Photo: Sanja GjeneroLong, happy lives possible with far lower levels of resource consumptionCosta Rica has been ranked the 'greenest and happiest' country in the world in a survey by a British NGO. According to The New Economics Foundaton (NEF), nine of the ten highest-scoring nations are Latin American. The report, The Happy Planet Index 2.0: Why good lives don't have to cost the earth, published on July 4, presents the results of the second global compilation of the Happy Planet Index (HPI). The new Index is based on improved data for 143 countries around the world, representing 99 per cent of the world's population.
The Latin American country reports the highest life satisfaction in the world, have the second-highest average life expectancy of the New World (second only to Canada) and have an ecological footprint that means that the country only narrowly fails to achieve the goal of 'one-planet living': consuming its fair share of the Earth's natural resources.
The Happy Planet Index reveals the ecological efficiency with which human well-being is delivered. The study also reveals that the US, China and India were all 'greener and happier' twenty years ago than today.
Rich, developed nations fare poorly. The highest placed Western nation is the Netherlands - managing only 43rd out of 143. The UK still languishes midway down the table - 74th, well behind Germany, Italy and France. It is just pipped by Georgia and Slovakia, but ahead of Japan and Ireland. The US fares particularly poorly, in 114th place out of 143.
Island nations perform well. Five of the ten small island nations included in the HPI are in the top 20 per cent of the HPI rankings.
Middle-income countries, like those in Latin America and South East Asia tend to be the closest to achieving sustainable well-being. Our current development model performs best at middle-income levels, but even at its optimum, it is unable to deliver good lives that do not cost the Earth.
"As the world faces the triple crunch of deep financial crisis, accelerating climate
change and the looming peak in oil production we desperately need a new compass to guide us. Following the siren's song of economic growth has delivered only marginal benefits to the World's poorest whilst undermining the basis of their livelihoods. What's more, it hasn't notably improved the well-being of those who were already rich, or even provided economic stability. Now we must use the Happy Planet Index to break the spell and chart a new course for a high well-being low-carbon economy before our high-consuming lifestyles plunge us into the chaos of irreversible climate change" says Nic Marks, founder of the centre for well-being at NEF.
Live long with less ecological footprint
No one country listed in the HPI 2.0 achieves all three goals of high life satisfaction, high life expectancy and one-planet living. But the differences between nations show that it is possible to live long, happy lives with much smaller ecological footprints than the highest-consuming nations.
And there may be other positive pay-offs. For many in the West, the struggle to increase incomes has come at the expense of our social capital and mental health. The challenge for the West, the report says, is not to continue increasing our monetary incomes, but to ensure meaningful lives, and strong social ties. Often, achieving these aims means reducing the focus on consumption, and freeing up time for other pursuits.
The HPI shows that good lives that don't cost the Earth really are possible. Comparisons show that long, happy lives can be achieved with far lower levels of resource consumption:
People in the Netherlands live on average over a year longer than people in the US, and have similar levels of life satisfaction - yet their per capita ecological footprint is less than half the size (4.4 global hectares compared with 9.4 global hectares). The Netherlands is over twice as ecologically efficient at achieving good lives as the US.
Costa Ricans also live slightly longer than Americans, and report much higher levels of life satisfaction, and yet have a footprint that is less than a quarter the size.
"The economy, communities, lifestyles and aspirations of a happy planet will be very different to those that lock us into our current ecological inefficiency. The Happy Planet Index suggests that the path we have been following is, without exception, unable to deliver all three goals: high life satisfaction, high life expectancy and one-planet living. Instead we need a new development model that delivers good lives that don't cost the Earth for all. We should look to the Happy Planet Index to guide us in that endeavour" says Saamah Abdallah, NEF researcher and the report's lead author.
The report sets out a 'Happy Planet Charter' calling for an unprecedented collective global effort to develop a new narrative of human progress, encourage good lives that don't cost the Earth, and to reduce consumption in the highest-consuming nations as the biggest barrier to sustainable well-being.
The Latin American country reports the highest life satisfaction in the world, have the second-highest average life expectancy of the New World (second only to Canada) and have an ecological footprint that means that the country only narrowly fails to achieve the goal of 'one-planet living': consuming its fair share of the Earth's natural resources.
The Happy Planet Index reveals the ecological efficiency with which human well-being is delivered. The study also reveals that the US, China and India were all 'greener and happier' twenty years ago than today.
Rich, developed nations fare poorly. The highest placed Western nation is the Netherlands - managing only 43rd out of 143. The UK still languishes midway down the table - 74th, well behind Germany, Italy and France. It is just pipped by Georgia and Slovakia, but ahead of Japan and Ireland. The US fares particularly poorly, in 114th place out of 143.
Island nations perform well. Five of the ten small island nations included in the HPI are in the top 20 per cent of the HPI rankings.
Middle-income countries, like those in Latin America and South East Asia tend to be the closest to achieving sustainable well-being. Our current development model performs best at middle-income levels, but even at its optimum, it is unable to deliver good lives that do not cost the Earth.
"As the world faces the triple crunch of deep financial crisis, accelerating climate
change and the looming peak in oil production we desperately need a new compass to guide us. Following the siren's song of economic growth has delivered only marginal benefits to the World's poorest whilst undermining the basis of their livelihoods. What's more, it hasn't notably improved the well-being of those who were already rich, or even provided economic stability. Now we must use the Happy Planet Index to break the spell and chart a new course for a high well-being low-carbon economy before our high-consuming lifestyles plunge us into the chaos of irreversible climate change" says Nic Marks, founder of the centre for well-being at NEF.
Live long with less ecological footprint
No one country listed in the HPI 2.0 achieves all three goals of high life satisfaction, high life expectancy and one-planet living. But the differences between nations show that it is possible to live long, happy lives with much smaller ecological footprints than the highest-consuming nations.
And there may be other positive pay-offs. For many in the West, the struggle to increase incomes has come at the expense of our social capital and mental health. The challenge for the West, the report says, is not to continue increasing our monetary incomes, but to ensure meaningful lives, and strong social ties. Often, achieving these aims means reducing the focus on consumption, and freeing up time for other pursuits.
The HPI shows that good lives that don't cost the Earth really are possible. Comparisons show that long, happy lives can be achieved with far lower levels of resource consumption:
People in the Netherlands live on average over a year longer than people in the US, and have similar levels of life satisfaction - yet their per capita ecological footprint is less than half the size (4.4 global hectares compared with 9.4 global hectares). The Netherlands is over twice as ecologically efficient at achieving good lives as the US.
Costa Ricans also live slightly longer than Americans, and report much higher levels of life satisfaction, and yet have a footprint that is less than a quarter the size.
"The economy, communities, lifestyles and aspirations of a happy planet will be very different to those that lock us into our current ecological inefficiency. The Happy Planet Index suggests that the path we have been following is, without exception, unable to deliver all three goals: high life satisfaction, high life expectancy and one-planet living. Instead we need a new development model that delivers good lives that don't cost the Earth for all. We should look to the Happy Planet Index to guide us in that endeavour" says Saamah Abdallah, NEF researcher and the report's lead author.
The report sets out a 'Happy Planet Charter' calling for an unprecedented collective global effort to develop a new narrative of human progress, encourage good lives that don't cost the Earth, and to reduce consumption in the highest-consuming nations as the biggest barrier to sustainable well-being.
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