Kicking our growth addiction is the way out of the climate crisis. This is how to do it

With the right global economic policies, we could fight poverty and global heating at the same time, writes Larry Elliott

A young girl stands in a barren field on the outskirts of Hargeisa, Somaliland. If developing countries are to have the same — or even remotely the same — standards of living as developed countries, that means a lot higher use of resources and additional pressure on the planet. 

For the best part of three centuries, there has been a consensus about the goal of economic policy. Since the dawn of the industrial age in the 18th century, the aim has been to achieve as rapid growth as possible.

It’s not hard to see why there has been this focus. Growth has raised living standards, increased life expectancy, improved medical care and resulted in better-educated, better-fed populations.