Sustainability science

Abstract

Sustainable development has occupied a place on the global agenda since at least the Brundtland Commission's 1987 report "Our Common Future." The prominence of that place has been rising, however. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan reflected a growing consensus when he wrote in his Millennium Report to the United Nations General Assembly that "Freedom from want, freedom from fear, and the freedom of future generations to sustain their lives on this planet" are the three grand challenges facing the international community at the dawn of the 21st century. Though visions of sustainability vary across regions and circumstances, a broad international agreement has emerged that its goals should be to foster a transition toward development paths that meet human needs while preserving the earth's life support systems and alleviating hunger and poverty. Science and technology are increasingly recognised to be central to both the origins of sustainability challenges, and to the prospects for successfully dealing with them. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2006.