the divide a brief guide to global inequality

The relationship between economic growth and ecological breakdown is well established in the empirical record. Contrary to what is implied by the general narrative of the Anthropocene, the crisis is not being caused by human beings as such, but rather by an economic system that is organized around, and dependent on, ever-increasing levels of commodity production and consumption, which we gloss as “growth.” The global economy is presently overshooting several critical planetary boundaries-not only in terms of climate change, but also land-use change, biogeochemical flows, and species extinction (Rockström et al., 2009 Steffen et al., 2015), while risks of tipping points and feedback loops are of increasing concern (Lenton et al., 2019 Steffen et al., 2018). Growth in high-income nations is driving ecological breakdown

Let me open by making four brief observations. The good news is that ecological economics and post-growth scholarship 1 points toward compelling answers. The question of how to solve the crisis of ecological breakdown while at the same time improving lives and achieving human development goals is one of the most pressing of our time.

I am pleased to participate in this exchange with Stéphane. He also co-led the World Bank reports Inclusive green growth: The pathway to sustainable development (2012) and Decarbonizing development (2015). His books include Green economy and the crisis: 30 proposals for a more sustainable France (Cairn, 2012) and Natural disasters and climate change: An economic perspective (Springer, 2014). Stéphane Hallegatte is a lead economist with the Climate Change Group of the World Bank. His two most recent books are The divide: A brief guide to global inequality and its solutions (Penguin, 2017), and Less is more: How degrowth will save the world (Penguin, 2020).

Jason Hickel is a Visiting Senior Fellow at the International Inequalities Institute at the London School of Economics, and Professor at the Institute for Environmental Science & Technology, Autonomous University of Barcelona. This debate brings together two discussants in three rounds of conversation, to propose, test, and challenge each other’s ideas. Is it possible to resolve all three, or are there trade-offs? Can the crises be tackled by environmental and social policies within the logic of the existing economic system, or is a new paradigm required that rejects GDP growth as an objective? Economic growth has resulted in a twin crisis of climate change and environmental breakdown, while millions still live in poverty, a third crisis.

The divide a brief guide to global inequality