ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part explores the exigent issues, big debates and influential concepts in sustainability and development, and reflects on how these could translate in practice into potential pathways for sustainability. It looks at how it has originated and evolved. The part observes how notions such as equity, justice, and fairness are excluded in the way in which planetary boundaries are drawn. It argues that the current conceptualization of planetary boundaries tends to restrict actions to technical interventions such as geoengineering. The part focuses on another term that has quickly gained resonance across the academic, policy and public realms: that is, the Anthropocene. It traces the history of thinking on the linkages between gender and environment, arguing that gendered differences in our perceptions and experiences of the environment reflect the intersectional nature of identities.
