To me, it seems that sustainable innovation is the natural next step (or current one), but given the broad concept of innovation, I wonder what we as researchers should focus on.

There are really two separate questions. Where are environmental sustainability studies headed, and where should they be headed? In response to the second question, I think that an Earth Systems Science (ESS) approach is increasingly needed. For example, in energy studies, it is too often assumed that all we need to do is simply substitute renewable energy (RE) for fossil fuels (FFs). But from an ESS viewpoint, RE also has environmental costs, including in some cases significant greenhouse gas emissions. So, RE contributes to climate change (even if much less than FFs), but in turn the technical potential of RE sources can be adversely affected by climate change (eg changes in stream flow and seasonality adversely affecting hydro output).

The Future of Environmental Sciences: Tenth Anniversary of the Research Journal of Environmental Sciences, at https://scialert.net/fulltext/amp.php?doi=rjes.2017.1.4, may be of interest. (The article makes the commonsensical suggestion that the 17 Sustainable Development Goals provide ample rationale and opportunity for allied research in environmental sciences.)

The above question inspired me to the following considerations:

Is it time to change the civilization development strategy globally and focus on sustainable socio-economic development?

Yes, it is necessary to change the development strategy based on intensifying the exploitation of the Earth's resources on the sustainable development strategy. It is necessary to develop new energy technologies based on renewable energy sources to slow down the progressing greenhouse effect of the Earth in order to reduce the risk of dramatic natural cataclysms. It is necessary to develop ecological innovations, while it may not be too late. It is necessary to save the Earth through destruction for future generations.

The 21st century is the last moment to introduce global sustainable development based on the development of renewable energy and ecological innovations. Sustainable development should be analyzed and measured in correlation with the analysis of economic growth and the share of individual sectors in the country's economic development, including the transformation of traditional energy sources into renewable energy, environment reclamation and recovery of recyclable materials, and ecological innovations.

I invite you to the discussion

Does the activation of innovation and the implementation of new technologies into the industry contribute to the sustainable development of the national economy?

In my opinion, the role of activating innovativeness and implementing new technologies in the industry is important for the effective economic development of the country and supports the sustainable development of the national economy.

In sustainable socio-economic development of the national economy, one of the most important issues is the activation of innovation and entrepreneurship in order to stimulate the development of business entities, especially those companies that based their business model on the implementation of new technologies, innovations, patents, including technical and engineering technology solutions. , production, logistics, IT, process, management, etc. Therefore, the role of engineers is very large in such organized development of the national economy oriented in economic policy on socio-economic development with particular emphasis on the activation of innovation and supporting the development of companies that their business model rely on new technologies, including engineering technologies.

I invite you to the discussion

Will it be possible in the future to fully sustain economic development in harmony with ecology?

Sustainable development is very important in the context of the increasing use of resources and environmental pollution.

The basic issue that must be achieved within the framework of full sustainable development is the renewal of resources, reduction of economic growth to the optimal level ensuring renewable resources, reduction of environmental pollution, creation of biodegradable substitutes for fossil fuels, replacement of traditional energy based on mineral combustion for technological innovations in in the field of energy, including the development of energy based on renewable energy sources of renewable energy, etc. To this should be added a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to slow down the negative aspects of the oceogenic climate of the Earth. There is so much to do in these themes and, above all, a great deal to do in the 21st century so that it would not be too late.

To effectively carry out this process, it is necessary to develop universal, precise measures of sustainable development that will be used globally and will be recognized as the standards for assessing the process of achieving and achieving sustainable economic development in harmony with ecology.

But it is very difficult to establish precise measures for the sustainable development process. Sustainable economic development in correlation with ecology should be measured to determine if it is being implemented. It is necessary to define precise determinants that on one hand will determine the pace of economic development and on the other hand will take into account specific issues of ecology. It should be a set of quantified indicators based on selected measurable and quantitative data, so that the whole analytical process can be considered as a research objective method. The best solution will therefore be to develop an analytical scoring method, for which the basic components of this method will be defined economic and ecological quantitative indicators.

In the light of the above, the question arises: Is sustainable development possible taking into account the full harmony of economic development with ecology?

