Sustainable Consumption Institute is to host a public debate in London England entitled “Economic growth, prosperity and sustainability: a contradiction?”

Chaired by Professor Dale Southerton (Sustainable Consumption Institute, University of Manchester) and with panellists, Professors Tim Jackson (RESOLVE, University of Surrey) and Paul Ekins (UCL Energy Institute, University College London) , the debate is sure to be very interesting.

Global climate change is one of the greatest collective action problems facing mankind. Despite efforts by businesses, governments and households to ‘green’ their activities, the problem remains that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions continue to rise. As such, the search for ecological, social and economic sustainability in the future continues to raise a number of difficult questions. Can economic growth be decoupled from ecological damage? Is continued economic growth essential to finance ‘sustainability’ measures and invest in innovative ‘green’ technologies? Should we seek to re-shape our economic systems in ways which recognise that increased consumption may not lead either to greater well-being or sustainable ways of life? What would a low or zero economic growth future look like?

These are some of the questions that will be addressed in this Sustainable Consumption Institute (SCI) public debate at Hoare Memorial Hall, Church House Conference Centre. Professors Tim Jackson and Paul Ekins will introduce the key issues, and their positions, before engaging in a public debate that promises to deal with some of the questions concerning the challenge to find paths towards a more sustainable future. Professor Dale Southerton of the SCI will moderate the discussion.

Paul Ekins is Professor of Energy and Environment Policy at the UCL Energy Institute, University College London. He has published extensively on sustainable development and environmental policy, including the influential book Economic Growth and Environmental Sustainability: the Prospects for Green Growth. In addition to founding the sustainable development charity Forum for the Future, he has served as a specialist adviser to the Environmental Audit Committee of the House of Commons (1997-2005) and a Member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (2002-2008).

Tim Jackson is Professor of Sustainable Development and Director of the Research group on Lifestyles, Values and Environment (RESOLVE) and the Sustainable Lifestyles Research Group (SLRG). His numerous publications and service on research and policy committees make him amongst the most influential academics on the fields of sustainable consumption and development. He is the Economics Commissioner to the UK Sustainable Development Commission, and his book Prosperity without Growth: Economics for a Finite Planet presents a fundamental challenge to conventional understandings of economic growth, consumption and well being.

Dale Southerton is an SCI Professorial Research Fellow and Professor of Sociology at The University of Manchester and Director of the ESRC Sustainable Practices Research Group (SPRG). Their work will focus on sustainable living practices in food, water-use and shelter. Dale is the Principal Investigator of three SCI funded projects: ‘Modelling consumer behaviour’, ‘Single person households and practices of consumption: the implications for sustainability’; and, ‘Alternative approaches to consumer behaviour’. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopaedia of Consumer Culture (Sage, Forthcoming 2011).