainability?

Sir Robert Watson, World Bank/United Nations

The challenges for food, water, and energy security in the face of climate change and loss of biodiversity.

The world today is unsustainable. Hundreds of millions of people go to bed hungry every day, and lack access to clean water and modern energy. Current production of food and energy threaten biodiversity, degrade ecosystem services, and is the underlying driver of the induced climate change. These environmental issues, in turn, threaten food and water security. There is an urgent need to transit to a low-carbon economy; conserve and sustainably use biodiversity; complement GDP with measures of sustainable economic activity (built, human, social, and natural capital); eliminate perverse subsidies; and curtail the power of vested interests who want to maintain the status quo. A sustainable world is possible, but the current pathway is not, and time is running out.