Even if it is unrealistic, what are the reasons for building a theoretical model that would present such a fully balanced development?

I invite you to the discussion

How would you design a similar or different futurological energy and civilization project, containing renewable energy sources of renewable energy and recreation of natural conditions, referring to natural ecosystems, which after years would gain the possibility of self-recreating?

For example, whether with unlimited investment funds or whether it would be possible to achieve a sustainable economic ecosystem from scratch to achieve economic efficiency at least at the zero growth level as follows: Can a large solar power plant be developed in the desert and water obtained from energy to develop agricultural production and plant ecosystems, including forest ecosystems, which, after several dozen years, could almost function themselves? An important factor would be the possible progressive climate change in a given area and the geographical scope of the area covered by this investment project.

In some science fiction movies there are scenes that suggest that it is possible, economically justified and real. However, the vision presented in science-fiction movies to create real projects can, however, be a very big difference. But many futurological visions that were created in the past have been implemented, so it is justified to undertake such attempts to create further futurological projects.

In connection with the above, I would like to ask you the following question: How would you design energy if you had unlimited financial resources? How would you design a similar or different futurological energy and civilization project, containing renewable energy sources of renewable energy and recreation of natural conditions, referring to natural ecosystems, which after years would gain the possibility of self-recreating?

I invite you to the discussion

Should chemistry and monoculture be reduced in sustainable and ecological agriculture and agricultural techniques referring to natural ecosystems should be developed?

Many studies show that the most effective organic farming involves cultivating a formula that refers to natural, complex, biologically multispecies ecosystems.

The formula of ecological agriculture consisting in cultivating many different plant species side by side, referring to the formation of a natural ecosystem, allows to eliminate chemical plant protection products and reduce biological fertilization.

Only the use of biologically neutral machines and technical devices for crops to correct the functioning of organic crops would allow the improvement of this formula and the pursuit of sustainable agriculture.

Only the question of the legitimacy of using or possibly resigning from the creation of new, more resistant to various diseases and pests of new varieties of cultivated plants through the application of genetics engineering would remain to be considered.

It is not about creating new species of plants or animals through genetic manipulation techniques, but about breeding more resistant to diseases and pests new crop varieties as a perfecting cultivation formula referring to the natural ecosystem.

Crops referring to the natural biological biological system should be improved by the creation and introduction into these complex crops of these new varieties of crop plants in order to restore biological balance, which was previously significantly reduced through the widespread use of monoculture crops grown under classical agriculture.

In this way, it is possible to recreate sustainable agriculture in the future in areas where formerly monocultural farming crops or reclamation areas were previously operated.

Therefore, I would like to ask you: Should chemistry and monoculture be reduced in sustainable and ecological agriculture and agricultural techniques referring to natural ecosystems should be developed?

I invite you to the discussion.

Should economics in the 21st century change in a way that would help achieve sustainable economic development?

In the greatest generalization, economics should help reconcile two opposing issues: How to create and deliver through limited markets economic goods, created on the basis of limited resources to meet unlimited human needs. Economics should also help in formulating the answer to the question: what, how and for whom to produce, produce, offer? On the other hand, in the 21st century, the economy should help answer the question: how should domestic and international economies develop in order to achieve sustainable economic development taking into account the issues of ecology, renewable energy sources, increasing the use of secondary raw materials, development of technological innovations, ecological and materials that will enable achieving sustainable development, i.e. such economic development in which the negative effects of this development for the natural environment will be gradually reduced.

This is a very important question in the context of the changing economies of the 21st century, in the context of the current fourth technological revolution, Industry 4.0.

Apparently, we are now living in the era of the fourth technological revolution, known as Industry 4.0.

The previous three technological revolutions:

1. The industrial revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, determined mainly by the industrial application of the invention of a steam engine.

2. Electricity era of the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century.

3. The IT revolution of the second half of the twentieth century determined by computerization, the widespread use of the Internet and the beginning of the development of robotization.

The current fourth technological revelation, known as Industry 4.0, is motivated by the development of the following factors:

- artificial intelligence,

- cloud computing,

- machine learning,

- Big Data database technologies,

- Internet of Things.

