Growth and sustainability (part 2)
Post-growth high-income-countries Developed economies have contributed to an artificial rise in global temperatures by 1.611°C and are unsurprisingly off-track to limit global temperatures to 1.5°C owing to their reliance on fossil fuels, still 48% of electricity generation in OECD countries. 17 Despite their willingness to damage the environment, the rate of GDP growth in OECD countries has been a poor average of 1.8%. 18 Administering sustainable finance and reassessing fiscal space in banks is pivotal in transitioning to a low-carbon economy, diverting from short-term financial growth: IEA projections of an average of 3.4% increase in global energy demands has led to new green initiatives. KfW bank in Germany, for example, has provided new financial instruments (KfW’s PtX Platform) that have financed EUR 2.1 billion in modern energy systems in 2023 19 (e.g. green hydrogen) 20 and is expected to aid in achieving SDG 7 – the new ‘regenerative’ finance. 21
In over- consumerism is flourishing, wrongly equating materialism with wellbeing, further increasing aggregate production. Fuelled by impulsive consumer decisions, this corporate objective to pursue increased production capacity is problematic, with material extraction expected to increase by 60% by 2060. 22 Over 17 million tonnes of textile waste is generated annually in the US, and the fashion industry accounts for 8.1% of GHG emissions. 23 To allow profit and environmental conservation to coexist, affluent nations, however, governments should introduce policies that align with the ‘closed loop’ circular economy (see Figure 5). For example, the USA’s
Figure 5: closed circular economy (Raworth, 2017)
17 Ember. (2025, June 13). High-income countries saw power sector emissions peak in 2007, with emissions falling 29% since then . See https://ember-energy.org/countries-and-regions/oecd/. 18 macrotrends. (2023). OECD members GDP Growth Rate . See https://www.macrotrends.net/global- metrics/countries/oed/oecd-members/gdp-growth-rate#google_vignette. 19 KFW. (2025). In 2025, the focus will be on Germany as a business location . See https://www.kfw.de/About- KfW/Newsroom/Latest-News/Pressemitteilungen-Details_836800.html. 20 KFW. (n.d.). How KfW works to promote green hydrogen all over the world . See https://www.kfw.de/International- financing/Briefing-Green-Hydrogen/. 21 United Nations. (n.d.). Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all . See https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal7. 22 Neslen, A. (2024, January 31). Extraction of raw materials to rise by 60% by 2060, says UN report . See https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/jan/31/raw-materials-extraction-2060-un-report.
23 Colorful Socks. (2025, February). Fabric Waste Statistics 2025 . See https://bestcolorfulsocks.com/blogs/news/fabric-waste-statistics.
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