Happy planet, happy economy, happy consumers?

Abstract

This chapter asks whether the UK can play its part in reducing climate change risk to a reasonable level, while maintaining a full employment economy and consumers who are satisfied with their lives (and who will therefore vote for the necessary policies). Climate change requires two kinds of measures: reducing the economy's carbon intensity and, potentially reducing the size of the economy as compared to business as usual. The first involves cost and the second involves fewer working hours. Neither of them damage employment but both reduce consumption. The chapter quantifies four scenarios and concludes that in three of them, changes are probably politically feasible provided they are accompanied by the kind of redistribution we saw in the UK between the 1950s and the 1970s, and provided the steps described in the chapter to make the choice of fewer working hours feasible and attractive are implemented.