Sustainable Development

Sustainable development does not imply living beyond our means. It doesn’t mean burning our house down to keep warm, nor cutting the branch on which we are seated. Living out of interest, not capital. Personally, I am seriously worried, not only about nature, which we carelessly destroy, but also about the human potential that we waste due to lack of opportunities, and the suffering resulting thereof.

Many think that sustainable development is a strictly “green” concept, something like “save trees and animals”. These topics are important, but I invite you to consider that today 2.8 billion people –almost half of the world population - live on less than two dollars a day. It is these people whom we should include in a real and radical development process.

Sustainable development in a viable option to revalue human dignity, satisfying present needs without forgetting those of future generations. It requires education, more efficient use of resources, more open forms of democracy, as well as society’s participation in decision making. It also requires economic growth, focused on generating more equal opportunities. In order to start walking in this direction, we need, in short, new ways of cooperation between governments, enterprises, and society, and all of us need to work toward finding solutions, under the slogan “the path is our goal”.