Page - 15 - in options, Volume summer 2016

15summer 2016 + optionswww.iiasa.ac.at T he year 2015 raised the bar, stirred the ambitions, got us all  thinking. In  September the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) —encompassing everything from ending poverty  to protecting all ecosystems—were adopted  by all 193 member states of the UN. At the Paris climate summit in December an ambitious  limit of 1.5°C rather than 2°C warming was  seriously considered for  the first time. But we all know in our heart of hearts that that was the easy part. Politicians on podiums talking  of historic breakthroughs do not reduce the  amount of hot air in the atmosphere.  Have we got what it takes to achieve sustainability? the change