Ahead of our reconstitution meeting on 26 February 2020, the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Limits to Growth recently tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM) to call:
That this House welcomes the formal opinion on a sustainable and inclusive wellbeing economy, adopted by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on 24 January 2020; recognises that this opinion is the last one developed with the 24 UK members of the EESC and thanks them for their contributions; further welcomes the EESC’s call for a new vision of prosperity for people and planet based on the principles of environmental sustainability, the right to a decent life, and the protection of social values; notes that the EESC highlights that the pursuit of GDP growth ignores important elements of individual and social wellbeing and fails to account properly for environmental and social considerations; welcomes the call for a precautionary approach so that macroeconomic stability does not depend on GDP growth; further welcomes the call for new indicators of economic performance and social progress; and calls on the UK Government and HM Treasury in particular to at least match the ambition and leadership shown by the EESC by conducting a review of the growth dependency of the UK economy and to develop a comprehensive strategy to transition to a wellbeing economy that protects and restores ecosystems and biodiversity, reduces inequality, fosters sustainable entrepreneurship and delivers a just transition to a climate neutral way of life for all UK citizens.
Sponsors of the motion are Caroline Lucas, Sir Peter Bottomley, Allan Dorans, Ronnie Cowan, Alison Thewliss and Jonathan Edwards. The full and developing list of parliamentary supporters can be accessed on the Parliament EDMs website.
This motion is supported by MPs across the political spectrum. If you think your MP should sign it too, consider writing to them.