ABSTRACT

The World Commission on Environment and Development suggests that sustainable development should meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This suggests that sustainable development must take a holistic view of the balance between the human need to improve the quality of life and well-being, and the need to preserve natural resources and ecosystems. Sustainable development has become one of the key concepts in the twenty-first century in the present context of global warming, climate change, and population growth. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated in 2007 that worsening climate change would create intensification of the hydrological cycle and result in sea-level rise, causing disruption to the lives of millions of people living on shores. The variable and more intense pattern of rainfall will cause floods and drought at the same time in different parts of the earth, which is already evident. Further, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the atmosphere will cause deterioration in water quality and soil moisture and toxic air unsuitable for breathing. Carbon dioxide (CO2), water, and the ecological footprint have become the central foci in sustainable development. We want a low-carbon economy, if possible with zero CO2 emission. This would go a long way toward improving the climate and reducing global warming. Figures 1.1 and 1.2 show how these problems are controlled or corrected by the natural environment.