Partha Dasgupta and Martin Rees of CSER both spoke at a the Pontifical Summit just yesterday. At this summit, entitled Protect The Earth, Dignify Humanity, they both spoke to the need for us to include our environmental impact in our measurement of progress.
Sir Dasgupta, Chair of CSER, argued that we should move on from considering GDP an ultimate measure of economic success:
“GDP is a disgraceful index because it does not count depreciation of our assets – including damage to Mother Nature, the most fundamental asset we have.”
These discussions may influence the papal Encyclic on climate change, forthcoming in June this year.
