Name: Are we the last generation — or the first sustainable one?
Uploaded: 2023-09-22T14:54:43Z
Duration: 13 min 37 s
Description: The word "sustainability" gets thrown around a lot these days. But what does it actually mean for humanity to be sustainable? Environmental data scientist Hannah Ritchie digs into the numbers behind human progress across centuries, unpacking why the conventional understanding of sustainability is misleading and showing how we can be the first generation of humans to actually achieve it.

The word "sustainability" gets thrown around a lot these days. But what does it actually mean for humanity to be sustainable? Environmental data scientist Hannah Ritchie digs into the numbers behind human progress across centuries, unpacking why the conventional understanding of sustainability is misleading and showing how we can be the first generation of humans to actually achieve it.

Are we the last generation — or the first sustainable one?

The idea that humanity is doomed by its own progress is widespread, but recent data tells a different story. For the first time in history, the world is seeing falling emissions per person, plummeting costs for renewables, and increased quality of life for billions. Advances like a 99.8 percent drop in the cost of solar power and declining global deforestation suggest that technology can help decouple prosperity from environmental harm. True sustainability means not just saving the planet, but ensuring everyone can live well.

Human Progress and Sustainability Can Finally Move Together

Humanity has never truly been sustainable, as even ancient societies relied on tiny populations and high child mortality. Recent decades show that it is possible to reduce carbon emissions and increase prosperity at the same time, with UK per-capita emissions now half their 1970s level despite greater wealth. Rapid declines in the cost of solar, wind, and batteries are fueling a global shift toward cleaner energy and falling deforestation rates. The future can be both prosperous and sustainable if society chooses innovation over sacrifice.