Growth isn’t possible – new economics foundation

Four years after their Growth isn’t working report, nef have upped the ante with this latest piece of research, Growth isn’t possible. It argues that a safe climate and ongoing economic growth in rich countries are mutually exclusive goals. We could simply never achieve carbon intensity reductions at a rate fast enough to handle further growth – the growth would simply overtake our efficiency measures and CO2 levels would continue to rise. I’ve written a longer introduction here.

I haven’t read Growth isn’t possible yet, but I’ll read it this week and report back. You can download it from here, and then we can discuss it. In the meantime,

• The press release is here
• co-author Andrew Simm’s has a piece in the Guardian
• and check out the quirky sister mini-site to the report.