We urgently need an economy designed to serve the health and wellbeing of people and planet. But the UK Government remains fixated on short-term profit and growth in its economic policy.
We can’t achieve a green and fair recovery from Covid by going back to the same harmful economic system we had before. So what can we do instead? What is a Wellbeing Economy and how do we get there?
Other countries are already pursuing alternative economic approaches. The New Zealand Treasury published the world’s first Wellbeing Budget in 2019. Scotland and Wales are members of the Wellbeing Economy Governments alliance. Cities and towns around the world are embracing Doughnut Economics to guide their development.
Two thirds of Britons say that the Government should prioritise health and wellbeing of citizens above economic growth.
The Treasury’s own Dasgupta Review calls for urgent and transformative change in how we measure economic success, to protect and enhance our prosperity and the natural world.
A recent UN climate science report warns that economic stimulus focused primarily on growth would jeopardise the Paris Climate Agreement.
This event marks the campaign launch for a new parliamentary petition, calling on the Government to shift to a Wellbeing Economy—at home and globally, as host of the COP26 climate summit.
If you have ideas for collaboration on the campaign that you would like to share with Caroline Lucas, please contact Laura MacKenzie in the first instance: laura.mackenzie@parliament.uk.
Speakers include:
- Laura Sharples: petition creator and co-founder of Wellbeing Economics Brighton
- Dr Katherine Trebeck, author and co-founder of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance
- Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion
- Clive Lewis, MP for Norwich South
- Beth Stratford, Leeds University
The event was co-hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Limits to Growth, CUSP, the Wellbeing Economy Alliance, and Wellbeing Economics Brighton.