Post date: Mar 24, 2017 1:48:40 AM
Ward J. D., Sutton P. C., Werner A. D., Costanza R., Mohr S.H., Simmons C.T. 2016. Is Decoupling GDP Growth from Environmental Impact Possible? PLoS ONE 11(10): e0164733. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0164733
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0164733
Abstract: The argument that human society can decouple economic growth—defined as growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—from growth in environmental impacts is appealing. If such decoupling is possible, it means that GDP growth is a sustainable societal goal. Here we show that the decoupling concept can be interpreted using an easily understood model of economic growth and environmental impact. The simple model is compared to historical data and modelled projections to demonstrate that growth in GDP ultimately cannot be decoupled from growth in material and energy use. It is therefore misleading to develop growth-oriented policy around the expectation that decoupling is possible. We also note that GDP is increasingly seen as a poor proxy for societal wellbeing. GDP growth is therefore a questionable societal goal. Society can sustainably improve wellbeing, including the wellbeing of its natural assets, but only by discarding GDP growth as the goal in favor of more comprehensive measures of societal wellbeing.
Note from Paul Sutton, co-author:
I would be very interested to hear what take the people in our HDGC community have on this idea of ‘decoupling’. Personally I think ‘decoupling’ is a delusion that is being promulgated as a viable way in which economic growth can continue indefinitely. I encourage folks who read this to also look at the Conference Declaration of the Australia New Zealand Society of Ecological Economics (ANZSEE) which is relevant to this paper: http://anzsee2017.com/declaration/