The document discusses concepts related to sustainability including carrying capacity, ecological footprint, and the IPAT equation. It provides data on historical and projected world population growth. Examples are given showing the ecological footprint of different countries and how it is calculated based on factors like energy use, agriculture, transportation, housing, goods and services. The human development index is also introduced as a broader measure than GDP for assessing well-being. Graphs illustrate the relationship between increasing HDI, ecological footprint, and the goal of transitioning to sustainable development.

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How is the world today?

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What the hell are we talking about?
 What is sustainability? What is Sustainable development?
 ????

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What the hell are we talking about?
FOR ALL
FOR EVER
www.happyplanetindex.org

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Concepts
 Carrying capacity
 In ecology: carrying capacity in the maximum number of any
species that a habitat can support along the time
 What happens when the carrying capacity is overcome?
 As humans which is our habitat?
 Which is our carrying capacity as humans in our habitat?
• It depends on:
– The humans “needs” to live.
– The Tech used to fulfill those “needs” in terms of
resources/waste/pollution
– Our social organization and its resilience.

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Concepts
 Ecological footprint
 Redefines carrying capacity as the surface of productive
earth and water needed to maintain a population at a
certain standard of living. Units: gha.

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Concepts
 IPAT equation
I=PAT
 I – Impact to environment
 P – Population
 A – Affluence: products/services consumed per person (sufficiency)
 T – Impact to environment for unit of product/service. (Tech efficiency +
effectiveness)

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Population
Font: Population Division of the
Department of Economic and
Social Affairs of the United Nations
Secretariat (2007).

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Population
 World population
1950-2050
Font: Population Division of
the Department of
Economic and Social
Affairs of the United
Nations Secretariat (2007).

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Població
 Distribució de la població per edats i per regions: projecció mitjana.
Font: Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United
Nations Secretariat (2007).

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Affluence
 Resum
Font: Population Division of the
Department of Economic and
Social Affairs of the United Nations
Secretariat (2007).

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Concepts
 IPAT exercice.
I=PAT
 I – Impact to environment in 2050 = 50% of current situation
 P – Population
 A – Affluence: products/services consumed per person
•  2% annual in “developed” countries (20% population)
• Developing countries (80% population) the same development as
“developed” by 2050.
 T – Impact to environment for unit of product/service.
• ???????
– 2 => 50%
– 3 => 66%
– 4 => 75%

12. What does the EF measure?
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 Consumption of food and materials: in relation to the surface of earth and seas
biologically productive needed to produce that natural resources.
 Consumption of energy: on the basis of the surface necessary to absorb the
correlatives emissions of CO2.
• The measuring is done in “units of surface”. A surface’s unit is equivalent to an hectare of
world productivity average.

13. Evaluation Matrix
A C F
Ecological Footprint B D E
Fossil Agricultural Forestry TOTAL
[ha/capita] Degradation Cereals Pastures
energy growing running
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1 ALIMENTATION
11 Vegetables
12 Animal
2 HOUSING
21 Construction
22 Operation
3 TRANSPORT
31 Private
32 Public
33 Of products
4 CONSUMPTIN GOODS
41 Packing
42 Clothing
43 Furniture
44 Books/Journals
45 Tobacco/Alcohol
46 Personal care
47 Recreational
equipment
48 Others
5 SERVICES
51 Government + Army
52 Education
53 Health
54 Social Services
55 Tourism
56 Culture
57 Banking/Financing
58 Others
TOTAL

