[MCN] My apologies to all for the duplicate postings !!

[Lance Olsen]

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Excerpt: This promise of "green growth" is popular because it offers something for everybody. It maintains a commitment to economic growth while claiming greenhouse gas emissions will drop. But, as the Nature Climate Change study asserted, "green growth" is likely an oxymoron.

"Degrowth" advocates argue that tackling climate change requires shrinking the economy. A planned slowdown of the economy would be achieved by implementing shorter workweeks and more holidays and encouraging low-consumption lifestyles.

"Agrowth" advocates such as environmental economist Jeroen van den Bergh argue that we should ignore GDP altogether, and instead evaluate progress using indicators such as literacy, employment, rates of diabetes and heart disease, water and air quality and climate stability. If GDP happens to go up while these indicators improve, so be it. If GDP goes down while other measures of well-being increase, what have we truly lost?

When the Pan-Canadian Framework is implemented, some economic sectors will likely grow. Companies that offer low-carbon energy sources, energy-efficient products and opportunities to offset or store greenhouse gas emissions will prosper. Other sectors, like coal mining for power production, will shrink. We may or may not have "clean growth," but we will have a cleaner economy and a better shot at preventing or mitigating climate change's most harrowing effects.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions should take precedence over economic growth.



David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. 

Written with contributions from David Suzuki Foundation research fellow Brett Dolter. 

Dolter is co-editor of the recently released Handbook on Growth and Sustainability.

https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-gdp-suzuki-2484799983.html

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