Scientists outline challenges and pathways to Earth sustainability

A new report has discussed the environmental future of the planet, by outlining the challenges and pathways to Earth sustainability.

Known as the “Declaration of Barcelona 2008: Challenges and Pathways to Earth Sustainability”, this document claims the immediate adoption of measures to mitigate the global change and a scientific and technological revolution to advance towards a coherent sustainable development.

According to the report, the coming three decades will determine whether the population of the world comes into balance with the capacity of the biosphere to support it, or whether catastrophic changes in the environment brought on by climate change, losses of biodiversity, pollution of air and water, and overharvesting of natural resources will lead to the end of the improvement of well being that has characterized the Modern Era.

It added that declining trends in environmental conditions either continue unchanged from previous decades or are accelerating beyond our worst projections. There is growing evidence that irreversible changes have already occurred or are imminent.

The deterioration of the global environment continues despite current international efforts, including adoption of the Millennium Development Goals and treaties to address climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation.

Clearly, global action to reverse the negative trends is inadequate, but it is not too late to collectively create a viable future.

The scale, urgency and severity of the problems means that no action is too small to matter, too large to contemplate, or too soon to begin.

According to the report, the following actions are urged: Immediate transition to non-carbon emitting energy systems, accounting for changes in natural capital in measures of economic performance, immediately begin adaptive measures to address global environmental change, empowering developing countries to play a larger role in global solutions, and, transition to non-carbon emitting energy systems must be immediate.

Also, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the most important human induced greenhouse gas, has already exceeded the levels that can be considered safe respect to the Earth’s climate.

This makes it necessary to take immediate steps towards weaning the global economy off carbon emitting energies. (ANI)

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