World need responsible development which takes place within the framework laid down by nature, not at the expense of nature and the environment.

Continued growth, combined with a rapid increase in population and unchanged production and consumption patterns, increases pressure on the biosphere. Many people including economists do not understand the costs of environmental degradation. The national accounts, our way of calculating growth, do not include these costs. Therefore, actual economic growth in both rich and poor countries is smaller than what is generally believed. Growth and development are not the same thing. The type of growth is of crucial importance.

China's rapid growth is now a driving force in the global economy and is achieving unprecedented rates of poverty reduction. However, growth is also seriously damaging the natural resource base and generating major environmental liabilities. The country's environmental problems include land degradation, deteriorating water quality and water scarcity, severe air pollution and declining natural forest cover. These problems threaten the health and prospects of current and future generations and are undermining the sustainability of long-term growth.

SIDA Report: Growth and the Environment by Thomas Sterner - In this valuable publication, Professor Thomas Sterner, a leading environmental economist, demonstrates that a long-term poverty reduction and economic growth is impossible without taking into consideration the natural resources and the environment that people depend upon for their livelihoods.

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Human Development Report 2016 - We have every reason to hope that trans-formation in human development is possible. What seem to be challenges today can be overcome tomorrow. The world has fewer than 15 years to achieve its bold agenda of leaving no one out.

Closing the human development gap is critical, as is ensuring the same, or even better, opportunities for future generations. Human development has to be sustained and sustainable and has to enrich every human life so that we have a world where all people can enjoy peace and prosperity.