Environmental protection good for growth

All across the world, the drive for higher incomes in the face of mounting environmental destruction has heightened the tension between rapid economic growth and environmental protection. The perception of a trade-off between the two goals rests on the view often held - wrongly - that environmental protection, not environmental degradation, is the obstacle to fast growth.

The reality, however, is the opposite - it will not be possible to sustain high growth in the coming years without environmental care.

The reason is that we are facing a twin crisis, economic and environmental, and the two are highly interlinked. The recent spike in food prices, the second in three years, signals in good measure, pressures on production that are exacerbated by the deleterious effects of environmental devastation and climate change. While some may dismiss the global risks of climate change as being distant, recent extreme weather events point to changes that may already be upon us.