14. Example: Canada 1991
A C F
Ecological Footprint B D E
Fossil Agricultural Forestry TOTAL
[ha/capita] Degradation Cereals Pastures
energy growing running
1 ALIMENTATION 0.33 0.02 0.60 0.33 0.02 1.30
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11 Vegetables 0.14 0.02 0.18 0.01
12 Animal 0.19 0.42 0.33 0.01
2 HOUSING 0.41 0.08 0.002 0.40 0.89
21 Construction 0.06 0.35
22 Operation 0.35 0.05
3 TRANSPORT 0.79 0.10 0.89
31 Private 0.60
32 Public 0.07
33 Of products 0.12
4 CONSUMPTIN GOODS 0.52 0.01 0.06 0.13 0.17 0.89
41 Packing 0.10 0.04
42 Clothing 0.11 0.02 0.13
43 Furniture 0.06 0.03
44 Books/Journals 0.06 0.10
45 Tobacco/Alcohol 0.06 0.04
46 Personal care 0.03
47 Recreational equipment 0.10
48 Others 0.00
5 SERVICES 0.29 0.01 0.30
51 Government + Army 0.06
52 Education 0.08
53 Health 0.08
54 Social Services 0.00
55 Tourism 0.01
56 Culture 0.01
57 Banking/Financing 0.00
58 Others 0.05
TOTAL 2.34 0.20 0.02 0.66 0.46 0.59 4.27

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Global values Informe Living planet 2010
 World availability per
capita: 1.8 units
 Word consumption 2,7
units =>
50% higher
than availability

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Local Ecological Footprint,
Available 4 1/2
Available 4
Available 3
Available 2
Available

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UA

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UA

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Ecological Footprint evolution

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The human development index
Human development index (HDI) looks beyond GDP to a broader definition of
wellbeing.
The HDI provides a composite measure of three dimensions of human
development:
• living a long and healthy life (measured by life expectancy),
• being educated (measured by adult literacy and enrolment at the primary,
secondary and tertiary level) and
• having a decent standard of living (measured by purchasing power parity,
income).
The index is not in any sense a comprehensive measure of human development.
It does not, for example, include important indicators such as respect for human
rights, democracy and inequality. What it does provide is a broadened prism for
viewing human progress and the complex relationship between income and well-
being.

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The human development index

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The human development index

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The human development index

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HDI - EF

29. From “clasic development” to sustainable development
www.upc.edu : chemin du développement "classique"
Besoins des
générations : chemins du développement durable
actuelles
/5 /3
Indicateur de développement humain –IDH)
1
0,9 développement durable
0,8
0,7
les « chemins »
0,6 souhaitables diffèrent
mais tentent de susciter
0,5 une convergence à long
0,4 terme écologiquement
viable et politiquement
0,3 acceptable.
0,2
0,1
0 Besoins des
11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 générations
futures
Empreinte écologique (ha/hab)
d’après Aurélien Boutaud, ENSMSE, RAE C. Brodhag, http://www.brodhag.org

30. HDI - EF
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Social problems
 Unbalances

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Social problems
Font: PNUD 2008

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Concepts
 Exercise 2
 Evaluate current carrying capacity of the earth. (% of current population)
 Evaluate current carrying capacity if everybody live as a OECD citizen (% of
current population)

34. The current world view
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Economy laws are
‘inevitable’ - market
laws
Environment
Environment is used to fulfill
(‘technology
the demands of the Economy
can fix it’) laws. (Resources, waste and
pollution absorption)
Economy
(‘inevitable laws’)
Society adapts to the
inevitable economy laws:
As much money as sooner as
Society possible.

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But this is what we all ultimately
depend on for life - so...

36. Engineers provide the interfaces...
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Environmental laws are
‘inevitable’ - laws of nature.
Products
Environment nurtures,
supports and makes
possible….
Society - which has a
Economy mixture of instinctive and
learned/cultural laws
- invented!
Society has invented, to
serve society’s purposes….
Society
Environment Economy - whose rules and
practices are totally ‘invented’
Infrastructure - ‘inevitable’ by society
SO: why do so many regard Economic laws as ‘inevitable’ (globalisation, etc); but
Environmental laws, and limits, as manipulable?

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Current trend evolution

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Current trend evolution

39. Energy
www.upc.edu intensity (J/h) Activity Happiness
Sex 4,7
Socialising 4,0
Relaxing 3,9
Very low (zero)
Praying/meditating 3,8
Eating 3,8
Exercising 3,8
Watching TV 3,6
Shopping 3,2
Use of appliances: Preparing food 3,2
medium high Talking in phone 3,1
Taking care of children 3,0
Computer/internet 3,0
Housework 3,0
Working 2,7
Commuting: high Commuting 2,6
Source: (Holmberg & Nässen 2011) and (Kahneman et al. 2004)