TOPIC 5

• Forget 'developing' poor countries, it's time to 'de-develop' rich countries
• Jason Hickel: 'Forget 'developing' poor countries, it's time to 'de-develop' rich countries'
• Heads of state are gathering in New York to sign the UN's new sustainable development goals (SDGs). The main objective is to eradicate poverty by 2030. Beyoncé, One Direction and Malala are on board. It's set to be a monumental international celebration.
• The main strategy for eradicating poverty is the same: growth.
• Since 1980, the global economy has grown by 380%, but the number of people living in poverty on less than $5 (£3.20) a day has increased by more than 1.1 billion. That's 17 times the population of Britain. So much for the trickle-down effect.
• Even at current levels of average global consumption, we're overshooting our planet's bio-capacity by more than 50% each year.
• Growth isn't an option any more – we've already grown too much. Scientists are now telling us that we're blowing past planetary boundaries at breakneck speed. And the hard truth is that this global crisis is due almost entirely to overconsumption in rich countries.
• Right now, our planet only has enough resources for each of us to consume 1.8 "global hectares" annually – a standardised unit that measures resource use and waste. This figure is roughly what the average person in Ghana or Guatemala consumes. By contrast, people in the US and Canada consume about 8 hectares per person, while Europeans consume 4.7 hectares – many times their fair share.
• Developing countries "catch up"


  Pushing poorer countries to achieve the same level of development as rich countries
• Rich countries "catch down"

  Get rich countries to reduce their level of development and consumption to more appropriate levels
• Cuba has a comparable life expectancy to the US and one of the highest literacy rates in the world with GDP per capita of only $6,000 and consumption of only 1.9 hectares – right at the threshold of ecological sustainability. Similar claims can be made of Peru, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Tunisia.
• Costa Rica manages to sustain one of the highest happiness indicators and life expectancies in the world with a per capita income one-fourth that of the US.
• 70% of people in middle- and high-income countries believe overconsumption is putting our planet and society at risk. A similar majority also believe we should strive to buy and own less, and that doing so would not compromise our happiness.
• The problem is that the pundits promoting this kind of transition are using the wrong language. They use terms such as de-growth, zero growth or – worst of all – de-development, which are technically accurate but off-putting for anyone who's not already on board.
• GDP as a measure is not going to get us there and we need to get rid of it.
• Buen vivir


  Good living (indigenous Latin American concept)
• Either we slow down voluntarily or climate change will do it for us. We can't go on ignoring the laws of nature. But rethinking our theory of progress is not only an ecological imperative, it is also a development one. If we do not act soon, all our hard-won gains against poverty will evaporate, as food systems collapse and mass famine re-emerges to an extent not seen since the 19th century.