China’s thriving pandas are proof that economic growth is good for the environment
Bjorn Lomborg says endangered species, and nature in general, benefit when prosperity allows humans to think beyond their own survival


Perils facing iconic animals like these have often been used by environmental campaigners to deliver an alarming message: the planet is going to hell in a handbasket. We shouldn’t yet consider pandas completely safe. But there are some clear and perhaps surprising lessons from this and other success stories. Chief among these is that economic growth can be good for endangered species and, more broadly, for the environment.
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Yet, it is easy to get the impression that a country getting richer degrades from an idyllic paradise to an industrial wasteland, where pollutants are emitted at will, and endangered animals and native plants are trampled in a race for growth.
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This thinking is showcased by environmental NGO Worldwatch Institute, which claimed in its 2015 “State of the World” report that “economic growth drives most environmental problems” and “growth itself needs to be abandoned as a national goal”.
Watch: Introduction to Worldwatch Institute ‘State of the World 2015’
The truth is that poverty is often a driver of environmental harm. If a country is poor, it can ill afford cleaner technology or investment in cleaning up. The most polluted places on Earth are almost invariably the poorest.
The truth is that poverty is often a driver of environmental harm
As industrialisation starts, some environmental problems get worse. Consider air pollution, by far the biggest environmental killer in the world.
China, home to the giant panda, has seen much higher levels of outdoor air pollution since its rapid industrialisation. In 1990, annual outdoor air pollution deaths stood at almost 600,000, but these have increased to 900,000.
With increasing incomes, far fewer households have to resort to burning wood and coal to cook and keep warm. This has reduced annual deaths from indoor air pollution, from 1.1 million in 1990 to 800,000 today. In total, air pollution deaths have remained fairly constant. Taking into account China’s much larger population today, the risk of dying from air pollution has actually decreased in the country, and this is because of increasing wealth.
Surveys show that, as the Chinese become richer, they are also becoming more concerned about the environment