The current development model has improved living standards and expanded opportunity for many, yet the economic and social gains have been distributed unequally and have come at great cost to the environment. This Issue Brief discusses the risks of ignoring our planet’s global environmental limits in pursuit of ever rising production and consumption levels, as well as explaining how climate change is a consequence of the intersection of population dynamics and models of economic growth, production and consumption.  Understanding this intersection is essential for generating pathways to sustainable development.