Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The three WWF scenarios are distinct from previous economic exercises
due to the focus on ecosystem services and their ability to support humanity. The
scenarios begin in 1960 and run until 2100.
Figure 13.4
suggests the outcome of the
alternative approaches.
A similar line of analysis was presented by Nicholas Stern (2007: xv) in his
international report on
The Economics of Climate Change
. He concluded that the
cost of reducing carbon emissions was likely to be about 1 per cent of global gross
domestic product, while inaction would lead to a cost of between 5 and 20 per cent
of global GDP. In short, Stern found that the costs of a business-as-usual scenario
are extortionate and far outweigh the savings that could be achieved by immediate
government action.
CONCLUSION
The ecological footprint metric is still being developed and refined. Adopting this
measure - or something similar - will be controversial. It forces governments (and
people) to compare the current ecological demands placed on the planet with the
capacity of the earth's life-supporting ecosystems. It strongly suggests that we are not
living within the sustainable limits of the planet. Ecosystems are suffering, and the
further we continue down this path of unsustainable consumption, the more difficult
it will become to protect (and restore) the planet's biodiversity. Governments will be
unable to address this question properly until they have an agreed way to monitor
and measure the problem. The challenges are huge. They are addressable, but it will
require concerted action at local and international levels and significant changes in
resource intensive sectors such as construction.
Key Points 13.7
❍
The ecological footprint measures the natural resource consumption
required to support the existing standard of living. Calculations have been
carried out for 150 nations.
❍
The Global Footprint Network's vision is to make the ecological footprint
as prominent a metric as the gross domestic product (GDP) by 2015.
❍
The global ecological footprint changes with population size, average
consumption per person, resource efficiency, changes to technology,
recycling, and attitudes to conservation.
