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EU Commission chief: Growth model based on fossil fuels ‘simply obsolete’
(EurActiv, 15 May 2023) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen criticised the current economic model’s focus on GDP growth on Monday (15 May), the same day the Commission announced higher-than-expected GDP across the bloc.
Speaking at the Beyond Growth conference at the European Parliament, von der Leyen invoked the ‘Limits to Growth’ report published by the Club of Rome in 1972, warning that eternal economic growth would not be possible on a finite planet.
“I today want to concentrate on one point that the report got right beyond any doubt: The clear message that a growth model centred on fossil fuels is simply obsolete,” she said to an audience that was receptive for such a message.
The Beyond Growth conference, that takes place form 15 to 17 May, is organised at the European Parliament under the lead of Philippe Lamberts, the co-president of the green group in the Parliament. It unites NGOs, academics, and mostly progressive political groups.
The centre-right Commission president tempered her criticism of the current economic model by praising the EU’s “social market economy” and the Green New Deal.
Should GDP be replaced?
Nevertheless, von der Leyen criticised the current focus on economic growth and the way it is commonly measured.
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EurActiv, 15 May 2023: EU Commission chief: Growth model based on fossil fuels ‘simply obsolete’
