Does economic growth harm the planet?

BBC One’s Sunday Morning Live debate with Tim Jackson, Daze Aghaji and Andy Mayer
01 March 2026

CUSP Director Tim Jackson joined a live debate on BBC One’s Sunday Morning Live to discuss the question: does economic growth harm the planet? The segment followed renewed international calls to move beyond GDP as the primary measure of progress, including recent comments from António Guterres on the need to value environmental sustainability and human wellbeing alongside economic performance.

During the discussion, Tim highlighted the close correlation between rising GDP and increasing environmental pressures, pointing to escalating carbon emissions and the dramatic decline in global biodiversity since the 1970s. He argued that prosperity is better understood as collective health rather than endless expansion—reminding us that we never measure health using just one indicator, so why measure economic success that way?

You can watch the full debate on the BBC website (starting min 34:40).

---

Further reading