[ralfy]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_co ... _footprint

World biocapacity per capita is 1.8 global hectares but ave. footprint per capita is 2.7.

[TheAntiDoomer]

50 years from now: 2062Writer: What Tverberg Missed. LOL

[autonomous]

UNEP’s Green Economy Report, entitled "Towards a Green Economy"

A transition to a green economy is already underway,
a point underscored in the report and a growing wealth of companion
studies by international organizations, countries, corporations
and civil society. But the challenge is clearly to build on this
momentum. New ideas are by their very nature disruptive,
but far less disruptive than a world running low on drinking water and
productive land, set against the backdrop of climate change,
extreme weather events and rising natural resource scarcities.

As regards to food security, we are seeing neither
widespread understanding of the nature of the problem,
nor globally collaborative solutions for how we shall feed
a population of 9 billion by 2050. Freshwater scarcity
is already a global problem, and forecasts suggest a
growing gap by 2030 between annual freshwater
demand and renewable supply. The outlook for improved
sanitation still looks bleak for over 2.6 billion people; 884
million people still lack access to clean drinking water.
Collectively, these crises are severely impacting our
ability to sustain prosperity worldwide and to achieve
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for reducing
extreme poverty. They are compounding persistent social
problems from job losses, socio-economic insecurity and
poverty, and threatening social stability.

Although the causes of these crises vary, at a fundamental
level they all share a common feature: the gross
misallocation of capital. During the last two decades,
much capital was poured into property, fossil fuels and
structured financial assets with embedded derivatives, but
relatively little in comparison was invested in renewable
energy, energy efficiency, public transportation,
sustainable agriculture, ecosystem and biodiversity
protection, and land and water conservation. Indeed,
most economic development and growth strategies
encouraged rapid accumulation of physical, financial and
human capital, but at the expense of excessive depletion
and degradation of natural capital, which includes our
endowment of natural resources and ecosystems.

UNEP’s Green Economy Report, entitled Towards a
Green Economy, aims to debunk several myths and
misconceptions about the economics of "greening"
the global economy, and provides timely and practical
guidance to policy makers on what reforms they need
to unlock the productive and employment potential of
a green economy.

Perhaps the most widespread myth is that there is
an inescapable trade-off between environmental
sustainability and economic progress. There is now
substantial evidence that the "greening" of economies
neither inhibits wealth creation nor employment
opportunities, and that there are many green sectors
which show significant opportunities for investment and
related growth in wealth and jobs. A caveat, however, is
that there is a need to establish new enabling conditions
to promote the transition to a green economy, and this is
where urgent action is required of policy makers around
the world.

A second myth is that a green economy is a luxury only
wealthy countries can afford, or worse, a developed-world
imposition to restrain development and perpetuate
poverty in developing countries. Contrary to this
perception, we find there are a plethora of examples of
greening transitions taking place in various sectors in the
developing world, which deserve to be emulated and
replicated elsewhere. Towards a Green Economy brings
some of these examples to light and highlights their
scope for wider application.

Green agriculture is characterized by shifting
both industrial and subsistence farming towards
ecologically sound farming practices such as efficient
use of water, extensive use of organic and natural soil
nutrients, optimal tillage, and integrated pest control.
Building green agriculture requires physical capital
assets, financial investments, research and capacity
building in five key areas: soil fertility management;
more efficient and sustainable water use; crop and
livestock diversification; biological plant and animal
health management; and appropriate farm level
mechanization.

Furthermore, studies have
documented that conversion of farms to sustainable
practices have resulted in large productivity gains. A
review of 286 "best practice" projects across 12.6 million
farms in 57 developing countries found that adopting
resource-conserving practices (such as integrated
pest management, integrated nutrient management,
low-tillage farming, agroforestry, acquaculture, water
harvesting and livestock integration) resulted in average
yield increases of 79%, while improving the supply of
critical environmental services.

Our modelling indicates that adoption of sustainable farming
methods also has the potential to transform agriculture from a major
emitter of greenhouse gasses to one of net neutrality and
possibly a GHG sink, while reducing deforestation and
freshwater use by 55% and 35% respectively.

http://www.ipu.org/splz-e/rio+20/rpt-unep.pdf