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Degrowth: One on One with Jørgen Randers – The Agenda full episode
The Agenda
29:50

In the past 60 years, global GDP has risen 5,000 percent. But at the same time, the gap between rich and poor has widened. Inflation has soared, and scientists warn we're on track for climate catastrophe, which is why a growing number of business brains are talking about degrowth.

Degrowth protagonists say recessions are chaotic and destabilizing, but degrowth can be a purposeful strategy to rebalance economies and achieve social and ecological goals. So can high income countries prosper without growth? Or is degrowth a rich nations pipe dream?

In the 1970s, Jørgen Randers became one of the world's most famous economists when his book The Limits to Growth outlined a new approach to global economics. He's a proponent of degrowth – the benefits of the economy shrinking, rather than growing. He says it's the only way for a greener future.

The Agenda's Juliet Mann speaks to the man who is now also the Head of the Centre for the Ecological Civilization at Peking University, where he has been tasked with proposing how Chinese authorities may act to achieve President Xi Jinping's goal to create a sustainable China.

Degrowth: One on One with Jørgen Randers – The Agenda full episode

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