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90 I Gábor Szabó and Szabolcs Diósi Sustainable development actively promotes the dissemination of knowledge and information to give people real choices for a better life while aiming to improve their living standards across every continent. It also seeks to transform the economy into a green economy through the smarter use of resources, which eventually would serve the health and well-being of all. The sustainable development mindset still considers economic growth essential, but understands that progress towards a more developed future cannot be measured only in terms of GDP (European Commission 2001b). In order to improve the quality of life for current and future generations, it is not enough to aim at the general increment of material wealth. The global economy, society, and environment are all parts of one comprehensive system, and to achieve progress, a broader perspective in policymaking is needed. THE STATE OF OUR PLANET People living in the 21“ century are facing many global threats simultaneously. One of the greatest challenges today is the growing ecological debt that humanity has developed - and is still developing - over the last century. The consumption needs of all people living on the planet today are roughly equivalent to 1.7 Earths.' Due to the rapid growth of the world population (which is expected to reach 9.3 billion until the year 2050; see Roser 2019) and the recent economic growth of less developed countries, the pressure on the planet’s ecosystem has never been higher. The exhaustion and depletion of finite natural resources (e.g. freshwater, fertile lands, forests, fresh air) threaten the loss of the planet’s biodiversity, as well as endanger the life of the human species as a whole. The trends are still unfavourable today. The global consumption of material resources increased fourteen-fold between 1900 and 2015, and it is predicted to more than double between 2015 and 2050 (European Commission 2018, 12). The degradation of the natural environment and the reduction of energy reserves is complemented with a similarly significant threat: climate change. The decade between 2010 and 2019 was the warmest in recorded history, and despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which slowed down economic activity worldwide, the concentrations of greenhouse gases continued to increase in 2020, reaching new record highs. The year 2020 was one of the three warmest years on record, with the global average temperature about 1.2 °C above the 1850-1900 baseline (United Nations 2021, 52). Extreme weather conditions including massive wildfires, hurricanes, droughts, floods, reduced rainfall, and rising sea levels are threatening the life and living standards of people in most nations across the world. * Global Footprint Network data available at: https://www.footprintnetwork.org/our-work/ ecological-footprint
