Is economic growth contributing compatible or contrary to sustainable economics and relationship between environment and economic growth and development?
Increased consumption of Earth's resources and its negative environmental impact has led many to conclude that economic growth is unsustainable. Economic growth is when the gross domestic product (GDP) increases over a period of time. Sustainable growth means maintaining the growth rate without causing other economic problems. Rapid growth may deplete resources, create environmental problems and contribute to global warming.The global economy recycles less than 10 percent of materials; about 50 percent of processed materials are used to provide energy and are thus not available for recycling. It is simple: economic growth is not compatible with environmental sustainability. It is economic growth that fails to factor in the impact on the environment or the impact of future generations. Unsustainable economic development trades the current development at the expense of the environment. Traditional economists consider long-term prices as an indicator of a sustainability problem. As more nations develop, our global carbon footprint increases as well. However, new economies and growing markets need not contribute to carbon emissions as they once did. With today's tools and technologies, it has become possible to enable and sustain economic growth without an increase in CO2 emissions. Sustainable economic growth is economic development that attempts to satisfy the needs of humans but in a manner that sustains natural resources and the environment for future generations. An economy functions in the ecosystem.There is tradeoff between economic growth and environment because of desire to high growth and excessive use of resources that cause environmental pollution. Poor people and poor countries depend on the soil for food, the rivers for water and forests for fuel. The natural environment is central to economic activity and growth, providing the resources we need to produce goods and services, and absorbing and processing unwanted by-products in the form of pollution and waste. Natural resources are essential inputs for production in many sectors, while production and consumption also lead to pollution and other pressures on the environment. Poor environmental quality in turn affects economic growth and wellbeing by lowering the quantity and quality of resources or due to health impacts, etc.