Q&A: Anders Wijkman on being elected Co-President of the Club of Rome: “It is a huge responsibility”

A: It is a huge responsibility. We both have a legacy to defend and a challenge to make the “Limits to Growth” message relevant in today´s world.

Q: How will you take advantage of the opportunity to lead this global think tank?
A: I have been a member of the Club of Rome for more than 20 years. The difference now is to be in the leadership. I hope to be able to use the platform to advocate strongly for a much more resource-efficient society. We must stop the throwaway culture in favour of a circular economy. That represents the only hope, in my opinion, to avoid a disaster in terms of climate change, ecosystem collapse and/or resource scarcity.

Q: This year the Club of Rome launched a new report, 2052 – A Global Forecast for the Next Forty Years, which tries to predict the state of the world in 40 years’ time. What echoes are there from the Club of Rome’s famous 1972 report Limits to Growth?
A: Well, “2052” to a large extent confirms the predictions made by the “limits” report. It is quite amazing how accurate the original report from 1972 was in its predictions. Humanity is facing a number of serious challenges that have two major causes: a market economy that is extremely short term and which is externalizing major social costs on society, on top of a political system that also has a very short-term focus. No wonder we are in this mess.

Q: The report states that “Humanity has a forty-year window to avoid the most serious negative consequences of its decades-long overconsumption splurge”. In your view, what issue is most important to address in the coming 40 years, in order to meet the world’s sustainability challenges?
A: Apart from what I already stated above, the most important thing is to rethink the overall objective of the economy. It cannot be GDP growth. What is important are a number of welfare goals, like full employment, good health, education, healthy ecosystems, stable climate and more. Let us focus on them, not on growth as such. GDP growth is too crude a measure. It is quantitative measure and does not say anything about the quality of development.

Q: What is your personal opinion on mankind’s ability to collaborate to meet the challenge of dwindling natural resources?
A: We have been spoilt by cheap energy and cheap commodities for more than a hundred years. This is why almost nobody has been interested in or concerned about efficiency in the use of resources. We need a crash programme when it comes to research on sustainable innovation and design. We also need to rethink the education of economists. They still seem to look upon nature as a constant, as if nature will always be able to deliver cheap energy and cheap materials. But this is not the case. My question is: Why does society listen more to neo-classical economists than to natural scientists?

Q: Do you have any reflections on this?
A: There is not a single answer to this question. But one reason may be that most people have limited experience and knowledge of science; they feel alien to it. Another is that economists have been very skilled in promoting their ideas and concepts and somehow given the impression that they are on top of things. But they are not. On the contrary, they are wrong time and time again.

Q: Finally, do you have some career advice for those who want to be elected to the Club of Rome?
A: In the Club of Rome people are nominated as members based on merit and achievements. So the only possible advice is to strive for excellence in whatever you do!

Anders Wijkman is a former EU parliamentarian, recognized internationally for his leadership on sustainable development, his work on bridging science to policy, and his efforts to connect climate, ecosystems and development issues.

The Club of Rome is an international network consisting of 100 researchers and intellectuals from different parts of the world who are long-term thinkers interested in contributing in a systemic interdisciplinary and holistic manner to a better world. The Club of Rome conducts an intensive analysis and advocacy around the intersection of economics, social development and environment and its members share a common concern for the future of humanity and the planet.