Growth, Comfort and Happiness in a Net Zero Future.
Net Zero still seems to be in the news, particularly certain politicians' aversion to it. Decarbonising gets in the way of economic growth, you see, and growth is good. Growth lifts us out of poverty and is responsible for technology development, increased lifespans, and all manner of wonders. More growth surely means more good things, and people will be more satisfied with life, they'll be happier. In economic terms they will have more utility. So let's keep going with it!
Right?
But growth is just one part of the development cycle. For sure, growth can get you out of poverty, which takes away misery. But once basic needs are met, growth (which really reduces to more toys) doesn't make you happier. You know that. We all know that. Money and toys might make you more comfortable, and give you more choices, but on its own won't deliver happiness. In fact, some might argue that being overly comfortable makes you weak and fragile, which will catapult you into unhappiness if you lose it all.
There is a poor correlation between happiness and GDP. Singaporeans are about as happy as El Salvadorians.
Sources: data.worldbank.org. GDP per capita, PPP (current international $, accessed 30/7/2025); Helliwell, J. F., Layard, R., Sachs, J. D., De Neve, J.-E., Aknin, L. B., & Wang, S. (Eds.). (2025). World Happiness Report 2025. University of Oxford: Wellbeing Research Centre. Available at https://files.worldhappiness.report/WHR25.pdf, accessed 30/7/2025
Indeed, is happiness even the goal? This great comic, based on this great essay, posits life is about finding satisfaction and meaning and interest. A moment of self reflection will show you that connecting with others in person, spending time in nature, sharing a meal, slowing down and being grateful for this wonderful planet we live on, the only venue in the known universe with life, brings a lot more satisfaction and joy than ... stuff.
But the belief persists at a policy level that people want more stuff tomorrow than they have today, and that is just human nature which we can't change, so let's grow, grow, grow.¹
So what has this to do with net zero? Well, if we DON’T get carbon out of the economy, we’re cooked. Some people will get a little more money along the way and be able to buy more toys, but those toys will be made of things from the Earth and it’s ecosystems, and as we destroy those we destroy our real wealth: the beauty of the planet, the fresh air, clean water and healthy food that it gives us. And the real wealth of our children. And we all love our children, no matter our politics.
If we DO get carbon out of the economy it will shrink but that’s ok because we define it so badly. We don’t count ecosystems, our natural life support systems, time with friends, shinrin-yoku, beautiful views, love, or any of the things that make life worth living. Does it even matter if an economy that is measured primarily by GDP, a better metric of cost than benefit, shrinks?
So to those championing continual growth over hard-to-achieve and financially costly net zero aspirations, take a while to think about what really matters. Forget your economics training—it’s all demonstrably wrong anyway—forget appealing to a political base that is rapidly moving away from you, and really think. Think about the system we exist in and what the next stage of the development cycle could look like. Think how you can show leadership and take people to a better future than the default. Because on our current trajectory, the default sucks.
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¹ I don't think the historical record bears this out and growth is obviously ultimately limited by finite resources, but that’s a discussion for another day.
