Post-growth perspectives: Sustainable development based on efficiency and on sufficiency

Abstract

With the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement the general idea of sustainable development has been transformed into a policy concept with well-defined goals, indicators for measurement and an implementation process. To reduce environmental impact (e.g. on climate, SDG 13) two basic options are available: efficiency and sufficiency. Eco-efficiency (less environmental impact per unit of GDP) still plays the most important role and has the potential to delink economic growth and environmental impact. Growth could continue (green growth). However, rates of efficiency increase are not (yet) large enough to comply with e.g. climate goals -and efficiency increase is (partly) compensated by rebound effects. Therefore, greater emphasis on the sufficiency option (lower GDP) is necessary, i.e. consumption patterns and lifestyles will have to change; in macro-economic terms: economic growth (in rich countries) will have to end. This has significant consequences for the transformation of economies and societies and for government policies, which have been dominated by growth policy. Nevertheless, given the ambitious environmental (climate) goals and the only small effects of efficiency strategies, strengthening of the sufficiency option is inevitable. Only with policy concepts that integrate the efficiency and sufficiency components is there a chance to fulfill environmental SDGs -which are the foundation for many other SDGs.

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“…This article explores PV and PM through the lens of economic factors -an unusual stance since PM research mostly features the economy as background rather than as foreground. Responding to Kurz's (2019) important paper arguing that sufficiency should replace efficiency, our article challenges some of his premises and counters Ilyambo and Kaulihowa's (2020) balanced budget argument by counterposing that of the balanced economy.…”

“…-Firstly, we explore PV in a post-virus economy contesting the arguments for de-growth proposed in JPS by Kurz (2019) echoing Jackson (2017) and Kallis (2018). We consider the nature of value and how the concept has been and can be used in PM research (Moore, 1995) and then argue that intractable debates around what constitutes PV, for example (Lindgreen et al, 2019), are the result of narrowly defining it as emanating from services funded by the public purse and delivered by public agencies.…”

“…Raey (2009) offers a slower, market-led alternative to MMT's GND. Others favour the more radical policy of de-growth (Kallis, 2018;Kurz, 2019) involving static or falling living standards. Dietz and O'Neill (2013) challenge the idea that economic innovation is always beneficial and calls for a steady-state economy, abandoning carbon-based industries such as airlines and oil.…”

Degrowth

“…The analytical question is if it is possible to "delink" growth and environmental impact. The empirical question is if there is evidence that this is actually happening (see Jackson and Victor 2019;Kurz 2019).…”

Rebound Effects of Eco-efficiency

“…Parking restrictions for SUVs instead of additional (larger) SUV parking lots and/or general reduction of parking space. In general this is the aspect of sufficiency in the sustainable development debate: how much is "enough," promoted not only by government regulation but also by social debate and pressure (Kurz 2019).…”