As Trump Smacks The Climate, World Must Do Better To Save Planet

Increased Consumption is what has driven economies for decades, but this is not sustainable. We need to rethink the way economies are structured if we want to ensure that future generations can thrive.

- Lorenzo Fioramonti

As Donald Trump’s America drops out of the Paris Agreement, it’s high time to ask whether conventional approaches to sustainable development are enough to deal with the multiple crises facing the world.

A shift to a “green economy” is essential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But more is needed to build truly sustainable economies which not only curb emissions, but also drastically reduce all the negative impacts on nature and society.

In my new book, Wellbeing Economy: Success in a World Without Growth, I argue that the climate crisis should be seen as an opportunity to redirect our development trajectory away from increasing consumerism. We need to shift towards a much more intelligent economy rather than continuous exploitation of humans and nature.

Achieving such a “wellbeing economy” would be the best way to demonstrate just how backward and self-defeating Trump’s strategy is.

Beyond consumerist growth

Since the 1950s, development has been closely associated with continuous economic growth. While this has generated unprecedented consumption in the West and some emerging economies, it has also caused serious concerns among the scientific community and society at large.

In what has been termed “The Great Acceleration”, skyrocketing consumption has caused a massive increase in polluting emissions. But there is more: water use has multiplied and marine fish capture has grown exponentially, along with ocean acidification, biodiversity loss, depletion of natural resources and soil erosion.

Coupled with climate change, all these processes threaten not only further economic development, but our very existence on this planet. Besides all sorts of environmental problems, such consumption has also caused inequalities, stress, waste and a growing number of social tensions.