1 Our Common Journey

The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Second Inaugural Address, January 20, 1937) Over the last two decades, as appreciation of the challenge of “sus-tainable development ” has very rapidly grown, the term has beenused with diverse and evolving meanings in public debate and the scholarly literature. At the outset of our analysis, we therefore look at these various uses of the term. Next, we review action that has been taken in pursuit of sustainability goals since the 1987 publication of the World Commission on Environment and Development’s report (often called “the Brundtland report”) Our Common Future. In the heart of this chapter, we develop our concept of a “transition toward sustainability”— a transition over the early decades of the 21st century in which a stabiliz-ing world population comes to meet its needs by moving away from actions that degrade the planet’s life support systems and living resources, while moving toward those that sustain and restore these systems and resources. Moreover, this transition would move away from actions that widen disparities in human welfare and toward measures that reduce hunger and poverty. Ours is a normative vision of sustainability, which in our view is defined by the joint objectives of meeting human needs while preserving life support systems and reducing hunger and poverty. This vision is firmly anchored in the goals and aspirations of the world community as expressed through major international conventions and commissions of the past decade. Finally, in this chapter, we close with a brief exposition of the role of science and technology in this transition—a role that we see above all as one of fostering rapid and effective social learning