The Lancet Public Health, pollution is not the unavoidable consequence of modern economic growth. Wise leadership can decouple development from pollution and help emerging economies to leapfrog over the disasters of the past. The conventional wisdom that pollution and disease are the unavoidable consequences of economic development is flawed. Applying similar legislation and regulation from high-income countries to low- and middle-income countries could help to improve and protect health as countries develop.
The authors do not shy away from articulating a path forward to address pollution. I agree with their assessment that sustainable long-term solutions will require a fundamental economic shift. We must move away from the "resource-intensive, and inherently wasteful, linear take-make-use-dispose economic paradigm." (It's a mouthful but sums it up well.) We must embrace and adopt a new economic system that the authors describe as one in which:
"pollution is reduced through the creation of durable, long-lasting products, the reduction of waste by large-scale recycling, reuse, and repair, the removal of distorting subsidies, the replacement of hazardous materials with safer alternatives, and strict enforcement of pollution taxes. ..[An economy that] conserves and increases resources, rather than taking and depleting them."
The Lancet Commission's report generated some eye catching headlines. I'm glad I took the time to read it. I hope many others do too.
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