Sustainability: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring

The growing concern about global environmental change and human impacts on the planet has led to the emergence of a broad field of study on the 'sustainability' of human societies. The term's common usage can be traced back to the advent of the Earth Summit in 1992 when 'sustainable development' was broadly embraced by the international community as an ostensibly win-win proposition for economic development, social inclusion, and ecological conservation. Yet both the natural science underpinnings and the social implications of a quest for sustainability have been diffuse. There is a need for a coherent synthesis which draws out key themes from both natural and social analysis of the concept.

This Very Short Introduction begins by introducing the concept of sustainability and how it has developed. The central chapters consider four key concepts crucial to sustainability: a) material and energy flows in consumption and production; b) technological interventions for a sustainable society; c) tipping points, and resilience in natural and social systems; and d) renewability and circularity in the economy. In the concluding chapter, Saleem H. Ali explores political means of managing anthropogenic change for a more sustainable society.

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Saleem H. Ali holds the Blue and Gold Distinguished Professorship in Geography and Spatial Sciences at the University of Delaware and is Honorary Professor at the University of Queensland.

He is a National Geographic Explorer (having travelled for research to over 150 countries) and was chosen as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He also served on the seven-member science panel of the Global Environment Facility (the world's largest multilateral trust fund for the environment, held in trusteeship by the World Bank). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Royal Geographical Society in the United Kingdom, and serves on the boards of Adventure Scientists and Mediators Beyond Borders International. His books include Treasures of the Earth: Need Greed and a Sustainable Future, Environmental Diplomacy (OUP, 2014), and Earthly Order (OUP, 2022).