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No country has met welfare goals in past 30 years ‘without putting planet at risk’
(The Guardian, 18 Nov 2021) Exclusive: even wealthy nations seen as having good sustainability records use more than fair share of resources, finds study.
No country has managed to meet the basic social needs of its population in the past 30 years without putting undue pressure on the Earth’s supply of natural resources, according to a study.
Looking at a sample of 148 nations, research by the University of Leeds found wealthy countries were putting the future of the planet at risk to make minimal gains in human welfare, while poor countries were living within ecological boundaries but underachieving in areas such as life expectancy and access to energy.
The report, which follows the conclusion of the Cop26 climate change talks in Glasgow, said that on current trends the next 30 years would see the pattern repeated and called for a rethink of growth-dominated economic models.
Its authors said the research was the first attempt to track nation-by-nation progress in achieving environmental and social goals, and that even wealthy countries seen as having good sustainability records – such as Germany and Norway – were using more than their fair share of the world’s resources.
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The Guardian, 18 Nov 2021: No country has met welfare goals in past 30 years ‘without putting planet at risk’
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