Eradicating poverty: growth is not the answer

The author contends that GDP growth fails to eradicate poverty and instead drives environmental degradation and social inequality. The text proposes a shift toward 'decommodifying' essential services and reducing inequality to achieve social wellbeing without relying on economic expansion.

• The assumption that GDP growth is a prerequisite for combating poverty is contradicted by data showing that while global GDP nearly tripled since the 1990s, progress in eradicating poverty has largely stalled.
• Economic growth is identified as a driver of future climate-induced poverty because high-income countries have not achieved the absolute, permanent decoupling of growth from environmental impacts necessary to stay within planetary boundaries.
• The pursuit of GDP growth has led to a 'burnout economy' and increased inequality; for example, in France, the living standards of the poorest 10% of households have barely changed in real terms over the last two decades while the top 10% saw considerable income increases.
• The author proposes a 'Roadmap for Eradicating Poverty Beyond Growth' to be presented to the UN in 2026, which focuses on universal basic services, decommodifying food and housing, and implementing a basic income or job guarantee.
• Reducing inequality is presented as essential to eliminating poverty because it lowers unsustainable 'conspicuous' consumption patterns and eases the social pressures that cause social exclusion.

APA

De Schutter, O. (2025). Eradicating poverty: growth is not the answer. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/eradicating-poverty-growth-is-not-the-answer/

Chicago

De Schutter, Olivier. Eradicating poverty: growth is not the answer. Green European Journal, 2025. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/eradicating-poverty-growth-is-not-the-answer/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=De Schutter |first1=Olivier |title=Eradicating poverty: growth is not the answer |publisher=Green European Journal |date=15 December 2025 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/eradicating-poverty-growth-is-not-the-answer/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{deschutter2025eradicating, author = {De Schutter, Olivier}, title = {{Eradicating poverty: growth is not the answer}}, publisher = {Green European Journal}, year = {2025}, month = dec, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/eradicating-poverty-growth-is-not-the-answer/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }