Chasing Sustainability – The

Challenge
Sudhir Chella Rajan (Humanities and Social Sciences)
Source: www.un.org
Source: www.un.org WHAT ARE THE INDICATORS?
 Habitat Loss to 1990

Mediterranean Forests

Temperate Grasslands &

Woodlands
Temperate Broadleaf Forest

Tropical Dry Forest

Tropical Grasslands

Tropical Coniferous Forest

Tropical Moist Forest

0 50 100
Percent of habitat (biome) remaining
Source: Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
Source:    www.thewire.com  
A time of transition needed

Rockström, Johan, et al. "Planetary boundaries: exploring the safe operating

Rockstrom 2011
space for humanity." (2009).
Multiple dimensions of planetary limits

Rockström, Johan, et al. "Planetary boundaries: exploring the safe operating

space for humanity." (2009).
 My life and
footprint
!   Depending on how
one measures my
footprint – as flow or
stock – I’m doing
better or worse than
my peers.
!   But I have also
determined that my
relative standing, e.g., in
terms of carbon tons/
year and lifetime
carbon, would be
disastrous on many
fronts if it were
adopted by 10 billion
other global
compatriots even for
just the next 2
decades.
Steffen, Will, et al. "Planetary boundaries: Guiding human development on a
changing planet." Science 347.6223 (2015)
 What can I do about sustainability?
!   Understand the goals of sustainability:
!   Prevent the worst impacts from Anthropocene
!   The 'Anthropocene' is a term widely used since its coining by Paul Crutzen
and Eugene Stoermer in 2000 to denote the present time interval, in which
many geologically significant conditions and processes are profoundly altered
by human activities.
!   Develop action for solidarity in our generation and for future
generations

!   Take action:
!   Change my life so my footprint is smaller
!   Encourage others to change their life, e.g., drive less, turn off the lights,
reduce waste and water
!   Help develop technology to make people’s lives easy and yet reduce
footprint
!   Anything else?
 What can I do about sustainability
(contd.)?

!   Understanding sustainability
!   Lots of people don’t have lights, don’t use much water and
have no proper way to dispose of waste
!   Many of them have extremely precarious forms of livelihood
!   These people have to improve their lifestyle, not curtail it.
India is 10.5 countries in one

5% of population
Average income:
US$20,000

65% of population
Average income:
US$ 2500

30% of population
Average income:
US$ 500
Millenium Development Goals (MDG) Progress in
India

http://www.financialexpress.com/article/fe-columnist/missing-the-mdg-targets/55901/ Accessed 13 Sep 2015

Millenium Development Goals (MDG) Progress
in India

http://www.financialexpress.com/article/fe-columnist/missing-the-mdg-targets/55901/ Accessed 13 Sep 2015

Risks Associated With from Global
Warming

Source: IPCC 2007

How much fossil fuel should we leave
underground?

58 metres of sea level rise

Upto 60 m sea level rise!

http://phys.org/news/2015-09-fossil-fuel-meter-sea.html
Relative flows of carbon into the
atmosphere are changing

29
Global CO2 emissions growth at about 2.8%
per year, contributions to stock vary widely

30
Global CO2 emissions growth at about 2.8%
per year, contributions to stock vary widely

31
 Households without access to
electricity in the developing world

32

WHO-UNDP 2009
Capping our carbon budget to 750Gt CO2
between 2010-2050

WBGU (2009)
Links, Feedbacks, Coupled Human-Environment
Systems

Crepin et al (2011)
Is Sustainability Possible?
Is there
convergence?
Or are we
satisfied with a
manicured
ecological well-
being stripped of
the other 2
dimensions?
Constituents of sustainability

Evaluating
options using
ethical Implementing
reasoning political
strategy

Developing External
assessments circumstances,
and options
risk and
uncertainty
Generating long-
term human and
ecosystem welfare