economy
February 9, 2026
Global economy must move past GDP to avoid planetary disaster, warns UN chief
Exclusive: António Guterres says world’s accounting systems should place true value on the environment
TL;DR
- UN Secretary General António Guterres calls for a radical transformation of the global economy to stop rewarding pollution and waste.
- Current accounting systems, heavily reliant on GDP, are driving the planet to the brink of disaster.
- There's a need to place true value on the environment and go beyond GDP as a measure of progress and wellbeing.
- GDP measures the cost of everything and the value of nothing, failing to capture essential aspects of human progress.
- A UN initiative involving leading economists is working on a new dashboard of economic success measures that include human wellbeing, sustainability, and equity.
- Past global shocks like the 2008 financial crash and the Covid-19 pandemic were exacerbated by the 'triple planetary crisis' and growing inequality.
- Nations' focus on outperforming GDP metrics leads to the neglect of citizen wellbeing and sustainability.
- The aim is not to replace GDP but to complement it, helping assess whether development truly improves wellbeing, advances equity, and safeguards sustainability.
- Current economic models are seen as flawed for failing to account for climate shocks and potentially crashing the global economy.
- There is a growing debate around economic structures compatible with equality and sustainability, including post-growth initiatives and degrowth.
- Proponents of degrowth argue for a planned reduction in damaging production, particularly in richer countries, and a focus on socially beneficial sectors.
- Some believe a deeper systemic change is required, including democratizing control over production and overcoming the structure of capitalism, as GDP measures what is valuable to capital.
Continue reading the original article