1. Sustainability

2. Sustainable development tries to make sense of the interactions of three complex systems: the world economy, the global society, and the Earth’s physical environment. Sustainable development calls for socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable economic growth. Introduction

3. What causes economic growth? Why does poverty persist? What happens when billions of people are suddenly interconnected through markets, technology, finance, and social networks? Is there a way to combine economic development with environmental sustainability? Some Questions

4. The world population continues to rise rapidly, by around 75-80 million people per year. There will be 8 billion by the 2020s, and perhaps 9 billion by the early 2040s. Population

5. The world economy is vast, growing rapidly (by 3-4 percent per year in scale). It is highly unequal in the distribution of income within countries and between countries. The poorest of the poor face the challenges of insufficient nutrition, lack of health care, unsafe shelters, and the lack of safe drinking water and sanitation. Economy

6. Humanity is changing the Earth’s climate; the availability of fresh water; the ocean chemistry; and the habitats of other species. The Earth itself is undergoing changes in the functioning of key processes – such as the cycles of water, nitrogen, and carbon – upon which life depends. The environment

7. Core functions of government: Social services such as healthcare and education; infrastructure such as roads, ports, and power; protection from crime and violence; promotion of basic science and new technologies, implementation of regulations to protect the environment. Governance

8. Multinational companies are often the most powerful actors. They should: Obey the law, respect the natural environment, and help the communities in which they operate. However they often carry out: Bribery of officials to bend regulations or tax policies in their favor; tax evasion; money laundering;environmental damage. Governance

9. What is the current world population? What is sustainable development? Questions