5. Do We Need Economic Growth to Achieve More Sustainability?
By: World Economic Forum
Saturday January 26 2008 12.45 – 14.15
There are opposing views on whether economic growth can lead to increased levels of ecological and social sustainability. Its promoters argue that economic growth is needed to apply new technologies and sophisticated products which, in turn, lead to a more economic use of natural resources, more environmental protection and social progress. Yet, opponents claim that economic growth is based on global production and consumption patterns that are destroying our natural livelihoods and increasing social inequalities.
1) Do we need economic growth to solve existing social and ecological problems? Or, does economic growth create more costs than what it actually yields?
2) Can we expect a new economic boom triggered by innovations in environmentally-friendly technologies?
3) Which strategies of sustainability are the high-growth countries of Brazil, Russia, India or China following? How do these countries handle the conflict between economic growth and sustainability?
Speakers
- Sharan Burrow, President, International Trade Union Confederation, Brussels
- Ricardo Hausmann, Director, Center for International Development, and Professor of the Practice of Economic Development, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, USA
- John Itty, Professor, School of People’s Economics, India
- Pascal Couchepin, President of the Swiss Confederation, Federal Department of Home Affairs, Switzerland
- Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke, Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, The Nigerian Stock Exchange, Nigeria
Moderation
- Dirk Schütz, Editor-in-Chief, Bilanz, Switzerland
Webcast
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Alain de Ferguson
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Florian Hausmann Dr.oec.publ.
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http://hansahas.blogg.de clavacs
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http://www.efaafe.ch Solve et Coagula
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http://www.cts-ideas.com Cognose Lim Swee Keng
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Gumby
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Gumby
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Gumby
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http://www.psl.org.pl/kte Leslaw Michnowski
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Praveer Kumar, India
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Troy Klingspoon