“The endless pursuit of growing consumption and increased gross domestic product (GDP) have been the Holy Grail of economists for decades and lead us all to fixate on a number that’s utterly divorced from either quality of life or how we feel about the future. Moreover, this obsession with GDP threatens destruction of the planet as we know it.”
The debate took place on 10 July 2019 and can be watched on the parliament.tv website.
Please see also Caroline’s opinion piece for politicshome.com, outlining some of the key points made in her speech, urging the Treasury “to rethink everything it thinks it knows and, as the EEB puts it (in their latest report), ‘acknowledge the fact that addressing the climate and biodiversity crises may require a direct downscaling of economic production and consumption in the wealthiest countries.’”