Labour will fight the next election on economic growth. Growth measured by our ever-increasing gross domestic product. Politicians from all sides are always telling us that it's a good thing. To grow we have to produce more and do more, but is it really possible to keep growing forever? We are in the beginning of a mass extinction - how dare you!
A key goal of governments around the world is economic growth – continually increasing production and consumption to keep GDP rising. But can our economies grow on a rapidly warming planet with finite resources? According to a recent UN report, the only way left to limit the worst impacts of the climate crisis is a “rapid transformation of societies”. In our third Cop27 special, Ian Sample speaks to ecological economist Tim Jackson about the myth of eternal growth, other ways to think about progress and prosperity, and what an economic system in balance with our planetary system might look like. Help support our independent journalism at
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