Salahuddin Khawaja

The Age of Sustainable Development

Based on Dr. Jeff Sach’s MOOC

Intro to Sustainable Development

I

To understand Sustainable Development, we need to look at the population and how it is growing

* Darker shades reflect denser population

7Current

World Population:

Billion

Has increased fold

7

7(since the beginning of the industrial revolution)

7

And is growing!!

So with that context, what exactly is Sustainable Development?

`

Sustainable development is 2 ideas:

Set sustainable goals How we make the world prosperous, fair and sustainable?

Way to understand this world How economic,

social, environment and political factors fit

together

21

`

`

Sustainable development is 2 ideas:

Set sustainable goals How we make the world prosperous, fair and sustainable?

Way to understand this world How economic,

social, environment and political factors fit

together

21

We live in an interconnected world

Our approach to how we live connects us

to the physical

world

We are the changing our world in unprecedented ways

Species Extinction

Air Quality

Climate ChangeOcean

Chemistry

Extraordinary times calls for extraordinary measures.

Solutions will be complex.

So embracing complexity is the only option.

Using technology in the right way will part of the solution

Train powered by renewable energy

Train powered by fossil fuel

How do we understand the complicated challenges we face?

`Economic Social

PoliticalEnvironment

4 dimensions to the puzzle of understanding our world

*“Way to understand this world” is an analytical approach, looking holistically at society

`Wealth

Social Inclusion

Well Governed

Environmental

Sustainability

4 dimensions to looking at how to set

sensible goals

*“Set sustainable goals” is also considered a Normative/ethical approach

Putting it together –Fundamental question

?

How can we use our knowledge of the interconnections of the economy, society, environment and governance . . .

?

?. . . and think through this crowded 21st century, massive poverty and inequality and environmental stress . . .

?. . . to achieve the goal of a wealth society, that is socially inclusive, environmentally sustainable and well governed?

Economic Growth and Progress

II

`

Economic well being and prosperity is one crucial aspect of Sustainable Development

`

There have been great gains in economic well being

`

There have been great gains in economic well being

The industrial revolution launched

decades of growth

`

Population has grown alongside economic output

Since 1950 the population has almost tripled

We crossed the 7B in 2011 and are on track to hit 8B by 2024 and 9B by 2040s

The economic and population growth has come at a cost: impact to the planet

(this is a challenge for Sustainable Development)

Alongside population and economic growth has come improved health

Infant mortality has decreased to 72% since 1950

Life expectancy has increased by 51%

This shows that progress of all forms is achievable

The key challenge is to

ensure that progress is

inclusive and environmentally sustainable, otherwise the gains we have made will be

fleeting.

Continuing Poverty

III

Many countries have escaped from economic hardship, but the prosperity has not been broad based

- 37 -

1 Billion people live in extreme poverty

(face a daily struggle to survive)

Income might be a core part of

poverty, but there are others:

Electricity Basic

EducationSanitation

Safe WaterHealth

ServicesFood

`̀

Huge variation in income levels exist

`̀

As well as infant mortality

Poverty is mainly concentrated in two regions: Tropical Africa& South Asia

Even in developed countries there are significant pockets of poverty as a result of the uneven distribution of income

A favela (shantytown)

of 200,000 people in Rio, right

next to high end buildings

Geography of wealth & poverty is complex (not only across regions but within

countries)

Environmental Threats

IV

We have become a threat to ourselves

Economic production

has become so large

Population has increased vastly

World economic output: 8

5 Trillian

$

per year

Physical earth is being overwhelmed

`

Energy we are burning

Pollution from the chemicals used

Water we are using

Land we are used to feed the planet

By the:

We are facing an unprecedented climate crises (droughts, floods, heat waves, forest fires, etc.)

As the # of storms increases, so does the economic disruption

This is the new normal. As such, scientists have given our age a new name:

Anthropecene: the

human age of the planet

`

The planet is changing fundamentally as a result of

human activity

Warming the atmosphere

Causing the oceans to be more acidic

Changing the Water cycle

Melting the Glaciers

Polluting the air

Extinction of other species

The main driver for this is humanity’s massive use of fossil fuels

`̀

As a result Carbon Dioxide concentration has increased

This is what is causing massive disruption to the climate systems

`

Other factors are at play:

Carbon Dioxide is making ocean more

acidic

Using large amounts of nitrogen based

fertilizersWay we are using water

Chopping Trees to make room for farm land

Increase in

Population

=+

Planet systems are being

threatened

Economic Activity

How? By trespassing planetary boundaries

Profound risks in trespassing planetary boundaries

Profound risks in trespassing planetary boundariesSustainable development

is the science of understanding these risks

and what we can do to stay within the safe

operating limits

Balancing act: Honor the limits as we continue to improve our well-being

PathsV

We have two paths that we can take:

vs.Business as Usual

Path

Sustainable Development

Path

21

Path 1: Business as Usual – entails staying the course

Pros

Overall progress (economic growth, infant mortality decreasing)

Poverty has declined

Technology has advanced

ConsPros

Not sustainable

Boundaries are being trespassed (climate disasters, etc.)

Overall progress (economic growth, infant mortality decreasing)

Poverty has declined

Technology has advanced

Growth is not inclusive

There has to be a better way, where the growth is inclusive and environmentally sustainable

Path 2: Sustainable Development

By 2030 70% of the population will live in cities

So, the path to sustainable development will be sustainable

cities

`

Smarter Cities

Clean EnergySmart

Transport Smart

Architecture

Effective Water Use

Recycling Sharing

Let’s take some examples

Electric vehicles charged by electricity produced by clean energy

Wind farms

used to produce

clean energy

Agriculture improvements (e.g. rice that resists flooding)

Urban farming

The path of sustainable development will ensure that everyone (regardless of sex, age, religion, race) has access to food, education and health

The essence of sustainable development is problem solving

A focused, global effort is needed in a short period of time (decades, not centuries) …

- 85 -

To move to a

sustainable developme

nt path

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Barcellos Jr.

The Opte

Project

Miguel Contreras

Allianz Spider Web Azcolvin429 Alex Proimos

Mihael SimonicMichael

Movchin

eathead1962 Chris Lim IRRI Images Lars Karlsson

James

Cridland

Stethoscopes Eliezer Borges Alicia Nijdam Secl Frederic

Bisson

Boston globe

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Salah has 14 years of experience, primarily in the

Financial Services Industry. Before joining JP Morgan

he spent 11 years at Deloitte & Touche helping Fortune

500 clients with various types of Strategic Initiatives.

He believes in the power of Presentations, Storytelling

and Visual Design. That is why he started Decklaration.

Areas of Expertise: Strategy Development, Business

Transformation, System Integration, Program & Project

Management, Mobile Strategy, Data Analytics, Executive

Presentations

Sample Clients: Bank of America, Citi , MasterCard