Where are we trying to go?
What is a sustainable world? According to some, it is a world in which we learn to live within our means, and temper our appetites and our behaviour to that end. It is a world characterized by reduced material consumption, a changed ethic regarding what matters in life, and a very different attitude towards nature and human community. According to others it is a world in which we unleash our entrepreneurial and competitive drive towards excellence in the direction of greater eco-efficiency and green technology. It is a world in which technological change and innovation usher in a new era of environmentally and socially benign growth.
Can these visions coincide? What is striking to me is that proponents of each strongly believes that the other side lives in a fool’s paradise, promoting solutions that will not solve our problems but in the end actually make things worse. To think we can grow ourselves out of the problem is a dangerous delusion, says one side. To imagine that we can turn back the clock on technology and progress is self-defeating, says the other.
Yet, in the short-term, proponents of both of these views exist in uneasy alliance with each other. Both sides recognize the importance of sustainability, and the need to change the path we are on. And there is much in common in the immediate agendas of both sides. Improved energy efficiency and renewable energy, clean tech industry, and carbon pricing are all examples of the kinds of goals and policies shared by both sides.
So will the two arguments start to diverge significantly? Do we have to choose between them? Or will hybrid possibilities emerge that make these differences not so much incorrect as irrelevant? However it plays out, I think we are in for interesting times in the sustainability field.