Yes, we need to move to a no-growth economy

July 16, 2025

David Shearman is right: if we are to avert dangerous climate change (3 degrees C warming), then we need to move to a no-growth economy.

This will be a hard call in Australia, given growth is the dominant economic paradigm. Try telling it to Jim Chalmers, or most economic editors of the mainstream press! It is sacrilege.

Nevertheless, Julian Cribb (Humanity is risking catastrophe, 16 July) brought to our attention the 2025 Global Risks Report. Of the four environmental risks, it cites “natural resource shortages and biodiversity decline”. This should be enough to indicate that we have reached limits to growth that the Club of Rome warned us about back in 1972. We may be able to capture the sun’s energy and one day have endless energy, but given resources are essentially finite, then we are limited by that particular constraint.

If biodiversity is in decline, it is for a number of reasons, but the major one is habitat loss. Clearly, we have to stop encroaching on other species’ habitats for either human settlement or for growing food. Integral to the no-growth economy, of course, is stabilsation of population. We simply cannot afford another 70 million people every year.