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A third option for climate policy within potential limits to growth

Nature Climate Change volume 7, pages 107–112 (2017)Cite this article

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Abstract

Climate change has revived debates around the concept of limits to growth, 45 years after it was first proposed. Many citizens, scientists and politicians fear that stringent climate policy will harm economic growth. Some are anti-growth, whereas others believe green growth is compatible with a transition to a low-carbon economy. As the window to curb warming at 2 °C closes, this debate will intensify. This Review critically reflects on both positions, providing an overview of existing literature on the growth versus climate debate. Both positions are argued here to jeopardize environmental or social goals. A third position, labelled an 'agrowth' strategy, is proposed to depolarize the debate and reduce resistance to climate policies.

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Figure 1: Agrowth as search for human progress in the space spanned by relative changes in GDP and O.

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Acknowledgements

I am indebted to very many colleagues, especially K. Aiginger, W. Botzen, S. Drews, E. Galbraith and P. Victor, for useful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ICREA, Passeig de Lluís Companys 23, Barcelona, 08010, Spain

    Jeroen C. J. M. van den Bergh

  2. Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain

    Jeroen C. J. M. van den Bergh

  3. Faculty of Economics and Business Administration and Institute for Environmental Studies, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081, HV, The Netherlands

    Jeroen C. J. M. van den Bergh

  4. Edifici Z, UAB Campus, Bellaterra, 08193, Barcelona, Spain

    Jeroen C. J. M. van den Bergh

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Correspondence to Jeroen C. J. M. van den Bergh.

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van den Bergh, J. A third option for climate policy within potential limits to growth. Nature Clim Change 7, 107–112 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate3113

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