David Attenborough Digs the Doughnut

The widely respected British naturalist David Attenborough has published a new book, A Life on Our Planet: my witness statement and a vision for the future, which explicitly embraces the core concepts of Doughnut Economics.

The book describes in challenging detail the decline of the living world that Attenborough, now 94, has witnessed during his lifetime and through his worldwide travels.

Part III of the book, entitled A Vision for the Future, opens with the image of the Doughnut.

"Sustainability in all things should be our species' philosophy; the Doughnut Model, our compass for the journey", Attenborough writes.

The following chapter, entitled 'Moving Beyond Growth', likewise embraces the thinking of Doughnut Economics.

He writes:

"We have arrived at this moment of desperation as a result of our desire for perpetual growth in the world economy. But in a finite world, nothing can increase forever. All the components of the living world - individuals, populations, even habitats - grow for a period of time, but then they mature. And once mature, they may thrive."

He concludes that economies should ultimately become 'agnostic about growth' as advocated by Doughnut Economics.

A Life on Our Planet by David Attenborough, co-authored with Jonnie Hughes, was published in 2020 by Penguin Random House.