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"Sustainable Development" published on by Oxford University Press.

The author argues that sustainability of a global environment depends on implementation of current knowledge & capacities to manage the transition to a sustainable future. A historical account of a paradigm shift away from Baconian attitudes about nature is evidenced by international environmental conferences, but evidence shows that human's increased capacity to manage the environment has not been matched by the will to do so. The author argues that governance is our greatest challenge to manage issues such as water & food security, & that all expert sources need to adopt systemic, integrated & multi-disciplinary approaches for the transition to sustainability. Suggestions are offered for a system of governance advocating greater involvement of civil society, & the role of the UN in global commons issues. References. J. Harwell

"The Copenhagen Summit on a Post-Kyoto regulation of Climate Change in December 2009 demonstrated the urgency of action to be taken to save our planet from many more man-made disasters (UN 2009). At the centre of the environmental problems, which were created by modern capitalism and industrialisation, is the production process, i.e. labour. The responsibility lies in the decisionmaking process about who, decides what, when, how, where and for whom products and services are made (Szell 1994 a, b). Henceforth, for a sustainable future all stakeholders have to be involved. Environmental problems are global ones, however, manifest themselves on the local and regional level. Therefore the need for coordinated action of science, civil society, business and politics on these levels to stop further degradation and develop sustainable alternatives. For this purpose innovation - not only technological but foremost social innovation - is necessary. To promote innovations education and research are at the forefront. Better education for the biggest possible number and research, which is truly interdisciplinary, are preconditions. Education and research are first of all public goods. Their privatisation and commercialisation have led to ignorance about environmental problems, focussing largely on growth and profitmaking. Instead the public sector has to be strengthened - preventing at the same time widespread corruption - to allow sustainable education and research. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is another important issue. CSR means social and environmental responsibility. In this context trade unions and works councils have a special duty, not only in formulating sustainable business strategies, but especially in implementing them. China has recently become the third biggest national economy in the world, and will certainly - with its ongoing high growth rates - soon overtake Japan and the USA as well to become number one. However, its boom over the last three decades has been highly paid with large environmental destruction. Some of its cities and regions are amongst the most polluted ones in the world. A central rote for sustainability - like in many other Third World countries - plays the informal sector, which by its definition is unregulated - not only socially, but also environmentally. A specific challenge in this regard is migration. China has even officially some 225 million migrant workers, who are suffering from and at the same time producing environmental hazards (ITUC 2010; Szell 2010). China's future will decide about the future of our sustainability and by it of the future of humankind. Therefore to hold this important congress in Peking - at one of its most prestigious universities and its very enlightened school of labour and human resources - is a privilege and at the same time a unique opportunity." (author's abstract).

"The Copenhagen Summit on a Post-Kyoto regulation of Climate Change in December 2009 demonstrated the urgency of action to be taken to save our planet from many more man-made disasters (UN 2009). At the centre of the environmental problems, which were created by modern capitalism and industrialisation, is the production process, i.e. labour. The responsibility lies in the decisionmaking process about who, decides what, when, how, where and for whom products and services are made (Szell 1994 a, b). Henceforth, for a sustainable future all stakeholders have to be involved. Environmental problems are global ones, however, manifest themselves on the local and regional level. Therefore the need for coordinated action of science, civil society, business and politics on these levels to stop further degradation and develop sustainable alternatives. For this purpose innovation - not only technological but foremost social innovation - is necessary. To promote innovations education and research are at the forefront. Better education for the biggest possible number and research, which is truly interdisciplinary, are preconditions. Education and research are first of all public goods. Their privatisation and commercialisation have led to ignorance about environmental problems, focussing largely on growth and profitmaking. Instead the public sector has to be strengthened - preventing at the same time widespread corruption - to allow sustainable education and research. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is another important issue. CSR means social and environmental responsibility. In this context trade unions and works councils have a special duty, not only in formulating sustainable business strategies, but especially in implementing them. China has recently become the third biggest national economy in the world, and will certainly - with its ongoing high growth rates - soon overtake Japan and the USA as well to become number one. However, its boom over the last three decades has been highly paid with large environmental destruction. Some of its cities and regions are amongst the most polluted ones in the world. A central rote for sustainability - like in many other Third World countries - plays the informal sector, which by its definition is unregulated - not only socially, but also environmentally. A specific challenge in this regard is migration. China has even officially some 225 million migrant workers, who are suffering from and at the same time producing environmental hazards (ITUC 2010; Szell 2010). China's future will decide about the future of our sustainability and by it of the future of humankind. Therefore to hold this important congress in Peking - at one of its most prestigious universities and its very enlightened school of labour and human resources - is a privilege and at the same time a unique opportunity." (author's abstract)