Rich countries put the planet at risk for ‘minimal social benefits’

This story was originally published by The Guardian and appears here as part of the Climate Table collaboration.

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 from the University of Leeds found that rich countries were putting the future of the planet at risk to achieve minimal gains in human well-being, while poor countries lived within ecological limits but with poor performance in areas such as life expectancy. and access to energy.

The report, which follows the conclusion of the COP26 climate change in Glasgow, he said that, on current trends, the next 30 years would see the pattern repeat itself and called for a rethinking of economic models dominated by growth.

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 that were considered to have good sustainability records, such as Germany and Norway, were using more. than their share. the world’s resources.

The report, which was published in the journal Nature Sustainability, said that rich countries, including the US, UK and Canada, were achieving minimal social gains despite using resources at a level that was consistent with the climate and ecological collapse.

What people are reading

The poorest countries such as Bangladesh, Malawi, and Sri Lanka lived within planetary limits, but still failed to meet many basic human needs.

The researchers tracked countries’ performance on 11 social priorities broadly aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. Indicators included life expectancy, nutrition, sanitation, and access to education.

The study also assessed whether countries operated within six planetary boundaries, including global warming, excessive use of fertilizers, and Earth system change.

Dr Andrew Fanning, lead author of the report, said: “Everyone needs a sufficient level of resources to be healthy and participate in their society with dignity, but we must also ensure that the overall use of resources is not so high as to cause climatic changes and ecological breakdown.

“We looked at country trajectories since the early 1990s and found that most countries are closer to meeting the basic needs of their residents than they were 30 years ago, which is good news, although significant gaps remain, especially for collective objectives such as equality and democratic quality. .

“The bad news is that the number of countries that are overconsuming resources is increasing, especially when it comes to carbon dioxide emissions and the use of materials.

“Worryingly, we found that countries tend to exceed fair proportions of planetary boundaries faster than they reach minimum social thresholds.”