So far nearly all of this research has been focused on the local and regional scales. While this research is surely necessary and important, the global scale is becoming increasingly important as the ultimate benchmark of sustainability.

This seminar will explore the nature of Earth's environment; the ways in which humans are currently impacting it; and some of the potential twists, turns and surprises that may confront us along the path to global sustainability.

About Will Steffen
Will Steffen is currently the Executive Director of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.

Steffen received his PhD in inorganic chemistry in 1975 from the University of Florida, USA. After working for five years as a research chemist, he moved to the CSIRO Division of Environmental Mechanics, Canberra, Australia, to work in science management, editing and communication. In 1990 he became the Executive Officer of IGBP´s Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems (GCTE) core project, based in Canberra.

He took up IGBP´s directorship in 1998. Steffen´s science interests span a broad range within the field of Earth System Science, with a special emphasis on terrestrial ecosystem interactions with global change and on the global carbon cycle. Having worked extensively in Southeast Asia and in Russia, he is keenly committed to ensuring that IGBP´s global change science is truly global.

Steffen is an Australian citizen with a family based in Canberra.