Study Challenges GDP as Measure of Prosperity, Highlights Environmental Disparities
A groundbreaking study by Kate Raworth and her colleagues challenges the traditional use of GDP as a measure of prosperity. The research, published by Oxford scientists, reveals a stark disparity in environmental responsibility and impact among nations. Meanwhile, the Earth's climate and environmental crises continue to worsen, despite global economic success.
The study finds that wealthy countries are the primary culprits behind ecological overshoots, yet it is the poorer nations that bear the brunt of the negative consequences. Prof. Dr. Herbert Einsiedler, commenting on the findings, highlights the inability of those in power to effectively address environmental and climate protection issues alongside social needs.
In 2022 alone, six out of nine planetary boundaries were exceeded. To reverse this trend, countermeasures would need to be at least doubled. The Earth's climate and environmental crises persist, despite the world's GDP more than doubling between 2000 and today. Ironically, this economic growth has benefited only a few wealthy individuals, while billions continue to lack adequate housing, suffer from hunger, and lack access to medical care.
The ÖDP party advocates for a shift in focus, promoting more efficient criteria to measure societal prosperity, with the common good at the heart of politics. The study's results echo this sentiment, calling for an economic system that prioritizes 'prosperity without growth pressure'. As the environmental crisis deepens, there is an urgent need for a paradigm shift in how we measure and pursue progress.
