The Consequences of Unsustainable Development

This chapter considers the consequences of unsustainable development, most notably the degradation of climate-regulating systems and the impact on human well-being. Since the Industrial Revolution, there has been a general increase in human development across all nations, some increasing more rapidly than others. Natural capital withdrawals to meet society’s demands for goods and services have outstripped efforts to conserve, preserve, or restore these resources and systems. A useful way of illustrating the consequences of using fossil fuels is to show it in relation to natural capital and human well-being. Shifting to a low-carbon economy will drive massive changes in infrastructure systems in terms of the resources and energy that are used, how they are operated and maintained, and how they will be adapted to changing climate conditions. Knowledge of infrastructure asset performance under extreme conditions is sparse, mostly buried in disaster damage and recovery reports.