The Environment Thrives when the Economy Grows

As environmental issues fall in the list of priorities for the British public, we should be reassured by the environmental Kuznets Curve that the issue will reappear once more. Economic stagnation within the UK has come to the foreground of the political discussion as both the state and the public see that it is in dire need of support. 

The Kuznets Curve, known by geography students up and down the country, relies on  a fundamental assumption: the economy continues to grow. As we look into the future, we clearly do not have the good fortune of economic stability; as a result, the public support for net zero and home-grown environmental issues is dwindling. Economic prioritisation was seen previously during the Industrial Revolution, when the nation moved from the idyllic, pastoral countryside (that was in reality nasty, brutish, and short) to the smog of industrial towns. However, as wealth grew, so did the desire for a nicer environment: eventually, smog dissipated and streams cleared.

Whilst I am not suggesting that economic growth has to come in such a dramatic (and ecologically detrimental) form, we must see the value in refocusing our objectives on the actual lives of British people. When the energy cap rises despite the fall in energy costs, it suggests the government is prioritising green energy subsidies over the cost of living crisis. Moreover, as house prices continue to rise and people are becoming poorer in real terms we should all be able to see that families are more important than the bats and the newts.    

Seen in the inverted u-shape of the Kuznets Curve, it is clear that when nations prosper the environment improves too. The realignment of priorities towards ecological development occurs when people have the bandwidth to care: knowing how and where one will live creates stability and grassroots solutions arise. In order to focus on the environment we must first tend to the economy (we cannot decouple economic growth from fossil fuels if there is no economic growth in the first place). Government focus on green energy will not fix the budget deficit, inflation, or the unproductive economy. 

For the case of climate change more generally, it is irrational, inefficient, and costly for Britain to focus on environmental issues when other countries continue to neglect them. In a globalised world where value is determined by the market, we are spending a great deal on green energy to have very little impact whilst the economies of other nations continue to advance. For the foreseeable, war and geopolitical tension, energy insecurity, and domestic issues will take centre stage; green policy will be put on the backburner internationally (for good reason).  

Anna Casey