On the basis of the development of these IT instruments and technologies, business analytics of companies such as Business Intelligence and the above-mentioned areas have been dynamically developing in recent years.

In view of the above, I turn to you with the following question: In what direction will the current technological revolution, known as Industry 4.0, develop?

Will "ECONOMY" change its character, its functions in the context of changing economies in the 21st century, in the context of the current fourth technological revolution Industry 4.0, in the context of the growing importance of renewable energy, environmental protection, to reduce the Earth's greenhouse effect and increase the scale of sustainable implementation development?

Please, answer, comments. I invite you to the discussion.

The issue of a possible change in the role of the economy in terms of striving to create conditions for the implementation of sustainable development is very important in the 21st century. For the development of the concept of sustainable development should take into account economic conditions in the context of climate change, global warming, rising global temperature, the progressing greenhouse effect of the Earth and the associated new climatic disasters is probably the most important topic for discussion, research and for human activity in XXI century.

The topics related to the greenhouse effect on Earth, which are the subject of discussion, are particularly important and scientifically important and in the context of human life.

Will "ECONOMY" help in the 21st century solve these problems and help develop new economic formulas that will generate global sustainable economic development?

Please, answer, comments. I invite you to the discussion.

Is it time to change the civilization development strategy globally and focus on sustainable socio-economic development?

Will "ECONOMY" help in this, will "NEW ECONOMY" help in the 21st century?

Yes, it is necessary to change the development strategy based on intensifying the exploitation of the Earth's resources on the sustainable development strategy. It is necessary to develop new energy technologies based on renewable energy sources to slow down the progressing greenhouse effect of the Earth in order to reduce the risk of dramatic natural cataclysms. It is necessary to develop ecological innovations, while it may not be too late. It is necessary to save the Earth from destruction for future generations.

The 21st century is the last moment to introduce global sustainable development based on the development of renewable energy and ecological innovations. Sustainable development should be analyzed and measured in correlation with the analysis of economic growth and the share of individual sectors in the country's economic development, including the transformation of traditional energy sources into renewable energy, environment reclamation and recovery of recyclable materials, and ecological innovations.

I invite you to the discussion

Is sustainable development possible taking into account the full harmony of economic development with ecology?

Even if it is unrealistic, what are the reasons for building a theoretical model that would present such a fully balanced development?

Please, answer, comments. I invite you to the discussion

How to define precise measurable factors for the process of sustainable economic and ecological development in the context of the science of the "new economy"?

It is very difficult to establish precise measures for the sustainable development process. Sustainable economic development in correlation with ecology should be measured to determine if it is being implemented. It is necessary to define precise determinants that on one hand will determine the pace of economic development and on the other hand will take into account specific issues of ecology. It should be a set of quantified indicators based on selected measurable and quantitative data, so that the whole analytical process can be considered as a research objective method. The best solution will therefore be to develop an analytical scoring method, for which the basic components of this method will be defined economic and ecological quantitative indicators.

In view of the above, the current question is: How to define precise measurable factors for the process of sustainable economic and ecological development?

Please, answer, comments. I invite you to the discussion.

I wish you all good and best regards

The main problem is that we overestimate the effects of climate change. If everything changes why not the climate?

It is significant to feel the environment is our goal. Strategy should research to feel it's our goal to save it

i think we must lead it to have better solutions for our garbage or water treatment.

Historically, obstacles that impede efforts to deal with the issues associated with sustainability are the complexity of the problems and the specialization of the scholarship that seeks to address them. We need to approach the sustainability crisis noting that the multitude of factors and the intricacy of global change problems needs innovative solutions, and that ‘business as usual’ used by institutions such as the World Bank has not worked. The adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals by most countries of the world provides a unique opportunity to effect real social change and this opportunity should not be missed.

The research needed is how to maximize the opportunities of SDG linkages. We know that that simplistic solutions to complex problems often end up creating a situation that was worse than before. To carry out research activities effectively, a new type of post-graduate needs to be produced, one that is geared to thinking outside the box. Graduates must have training to be global citizens, excellent communicators, embrace technology and be innovative critical thinkers.

Until we change the way we train, educate and learn - it will be more of the same, missing the opportunity for REAL transformation.