• 2030 – Eight billion people live on our Earth
• 2030 – Three people out of four don’t have enough water
• 2030 – Demand for water exceeds supply by 40 percent
• 2035 – Demand for primary energy has doubled from today’s levels
• 2050 – Agriculture must produce 70 percent more than today
• 2050 – HUMANITY NEEDS NOT ONE BUT THREE PLANET EARTHS

The question is not whether we change the world, but how and when. Every sphere of policy, economy and society must play its part.

Twenty years after the first global sustainability summit in Rio de Janeiro the world community will convene at the Rio+20 summit to discuss how to shape global development. The stability of ecosystems such as rain forests, seas and deserts, is vital to sustainable development. Population explosion, climate change and excessive resource consumption are putting increasing pressure on ecosystems. To devise long-term solutions for the management of ecosystems greater attention must be devoted to the interplay between diverse sectors. Every sphere of policy, economy and society must accept responsibility.

The green economy transformation aims to deliver solutions. BONN PERSPECTIVES seeks to lend this debate new momentum.

The green economy transformation – the conversion of conventional economies into ecologically and socially optimised ones – will be the crucial paradigm for the next decades. The successful transformation to a green economy is a task for the whole global society. It involves far more than green technologies or the question of how to break the link between resource consumption and economic growth. Green economy transformation means entering a new age. This is why changes in perspective are at the forefront of BONN PERSPECTIVES: they promote a new quality of cooperation for the green economy transformation.

Ecosystems

Ecosystems – water, forests or soil, for example – are the natural capital that makes life on earth possible. Ecosystems are complex and dynamic habitats. They are interdependent and interactive. Their stability should be top priority. By taking a close look at ecosystems and their interaction, BONN PERSPECTIVES addresses the question of how to bring about the social restructuring necessary for a green economy.

Managing Ecosystems

Ecosystems management is concerned with the responsible use of habitats. Intelligent solutions are needed to avoid pushing the biosphere to the limits of what it can support. The burdens of population explosion, climate change and resource overexploitation are becoming more and more difficult for Earth’s ecosystems to bear. Modern energy use and production, capable and at the same time green cities and a sustainable business management are essential instruments of a green economy transformation.