The Age of Sustainable Development

Jeff Sachs’s admirable book explains what sustainable development means, why it matters, and our history in relation to our environment. It shows how the pattern of growth we have followed has placed intense strains on our planet and generated severe risks to our lives and livelihoods. Above all, it explains clearly where we can go and how to get there. It describes a potential future of great attraction in terms of wellbeing, community, and prosperity, properly understood. It should, and I hope it will, strengthen both understanding of the great choices we face and the resolve to act. It is a splendid achievement.

There are very few authors that can so effectively rally the masses around an important cause—one that in this case concerns our collective future. There are still too few leaders with knowledge about global sustainable development challenges to affect the scalable changes that are needed.

Professor Sachs’s book is a comprehensive summary of complex issues, but it breaks them down and makes them digestible and understandable while making the imperative clear. It will clearly contribute significantly in closing the gap between science and policy and hopefully serve as a catalyst for action.

As the concept of sustainable development comes of age, Jeffrey Sachs takes us on a journey from the intellectual and normative origins to the science of complexity that defines today’s development choices. A compelling and often personal and engaged narrative, The Age of Sustainable Development reads like a “looking glass” through which to glimpse the future—a future still characterized by more questions than answers as to how 9 billion will—together—govern the sustainable development of our planet.

In this era marked by geopolitical and ecological crises, unspeakable structural violence, and unprecedented inequality, on the one hand, and breathtaking advances in science and technology and untold opportunities, on the other, a new narrative for social, economic, and environmental justice is urgently needed. Prof. Sachs, distinguished thinker, commentator, and activist, charts a clear and compelling path, both moral and scientific, which cuts neatly through the increasing complexity and interdependence to the realization of a holistic vision of sustainable development. A very timely handbook to inform and empower all those who have a stake in the post-2015 debate on the future of our planet.

It is truly gratifying that an economist as distinguished as Jeffrey Sachs has authored The Age of Sustainable Development. His vast knowledge in the field and deep insights on various sectors of economic activity make him uniquely qualified to provide a view of the subject. Given the fact that almost a quarter-century has gone by since the Rio Summit of 1992, it is time for an authoritative volume such as the one Professor Sachs has authored for the benefit of global society.