Looking ahead to teaching about common law remedies and economic theory in an environmental context in Week 7, and teaching about sustainability in Week 8, there have been a number of recent reports about economic growth from learned societies in different jurisdictions.
In March 2014 the Royal Society of New Zealand released an emerging issues paper “Facing the future: towards a green economy for New Zealand” looking at the topic of green growth. Based on local and global trend the paper suggested that New Zealand should review its development trajectory and review the potential for green growth.
In April 2014 the UK based Royal Society for Arts released a new “short” entitled “Growth is Not Enough” which puts forward a strong argument for looking beyond economic growth alone as a measure of prosperity and societal progress.
The RSNZ paper and a link to the RSA short can be viewed via Moodle for any readers who may wish to consult them.
Both should be viewed in context of the statement from the UN Environment Program, which defines green growth as “low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive”.
Food for thought in light of Bosselmann’s conclusion that economic restructuring may be required to give effect to the concept sustainable development.