Global economy terminally unsustainable – degrowth key

Despite unprecedented commitments on  and to a  at the recent climate change conference, or COP 27, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, a key conversation was missing: . This  and  centers human and planetary well-being, and growth in sectors that promote this well-being, rather than solely economic growth.

Why does this matter? We cannot confront the climate emergency without confronting its economic roots. Our economy depends on  and prioritizes , though  is gaining increasing attention. This means continual wringing out of  and , and relentless reinvestment of the profits from increased productivity into continued exponential growth. Degrowth experts have  our current economic model to a jet that depends on endlessly gaining elevation to stay aloft.

In short, our global economy is ; it  from people in all corners of the world due to its massive inequalities, and it is causing planetary breakdown: the climate emergency, biodiversity collapse, and soil loss.

Fossil fuel profits are nearly , and together with government revenues and subsidies in this sector globally, we risk . We are rapidly eating ourselves and our planet alive. At COP 27,  make this cannibalism a little more palatable, rather than interrogating the crux of the problem.

People in the global south have issued a clarion call for a  to address the climate emergency. The  has swiftly and thoroughly backed this call, articulating the need to go beyond “green growth.” Why? Even after an energy transition, our current economic model will still demand continual and exponential extraction. The vice grip of growth is unsustainable, even .