Crossing Channels

Can economic growth and sustainability coexist?

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Episode notes

Rory Cellan-Jones talks to Matthew Agarwala, Stefan Lamp and Alessio Terzi about the trade-off between economic growth and environmental protection, the policies and legislations needed to achieve green growth, and the challenges associated with implementing such measures.

This episode unpacks the possibility of green growth. Leading experts discuss the unsustainability of current growth paths, the need for a new economic model and measures of wealth, and the types of policies needed to deliver both economic growth and environmental protection. 

This episode is hosted by Rory Cellan-Jones (former technology correspondent for the BBC), and features experts Matthew Agarwala (Bennett Institute), Stefan Lamp (TSE) and Alessio Terzi (Bennett Institute). 

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• Season 3 Episode 5 transcript: 

For more information about the podcast and the work of the institutes, visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.

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With thanks to:

• Audio production by Steve Hankey
• Associate production by Stella Erker
• Visuals by Tiffany Naylor

Relevant links 

• Alessio Terzi (2022) ‘Growth for Good: Reshaping Capitalism to Save Humanity from Climate Catastrophe’ (Harvard University Press)
• Coyle, D., Zenghelis, D., Agarwala, M.,  Wdowin, J., Lu, S. and Felici, M. (2019) ‘Measuring wealth, delivering prosperity: The Wealth Economy Project on Natural and Social Capital, Interim Report to LetterOne’ (Bennett Institute for Public Policy) 
• Agarwala, M., Cinamon Nair, Y., Cordonier Segger, M.C., Coyle, D., Felici, M., Goodair, B., Leam, R., Lu, S., Manley, A., Wdowin, J., Zenghelis, D. (2020). ‘Building Forward: Investing in a Resilient Recovery. Wealth Economy Report to LetterOne’ (Bennett Institute for Public Policy) 
• Diane Coyle. ‘GDP: A Brief but Affectionate History’, March 2014, Princeton University Press, revised edition 2015

More information about our host and guests:

Rory Cellan-Jones was a technology correspondent for the BBC. His 40 years in journalism have seen him take a particular interest in the impact of the internet and digital technology on society and business. @ruskin147

Dr Matthew Agarwala is an economist interested in measuring and delivering sustainability, wellbeing, and productivity.  He leads the Bennett Institute’s Wealth Economy project, which seeks to transform economic measurement to better reflect sustainability, inequality, and human wellbeing. @MatthewAgarwala

Dr Stefan Lamp is a Research Fellow at the Toulouse School of Economics. His research focuses mainly on the ongoing energy transition from a fossil-fuel economy towards renewable energy sources.

Dr Alessio Terzi is an Assistant Professor in Public Policy at the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of Growth for Good (Harvard University Press, 2022).