Sustainability
There is no single definition of the term 'sustainability', but it is commonly understood to mean balancing the demands of people, profit and the planet. It is also about ensuring that these demands can be met now, and by people in the future. Sustainable development therefore means improving the quality of life for everyone and meeting their needs, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
The problem is that globally we are not even meeting everyone's needs in the present let alone considering the needs of future generations. In other words we are living beyond our means. From the loss of biodiversity with the felling of rainforests or overfishing, to the negative effect our use of energy and consumer goods are having on the environment and the climate, our way of life is placing an increasing burden on the planet. This cannot be sustained.
There is only a limited amount of everything on the planet, which needs to be shared. If we use it all up now, it will be gone for our children and grandchildren. And if we cause pollution and climate change while using everything up, the situation for them will be even worse. The current use of the planet's resources is very unequal, with the richer countries using up far more than their fair share, and contributing far more to problems of pollution and climate change. Things need to change if we are going to slow down further climate change, preserve the world's precious resources and help poorer countries work towards sustainable development.