Article on Global Sustainability by President Tarja Halonen and President  Jacob Zuma

Tarja Halonen is the President of the Republic of Finland. Jacob Zuma is the President of the Republic of South Africa. They serve as co-chairs of the UN Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Global Sustainability.

The world is on an unsustainable path and must urgently chart a new course forward, one that brings equity and environmental concerns into the economic mainstream.

To do so, we must put sustainable development into practice now, not in spite of the economic crisis, but because of it.

Our challenges today are many. Economies are teetering, ecosystems are under siege, and inequality - within and between countries - is soaring. Taken together, they are symptoms sharing a root cause, whereby speculative and often narrow interests have superseded common interest, common responsibilities and common sense.

As co-chairs of the High-level Panel on Global Sustainability, we have been asked by the United Nations Secretary-General to work with 20 of the world’s most eminent leaders in grappling with these issues. Our task was clear: how to provide greater opportunity for more people with less impact on our planet.

A quarter century ago, the Brundtland report called for a new paradigm of sustainable development. It stated that durable economic growth, social equality and environmental sustainability are each dependent on the other. Human well-being depends on their integration.

We are convinced this concept is not only sound, but now more relevant than ever. Now we need to put theory into practice by moving sustainable development into mainstream economics and making clear the costs of action - and inaction – today, as well as tomorrow.

By 2030, as the human population swells and appetites increase, the world will need at least 50 percent more food, 45 percent more energy and 30 percent more water. Our planet is approaching and even exceeding scientific tipping points. This has serious implications for how we manage the global commons, and for reducing poverty while enabling legitimate growth aspirations in the developing countries. Developing countries need more time, as well as financial and technological support, to transition to sustainable development.

However, we remain optimistic. Representative democracies are now the world’s dominant form of government. Advances in science have given us better understanding of climate and eco-system risks. Billions of people are connected by technologies that have shrunk the world and expanded the notion of global neighbour. We believe we can summon the wit and will to choose our future, rather than have it choose us.

The greatest risk lies in continuing down our present path. In 2030, a child born this year will come of age. We cannot mortgage her future to pay for an inherently unsustainable and inequitable way of life.

So how do we begin to tackle the massive challenge of retooling our global economy, preserving the environment, and providing greater opportunity and equity, including gender equality, to all? The Panel’s report, “Resilient People, Resilient Planet,” released this week, offers suggestions.

First, measure and price what matters. The marketplace needs to reflect the full ecological and human costs of economic decisions and establish price signals that make transparent the consequences of action – and inaction. Pollution – including carbon - must no longer be free. Price and trade-distorting subsidies should be made transparent and phased-out on fossil fuels by 2020. We also need to build new ways to measure development beyond GDP, and propose a new sustainable development index by 2014.

Second, put science at the center of sustainability. We live in an era of unprecedented human impact on the planet, coupled with unprecedented technological change. Science must signpost the way for more informed and integrated policy-making, including on climate change, biodiversity, ocean and coastal management, water and food scarcities, and planetary boundaries. To see the big picture, we propose a regular Global Sustainability Outlook report that integrates knowledge across sectors and institutions.

Third, incentivize the long view. The tyranny of the urgent is never more absolute than during tough times. We need to privilege long-term thinking over short-term demands, both in the marketplace and the polling place. Limited public funds should be used strategically to unlock greater private investment flows, share risks, and expand access to the building blocks of prosperity, including modern energy services. Millennium Development Goals have served us well. Governments should develop a post-2015 set of universally applicable Sustainable Development Goals that can galvanize long-term action beyond electoral cycles.

Fourth, ramp up resilience for the rough ride ahead. Extreme weather, resource scarcity and price volatility are the new normal. We need to strengthen our resilience by promoting disaster risk reduction, adaptation, and sound safety nets for the most vulnerable. This is an investment in our common future.

Fifth, value equity as opportunity. Inequality and exclusion of women, youth and the poor detracts from global growth and threatens to unravel the compact between society and its institutions. Empowering women has the potential to reap tremendous benefits, not least for the global economy. Ensuring that developing countries have the time and financial and technical support to transition to sustainable development ultimately benefits all. Promoting equity is the right thing to do. It’s also the smart thing to do for lasting prosperity and stability.

No Panel, including ours, has all the answers. But if we work together, we can help steer our world on a safer, more equitable and prosperous course. We call on leaders across all sectors of society to join us. The need is urgent; the opportunity, enormous. Let's seize it.