Managing Sustainability Issues in the Anthropocenewith Hans Jonas’ Imperative of Responsibility

The global challenges of achieving sustainability are becoming increasingly pressing. In this context, environmental ethics could help economists find better solutions to ensure that societies can endure in a world which is enclosed within planetary boundaries. Hans Jonas’ imperative of responsibility may provide useful insights into the analysis of sustainability issues, and may indeed be the first step towards a new age which balances human life with biosphere conservation, and hence sustains the well-being of all generations from a platform of global justice. Although the Anthropocene has ushered in certain irreversible effects (global climate change, biodiversity losses), sustainability can be achieved by placing specific constraints on the use of Nature while simultaneously reducing the consumption levels of today’s privileged generation from developed countries. However, achieving both environmental and social sustainability characterised by inter-generational fairness will involve a moral duty which should be urgently incorporated into economic governance. Moreover, a new environmental ethics could lead to the sustainable conservation of Nature within planetary boundaries over the long term