The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) has identified alarming levels of growth in urbanization and consumption in a new report, and describes the crucial role of business in the transition to sustainability.

According to the report, "Business and Development: Challenges and Opportunities in a Rapidly Changing World," published this month by WBCSD, "the world is experiencing a historic shift of economic and political power from the traditional base of industrialized countries to the emerging economies." As the report points out, by 2050, three of the four largest economies -- China, India, and Brazil -- will be those of countries now described as developing. As development in those and other countries intensifies, their populations will become increasingly urban. By 2050, when the world's population is expected to be about 9 billion, 70 percent of the world's population will live in urban environments, with the great majority living in cities in developing countries. "Urbanization is happening fast," the report observes, "And most of it is being poorly managed, putting hundreds of millions of the urban poor in harm's way." As the economic emergence of developing countries continues, global consumption patterns will become increasingly critical. "Global consumption patterns and trends are putting unsustainable and increasing stress on the Earth's ecosystems, the supply of material resources needed for industrial growth, and human social systems and well-being," the report said. The role of business in addressing the problems of urbanization and unsustainable consumption will be important. "There is no longer a choice between economic growth and environmental well-being: they are interdependent, and if we do not make sure we have both, we risk ending up with neither," the report said. Therefore, it is in the best interest