Sustainable National Income - Transition To Environmental Sustainability

Transition To Environmental Sustainability

With the present technology, population size as well as production and consumption patterns, the sustainable situation governments say they strive for cannot be reached. Given the distance to be bridged, achieving environmental sustainability will require a fairly long period. Besides many environmental measures have a time lag, sometimes of a few decades. The length of the period of the transition path to a sustainable situation is only limited by the condition that vital environmental functions must not be irreparably damaged. In view of the threat that this may happen it seems urgent to wait no longer with a change of course in the direction of sustainability. On account of the precautionary principle no technological progress during the transition period is anticipated. This is measured afterwards on the basis of the development of the distance (écart) between the SNI and the NI in the course of time.