Pollution can stunt economic growth by reducing the productivity of workers and increasing healthcare costs. It can also lead to environmental degradation and damage to natural resources, which can negatively impact the economy in the long run1.

Dr Chuck A Arize thank you for your contribution to the discussion

Economic growth creates long-term waste and toxins, which may have unknown consequences. As, economic growth has led to increased use of plastic, which when disposed of do not degrade.Air pollution can affect businesses through reduced workforce productivity, work absences, premature deaths and lower crop yields. One of the connections between economy and air pollution are higher costs of energy. The buildup of pollution can cause equipment to fail and need repair or replacement, leading to an increase in energy costs for businesses and individuals. Air pollution costs Indian businesses about USD $95 billion every year, around 3% of India's total GDP. To save lives and improve economic prospects, businesses and policymakers must become more active advocates for clean air by showing how much the economy and society stands to gain. In addition to direct impacts on environmental systems that can impact natural capital which in turn influences growth, there is also a major loss in productivity caused by the health impacts of pollution. Respiratory distress can lead to lost work days and have a major impact on the economic output of a locality. Dirty air causes major health issues, which have serious consequences for our economy. Air pollution can affect businesses through reduced workforce productivity, work absences, premature deaths and lower crop yields. Economic policies such as rationalization of price subsidies, the clarification of property rights, and facilitation of technology transfer may help in achieving environmental sustainability and rationalizing subsidies will save money, improves efficiency and can significantly lower pollution. It's really quite simple: with public policies ranging from command-and-control regulations to direct and indirect government subsidies, businesses and governments developed and applied technologies that reduced pollution while allowing continued economic growth.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. Increase in GDP leads to increase in material and energy use, and therefore to environmental unsustainability. There is an uncomfortable scientific truth that has to be faced: economic growth is environmentally unsustainable. Technology and market based solutions are not magic bullets. This is due to the underlying thought that development policies promote economic well being, while environmental policies have been seen to be restricting it. Thus, for sake of sustainable development, there is a need to balance economic development with environmental protection.

One view is that economics growth have negative impact on the enviroment because economic growth generate waste

Dr Dagmawit Ketsela Getahun thank you for your contribution to the discussion

Economic policies such as rationalization of price subsidies, the clarification of property rights, and facilitation of technology transfer may help in achieving environmental sustainability. Rationalizing subsidies will save money, improves efficiency and can significantly lower pollution. Economic growth will be undermined without adequate environmental safeguards, and environmental protection will fail without economic growth. The earth's natural resources place limits on economic growth. The early stage of economic development, environmental pollution will continue to increase with economic development until economic growth reaches a “turning point.” Subsequently, environmental pollution will show a downward trend and environmental quality will improve. To maintain a balance between the environment and human development, it is necessary to strive for sustainable development to meet the needs of the present generation and conserve them for the future generation. To achieve this we have to consider the different aspects of development. The environment should not be considered a great obstacle to development, but natural assets should be preserved to complement the social and cultural environment, say various members of the society. For many years one of the predominant conventional wisdoms in both business and policymaking circles was that cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions necessitates a sacrifice in economic growth. Economic development is often put ahead of environmental sustainability as it involves people's standards of living. However, quality of life can decline if people live in an economic place with a poor environmental quality because of economic development. Separately, environment is defined here as the entirety of the physical world consisting of the world's land masses, oceans, and atmosphere. Development is defined as the process of growth and change in human social, political, and economic systems.The environment provides major raw materials for industries. Economy processes raw material to make finished goods. The environment provides industries with all the natural resources. The economy invests in developing technology to optimize the use of natural resources. Air pollution can affect businesses through reduced workforce productivity, work absences, premature deaths and lower crop yields.