structural:scholar_edition
Impossible to reach

Scholars have criticized the concepts of sustainability and sustainable development from different angles. One was Dennis Meadows, one of the authors of the first report to the Club of Rome, called " The Limits to Growth ". He argued many people deceive themselves by using the Brundtland definition of sustainability. This is because the needs of the present generation are actually not met today. Instead, economic activities to meet present needs will shrink the options of future generations. Another criticism is that the paradigm of sustainability is no longer suitable as a guide for transformation. This is because societies are "socially and ecologically self-destructive consumer societies".

Some scholars have even proclaimed the end of the concept of sustainability. This is because humans now have a significant impact on Earth's climate system and ecosystems. It might become impossible to pursue sustainability because of these complex, radical, and dynamic issues. Others have called sustainability a utopian ideal: "We need to keep sustainability as an ideal; an ideal which we might never reach, which might be utopian, but still a necessary one."