ABSTRACT
In this chapter I describe the environmental dimension of threefold sustainability and its interrelation with the economic and social dimensions. I also explain why the approach to sustainable development proposed in this book does not focus on climate change but more generally on resource productivity and the planetary boundaries of human life. The approach is based on the Factor 10 concept and on the principle of satisfying human needs with the lowest possible consumption of non-renewable natural resources. This includes not only the resources that go into the product, but also the resources which are used to produce the resources that go into the product. The best instrument to drive resource productivity is dynamic, but reliable taxation. In order to avoid increasing inequality further, there must be some compensation for increasing prices for the lower income groups. A dynamic resource tax provides the necessary incentives for companies and other actors to make use of the huge knowledge and technology already available to reach this goal. Much more knowledge and technology will be added in the years to come. Critical actors both with respect to the production and to the application of knowledge and technology, and in sustainable development, are cities.
