News

Northern Ireland and the Transition to a Sustainable Economy

10 September 2009

The Sustainable Development Commission in Northern Ireland, in partnership with The School of Law at Queen’s University Belfast, will host a discussion on moving Northern Ireland’s economy towards a sustainable future on Tuesday 29th September in Lecture Theatre 6, Peter Frogatt Centre QUB, Belfast, at 7.30pm.

The Sustainable Development Commission’s Economics Commissioner, Professor Tim Jackson, will be the guest speaker at the event.   In the Sustainable Development Commission’s report, and in the soon to be published book, ‘Prosperity Without Growth?’ Professor Jackson outlines the argument that the mantra of unrestricted economic growth led to the current financial crisis. 

Professor Jackson will argue that simply rebuilding the economy on the same flawed model will only lead to catastrophe in the future.  Only by making the transition to a sustainable economy can we hope to build a flourishing, stable, and equitable society. 

A panel of experts will then tease out the options and consequences of such a modal change for the economy and society in Northern Ireland with Professor Jackson.  The debate will then be opened up to a Question and Answer session with an invited audience. 

The event is expected to last for 90 minutes and all media and photographers are welcome to reserve a place. 

Speaking ahead of the event Professor Jackson stated:“Prosperity Without Growth? finds that our current financial crisis is directly linked to our pursuit of growth.  Our reliance on debt to finance the cycle of growth has created a deeply unstable system which has made individuals, families and communities inherently vulnerable to cycles of boom and bust, while increasing consumption does not make us happier. 

“It may seem inopportune to be questioning growth while we are faced with daily news of the effects of recession, but allegiance to growth is the most dominant feature of an economic and political system that has led us to the brink of disaster.  Not to stand back now and question what has happened would be to compound failure with failure: failure of vision with failure of responsibility.  Figuring out how to deliver prosperity without growth is more essential now than ever. 

“Fundamentally transforming the foundations of the economy is the biggest contribution we can make towards building a sustainable future.  The current economic crisis may be painful, but it will be nothing compared to the crises we will face if we continue to grow in a way that threatens the life-support systems on which we rely.  Everyone has a role to play in the transition we must make.  The Executive and the Assembly here in Northern Ireland must grasp the opportunity provided by this challenge.” 

Dr Peter Doran from the Queen’s University School of Law has expressed his delight to be working with the SDC and Professor Jackson in providing a valuable opportunity for the local community to actively engage in the debate on redefining prosperity. Dr Doran stated:"The School is committed to playing its part in terms of research and teaching to support society's transition to a future founded on our collective talents, resilience and innovative governance.  We are sure that Professor Jackson will stimulate an exciting and challenging debate during his visit to the University." 

ENDS 

Praise for Prosperity Without Growth? 

'This might well become as important for sustainable development as the Brundtland Report.'
Paul-Marie Boulanger, Director of IDD
 

“This is the best account of the financial crises and the state of society I have read in a long time. It is honest about the state we are in but is not despairing.  It outlines how we can reshape the world so that we live in a sustainable, fairer and better way.  And the beauty is that the change that is needed will make us happier “Clare Short MP 

'Endless growth on a finite planet, or endless misery-spreading recession, both represent impossible futures. Here are some very powerful steps towards a possible, indeed a very hopeful, alternate outcome!'
Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy


'What makes it unthinkable to stop growth even though it is killing us? Tim Jackson boldly confronts the structural Catch-22 that drives this madness and proposes in this lucid, persuasive, and blessedly readable book how we might begin to get off the fast track to self-destruction. Don't miss it!'
Dianne Dumanoski, author of The End of the Long Summer and co-author of Our Stolen Future


'Prosperity without Growth says it all: informatively, clearly, inspiringly, critically and constructively, starting from the very troubled, unsustainable and unsatisfying economy we have today and providing a robust combination of suggestions for going toward a sustainable economy and fulfilling lives.'
Richard Norgaard, Professor of Energy and Resources, University of California, Berkeley


'A vital, much-needed, and timely work that deserves to be widely read, this is more than a brilliant treatise on the difficulties of developing a truly sustainable economy. It is also an important contribution to the increasingly urgent debate over the nature of the good life and the good society.'
Professor Colin Campbell, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University of York


 Notes to Editors

1. The Sustainable Development Commission is the Government’s independent advisor on sustainability, made up of 19 commissioners and chaired by Will Day.  It reports directly to the Prime Minister, the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales, and the First and Deputy First Ministers of Northern Ireland.
2. Professor Tim Jackson is the Sustainable Development Commission’s Economics Commissioner.  He is also Professor of Sustainable Development at the University of Surrey and Director of the ESRC Research Group on Lifestyles, Values and Environment (RESOLVE).
3. Professor Jackson’s report, ‘Prosperity Without Growth?’ can be accessed at /pages/redefining-prosperity.html
4. The panel responding to Professor Jackson’s presentation will include the former Chief Executive of the Consumer Council in Northern Ireland Eleanor Gill, Chair of the Institute of Directors in Northern Ireland Joanne Stuart, and Conall McDevitt, MD Weber Shandwick Northern Ireland.

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