View in EDS

A scalability-centric perspective on global human development within environmental limits.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: A scalability-centric perspective on global human development within environmental limits.
Authors: Bhar, Soumyajit1 (AUTHOR) soumyajit.bhar@bmu.edu.in, Dhara, Chirag2 (AUTHOR)
Source: Sustainability: Science, Practice & Policy. Dec2025, Vol. 21 Issue 1, p1-19. 19p.
Subject Terms: *Sustainable development, *Ecological carrying capacity, *Sustainability, Scalability, Social evolution, Human Development Index, Developing countries
Geographic Terms: Peru, Costa Rica, Panama, Sri Lanka, Albania
Company/Entity: United Nations Development Programme
Abstract: The Human Development Index (HDI) positions Global North countries as development benchmarks, overlooking their high environmental footprints. This perspective poses a dilemma: global adoption of Northern lifestyles risks surpassing planetary biophysical limits, while non-adoption risks perpetuating developmental inequality. The Planetary Pressures adjusted-HDI (PHDI) from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP)'s 2020 Report aimed to incorporate environmental pressures into the assessment of human development. However, countries ranking highest on the PHDI also exhibit considerable environmental footprints, limiting the PHDI's utility as a sustainability metric. Our study introduces a revised metric emphasizing "scalability" as a pivotal facet of sustainability. Scalability, in our context, refers to the theoretical possibility of scaling a country's historical developmental trajectory to the entire global population without exceeding planetary biophysical limits rendered in absolute terms. This emphasis on historicity and absolute environmental performance distinguishes our approach from the PHDI. Our results highlight Panama, Costa Rica, Sri Lanka, Peru, and Albania as having achieved high social progress with low environmental costs or high levels of scalable development. This signals that substantial social progress can be achieved globally without overstepping biophysical limits. Nonetheless, simple projections indicate that the environmental footprints of these countries may scale unsustainably in the future if current trends persist. This study underscores the continued need to prioritize scalability in the future and recommends shifting the narrative to countries that exemplify scalable development to provide strategic insights to the Global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Sustainability: Science, Practice & Policy is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: GreenFILE
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
Header DbId: 8gh
DbLabel: GreenFILE
An: 190206614
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: A scalability-centric perspective on global human development within environmental limits.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Bhar%2C+Soumyajit%22">Bhar, Soumyajit</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> soumyajit.bhar@bmu.edu.in</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Dhara%2C+Chirag%22">Dhara, Chirag</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Sustainability%3A+Science%2C+Practice+%26+Policy%22">Sustainability: Science, Practice & Policy</searchLink>. Dec2025, Vol. 21 Issue 1, p1-19. 19p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subject Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sustainable+development%22">Sustainable development</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ecological+carrying+capacity%22">Ecological carrying capacity</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sustainability%22">Sustainability</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Scalability%22">Scalability</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+evolution%22">Social evolution</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Human+Development+Index%22">Human Development Index</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Developing+countries%22">Developing countries</searchLink>
– Name: SubjectGeographic
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Peru%22">Peru</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Costa+Rica%22">Costa Rica</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Panama%22">Panama</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sri+Lanka%22">Sri Lanka</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Albania%22">Albania</searchLink>
– Name: SubjectCompany
  Label: Company/Entity
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+Nations+Development+Programme%22">United Nations Development Programme</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: The Human Development Index (HDI) positions Global North countries as development benchmarks, overlooking their high environmental footprints. This perspective poses a dilemma: global adoption of Northern lifestyles risks surpassing planetary biophysical limits, while non-adoption risks perpetuating developmental inequality. The Planetary Pressures adjusted-HDI (PHDI) from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP)'s 2020 Report aimed to incorporate environmental pressures into the assessment of human development. However, countries ranking highest on the PHDI also exhibit considerable environmental footprints, limiting the PHDI's utility as a sustainability metric. Our study introduces a revised metric emphasizing "scalability" as a pivotal facet of sustainability. Scalability, in our context, refers to the theoretical possibility of scaling a country's historical developmental trajectory to the entire global population without exceeding planetary biophysical limits rendered in absolute terms. This emphasis on historicity and absolute environmental performance distinguishes our approach from the PHDI. Our results highlight Panama, Costa Rica, Sri Lanka, Peru, and Albania as having achieved high social progress with low environmental costs or high levels of scalable development. This signals that substantial social progress can be achieved globally without overstepping biophysical limits. Nonetheless, simple projections indicate that the environmental footprints of these countries may scale unsustainably in the future if current trends persist. This study underscores the continued need to prioritize scalability in the future and recommends shifting the narrative to countries that exemplify scalable development to provide strategic insights to the Global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Sustainability: Science, Practice & Policy is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=8gh&AN=190206614
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/15487733.2025.2454062
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 19
        StartPage: 1
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Sustainable development
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Ecological carrying capacity
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Sustainability
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Scalability
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social evolution
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Human Development Index
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Developing countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Peru
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Costa Rica
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Panama
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Sri Lanka
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Albania
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: United Nations Development Programme
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: A scalability-centric perspective on global human development within environmental limits.
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Bhar, Soumyajit
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Dhara, Chirag
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 12
              Text: Dec2025
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 15487733
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 21
            – Type: issue
              Value: 1
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Sustainability: Science, Practice & Policy
              Type: main
ResultId 1