In 1992, more than 170 countries came together at the Rio Earth Summit and agreed to pursue sustainable development, protect biological diversity, prevent dangerous interference with climate systems, and conserve forests. But, 25 years later, the natural systems on which humanity relies continue to be degraded.
So why hasn't the world become much more environmentally sustainable despite decades of international agreements, national policies, state laws and local plans? This is the question that a team of researchers and I have tried to answer in a recent article.
We reviewed 94 studies of how sustainability policies had failed across every continent. These included case studies from both developed and developing countries, and ranged in scope from international to local initiatives.
- Consider the following key environmental indicators. Since 1970:
- Humanity's ecological footprint has exceeded the Earth's capacity and has risen to the point where 1.6 planets would be needed to provide resources sustainably.
- The biodiversity index has fallen by more than 50% as the populations of other species continue to decline.
- Greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change have almost doubled while the impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly apparent.
- The world has lost more than 48% of tropical and sub-tropical forests.
If we allow average global temperatures to rise 2℃ above pre-industrial levels, for example, feedback mechanisms will kick in that lead to runaway climate change. We're already halfway to this limit and could pass it in the next few decades.
What's going wrong?
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