Changing the Climate

Mark Tully asks if climate change offers an opportunity for us to improve our lives - not just by consuming less and respecting nature more, but by finding a deeper relationship with nature and each other.

Mark discusses the prevailing economic wisdom of ever increasing growth, and ever increasing demand to feed that growth, with leading Indian economist Rajiv Kumar who believes that economics can and must change to reduce our impact on the climate.

But Mark also acknowledges the benefits of human ingenuity and curiosity which have led to so many technological advances, as well as enhancements in our lives. He considers how a move towards a new way of life might be evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, while reminding us with the help of a Native American
Cree proverb that "only when the last tree has been cut down, the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will man finally realise we can't eat money."

A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.