Beginning Oct. 8, scholars and practitioners from ASU and abroad will convene for a transcontinental conference aimed at reinventing the path to sustainable development. “Unpacking Green Growth,” the third conference arranged by Global Systems Science (GSS), will explore a new strategy for attaining global sustainability – one that emphasizes equal opportunity-sharing rather than burden-sharing.

Green growth pursues a comfortable standard of living for all people while improving environmental health through economic activity. Because it encourages transformative action, it shows particular promise in the developing world where systems are more supple. GSS, an organization co-founded by Distinguished Sustainability Scientist Sander van der Leeuw, organized “Unpacking Green Growth” with the intention of testing the robustness of the strategy. To do so, the conference will assemble the brightest minds in the arena of systemic solutions to global problems at events in North America, Europe and Asia.