James Meadway - Thinking differently about climate breakdown

The article looks at how economist James Meadway, and his Macrodose podcast are looking at the negative externalities of climate change and extreme weather events through a more inclusive lens.

He argues that this is appropriate because, ultimately, the state of the environment may become the biggest constraint on conventional economic growth. In short, it's a clarion call to make the trade-offs between the environment and economic growth more central to economic debate and even suggests that the notion of 'degrowth' might have to become reality if we're going to achieve climate change targets.

What is climate breakdown?

Climate breakdown is a term used to describe the severe and widespread changes in the Earth's climate that are currently being observed and predicted to occur in the future. It's sometimes used interchangeably with the term "climate change," but it emphasizes the severity of the problem and the urgent need for action.Here are some key elements of climate breakdown:

• Global warming: The main driver of climate breakdown is the rise in global temperatures due to human activities, such as burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and agriculture.
• Widespread impacts: The impacts of climate breakdown are widespread and interconnected, affecting everything from extreme weather events to food security, public health, and ecosystems.
• Rapid change: The pace of climate breakdown is rapid, with many changes happening faster than previously predicted.
• Thresholds: Some changes, such as the melting of ice sheets or the loss of coral reefs, may reach a point of no return, known as a "tipping point," beyond which further change becomes inevitable.
• Impacts on people and ecosystems: Climate breakdown affects people and ecosystems in different ways, with those in vulnerable and marginalized communities often being hardest hit.