Is Decoupling GDP Growth from Environmental Impact Possible?
-
Altmetric Citations
Ward, James D; Sutton, Paul C.; Werner, Adrian D; Costanza, Robert; Mohr, Steve H; Simmons, Craig Trevor
Description
The argument that human society can decouple economic growth—defined as growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—from growth in environmental impacts is appealing. If such decoupling is possible, it means that GDP growth is a sustainable societal goal. Here we show that the decoupling concept can be interpreted using an easily understood model of economic growth and environmental impact. The simple model is compared to historical data and modelled projections to demonstrate that growth in GDP...[Show more]
dc.contributor.author | Ward, James D | |
---|---|---|
dc.contributor.author | Sutton, Paul C. | |
dc.contributor.author | Werner, Adrian D | |
dc.contributor.author | Costanza, Robert | |
dc.contributor.author | Mohr, Steve H | |
dc.contributor.author | Simmons, Craig Trevor | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2018-11-29T22:56:18Z | |
dc.date.available | 2018-11-29T22:56:18Z | |
dc.identifier.issn | 1932-6203 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1885/153473 | |
dc.description.abstract | The argument that human society can decouple economic growth—defined as growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—from growth in environmental impacts is appealing. If such decoupling is possible, it means that GDP growth is a sustainable societal goal. Here we show that the decoupling concept can be interpreted using an easily understood model of economic growth and environmental impact. The simple model is compared to historical data and modelled projections to demonstrate that growth in GDP ultimately cannot be decoupled from growth in material and energy use. It is therefore misleading to develop growth-oriented policy around the expectation that decoupling is possible. We also note that GDP is increasingly seen as a poor proxy for societal wellbeing. GDP growth is therefore a questionable societal goal. Society can sustainably improve wellbeing, including the wellbeing of its natural assets, but only by discarding GDP growth as the goal in favor of more comprehensive measures of societal wellbeing. | |
dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | |
dc.publisher | Public Library of Science | |
dc.source | PLOS ONE (Public Library of Science) | |
dc.title | Is Decoupling GDP Growth from Environmental Impact Possible? | |
dc.type | Journal article | |
local.description.notes | Imported from ARIES | |
local.identifier.citationvolume | 11 | |
dc.date.issued | 2016 | |
local.identifier.absfor | 149902 - Ecological Economics | |
local.identifier.ariespublication | u5366479xPUB282 | |
local.type.status | Published Version | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Ward, James D, University of South Australia | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Sutton, Paul C., University of Denver | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Werner, Adrian D, Flinders University | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Costanza, Robert, College of Asia and the Pacific, ANU | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Mohr, Steve H, University of Technology Sydney | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Simmons, Craig Trevor, Flinders University | |
local.bibliographicCitation.issue | 10 | |
local.bibliographicCitation.startpage | e0164733 | |
local.bibliographicCitation.lastpage | e0164733 | |
local.identifier.doi | 10.1371/journal.pone.0164733 | |
dc.date.updated | 2018-11-29T08:11:25Z | |
local.identifier.scopusID | 2-s2.0-84992389887 | |
local.identifier.thomsonID | 000385507000062 | |
dcterms.accessRights | Open Access | |
dc.provenance | © 2016 Ward et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. | |
Collections | ANU Research Publications |
Download
File | Description | Size | Format | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|
01_Ward_Is_Decoupling_GDP_Growth_from_2016.pdf | 3.97 MB | Adobe PDF |
Items in Open Research are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.
Updated: 17 November 2022/ Responsible Officer: University Librarian/ Page Contact: Library Systems & Web Coordinator