Climate change shouts at us to drop our obsession with economic growth

These are interesting times for economics. Just as growth is returning to the UK economy, more and more people are daring to question whether economic growth is a good thing. Climate change is already hurting the world’s poorest people – and today's UN report on climate change warns that no one will be spared its effects – yet governments are at a loss about how to cut the rich world’s consumption of fossil fuels as deeply as scientists are demanding – in fact worldwide carbon emissions are still on the rise. Meanwhile through the availability of cheap credit, sanctioned by the Government, household debt is rising again and threatening yet another crash and more misery. The Children’s Society, with its 2009 Good Childhood Inquiry report, is just one r