Climate Change Centers Debate on Cutting Consumption
2022-08-15
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1Degrowth economics is the idea that the planet cannot survive endless economic growth.
2That idea goes against modern economics, where growth is widely considered the best way for nations to build wealth.
3But the theory is becoming more accepted.
4Climate change continues to worsen and supply shortages are giving people a taste of a world with limited resources.
5The problems have led some economic experts to consider what a degrowth world might look like.
6The U.N. climate science agency this year called for cuts in consumer demand, a major degrowth idea.
7In April, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change declared that cuts to consumer demand were needed to reduce carbon emissions.
8Efforts to reduce carbon emissions were previously centered on increasing the use of clean fuel technology.
9The term has also started to appear in investment notes.
10"It is a provocative term," said Aniket Shah.
11He is with the investment banking company Jefferies.
12"But it's not about going to a low-income country saying, 'You can't grow anymore'," he said.
13"It's saying: We need to look at the entire system and see how do we over time decrease total consumption and production in aggregate."
14The World Economic Forum, the organization that runs the Davos economic meeting, published a degrowth article in June.
15The article suggested that "it might mean people in rich countries changing their diets, living in smaller houses and driving and traveling less."
16For Jefferies' Shah, those kinds of behavioral changes could make degrowth investments more popular.
17He said that the online meeting service Zoom, for example, is a company that could be considered degrowth.
18"...I can certainly see how a world that uses more web-conferencing ... means less travel, which is a very high-carbon-intensive way of transportation," said Shah.
19Some countries have tried to measure economic outcomes differently than just growth.
20The small Asian nation of Bhutan famously created a "gross national happiness" measurement.
21Japan is looking into creating a "green GDP" measurement.
22GDP, short for Gross Domestic Product, means the value of goods and services produced in a country.
23But still, economic policy and markets are mostly driven by increasing consumption and production.
24Tim Jackson is an economist who has long criticized that model.
25He said the pandemic and the Ukraine war both challenged consumption with other concerns, like health or global political goals.
26At the same time, some countries could enter a state where their economies show little if any growth.
27This could be caused by many things like an aging population, limited international trade, or a lack of economic reforms.
28Japan is a country that has experienced this.
29Experts also see it as a risk for Germany unless it quickly reforms its economic model.
30"Particularly in the advanced economies we are moving into a situation where to all intents and purposes, we're pretty much not looking at continued growth already," said Jackson.
31"If we haven't got an economics that will deal with that .. then we've got very little chance of managing it successfully."
32I'm Dan Novak.
1Degrowth economics is the idea that the planet cannot survive endless economic growth. That idea goes against modern economics, where growth is widely considered the best way for nations to build wealth. 2But the theory is becoming more accepted. Climate change continues to worsen and supply shortages are giving people a taste of a world with limited resources. The problems have led some economic experts to consider what a degrowth world might look like. 3More talks on degrowth 4The U.N. climate science agency this year called for cuts in consumer demand, a major degrowth idea. In April, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change declared that cuts to consumer demand were needed to reduce carbon emissions. Efforts to reduce carbon emissions were previously centered on increasing the use of clean fuel technology. 5The term has also started to appear in investment notes. 6"It is a provocative term," said Aniket Shah. He is with the investment banking company Jefferies. "But it's not about going to a low-income country saying, 'You can't grow anymore'," he said. "It's saying: We need to look at the entire system and see how do we over time decrease total consumption and production in aggregate." 7The World Economic Forum, the organization that runs the Davos economic meeting, published a degrowth article in June. The article suggested that "it might mean people in rich countries changing their diets, living in smaller houses and driving and traveling less." 8For Jefferies' Shah, those kinds of behavioral changes could make degrowth investments more popular. 9He said that the online meeting service Zoom, for example, is a company that could be considered degrowth. 10"...I can certainly see how a world that uses more web-conferencing ... means less travel, which is a very high-carbon-intensive way of transportation," said Shah. 11Different economic measurements 12Some countries have tried to measure economic outcomes differently than just growth. The small Asian nation of Bhutan famously created a "gross national happiness" measurement. Japan is looking into creating a "green GDP" measurement. GDP, short for Gross Domestic Product, means the value of goods and services produced in a country. 13But still, economic policy and markets are mostly driven by increasing consumption and production. 14Tim Jackson is an economist who has long criticized that model. He said the pandemic and the Ukraine war both challenged consumption with other concerns, like health or global political goals. 15At the same time, some countries could enter a state where their economies show little if any growth. This could be caused by many things like an aging population, limited international trade, or a lack of economic reforms. 16Japan is a country that has experienced this. Experts also see it as a risk for Germany unless it quickly reforms its economic model. 17"Particularly in the advanced economies we are moving into a situation where to all intents and purposes, we're pretty much not looking at continued growth already," said Jackson. "If we haven't got an economics that will deal with that .. then we've got very little chance of managing it successfully." 18I'm Dan Novak. 19Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by Reuters. 20__________________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22consumer - n. a person who buys goods and services 23provocative - adj. causing discussion, thought, argument, etc. 24income - n. money that is earned from work, investments, business, etc. 25aggregate - n. thought of as a whole ; all together 26conference - n. a formal meeting in which a small number of people talk about something 27challenge - n. to test the ability, skill, or strength of 28advanced - adj. far along in a course of progress or development 29__________________________________________________________________ 30We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 31Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.