STOCKHOLM: People are testing the limits of the Earth and its resources, and to achieve a good life for everyone on the planet, they will have to share things like food, water and energy in a more equal and sustainable way, scientists said on Monday.

Nearly 1,000 researchers have gathered in Stockholm this week to work out ways to halt deforestation, protect coral reefs, avoid the collapse of fish stocks, make food healthier, and build cities that can cope with climate change.

The Resilience 2017 conference aims to chart a path through today’s turbulent times, by bolstering “resilience” — which means becoming more adept at living with pressures like a financial crisis or a flood, and using that ability to transform societies and economies for the better.

“If we are serious about our human wellbeing — from local communities to the global world economy — we need to now reconnect our entire world to the planet,” said Johan Rockstrm, director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC), one of the organisations hosting the conference.

There are signs this is starting to happen among different groups, from policy makers to businesses, he said.

For example, the global seafood industry has been forced to think about how to look after the oceans and sea life, as about 70 per cent of the world’s fish stocks are on the verge of collapse, he noted.

The Sustainable Development Goals, agreed by UN member states in 2015 as a route to end poverty and hunger, among other key challenges, signalled the “first roadmap” towards a more responsible approach to stewarding the planet, Rockstrm added.

But there will always be actors who want to disrupt progress, he warned. Today, they include US President Donald Trump who has said he will withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement to curb climate change, and plans to use fossil fuels like coal to drive his country’s economic growth. Rockstrm described Trump as “the voice of a dinosaur”.

Under the Republican’s leadership, the US administration is saying “we’re only concerned about our own short-term success, and ... we’re not taking planetary, ethical responsibility for everyone’s right to have good lives”, the scientist said.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2017