Answer

The Human Development Index (HDI), developed by UNDP, measures progress through health, education, and income, but overlooks environmental sustainability. In 2023-2024, India ranked 134th in HDI, while facing severe environmental challenges like air pollution and groundwater depletion, exposing the ecological cost of economic growth.

HDI Ignores the Environmental Costs of Affluence

• Resource Overconsumption: HDI ranks high-income nations without considering their disproportionate resource consumption, which depletes global reserves and increases ecological stress.
  For example: The U.S. and EU consume resources equivalent to 5+ Earths, yet they top HDI rankings without penalty for their environmental impact.
• Carbon Footprint Neglect: The index fails to account for high per capita carbon emissions, indirectly encouraging carbon-intensive development models.
  For example: Norway is one among the world’s biggest resource consumers , but it ranks among the highest in HDI due to its wealth and social indicators.
• Ecological Externalities: HDI disregards pollution, deforestation, and biodiversity loss caused by affluent nations’ industrial activities and consumerist lifestyles.
• Disproportionate Global Impact: Wealthy nations achieve high HDI by outsourcing resource extraction and pollution to developing economies, creating global environmental injustice.
  For example: Electronic waste from Europe is exported to Africa, where improper disposal causes soil and water contamination.
• Encourages Growth-Centric Development: HDI prioritizes income and industrialization over sustainability, leading to unsustainable urban expansion, overfishing, and desertification in pursuit of higher rankings.
  For example: China’s rapid HDI growth came at the cost of severe air and water pollution, triggering environmental crises.

HDI Creates an Unsustainable Model of Progress

• Ignores Planetary Boundaries: The HDI assumes infinite economic growth, overlooking finite ecological resources and the environmental tipping points of climate change.
• Promotes High-Energy Consumption Lifestyles: The index celebrates energy-intensive industrialization, leading to global dependency on fossil fuels.
• Creates Inequitable Development Models: Developing nations strive for Western-style economic growth, exacerbating environmental degradation without achieving social equity.
• Encourages Short-Term Gains Over Long-Term Sustainability: HDI measures instant human development gains rather than intergenerational sustainability and environmental resilience.
  For example: Deforestation in the Amazon boosts Brazil’s short-term GDP, but threatens long-term climate stability and indigenous livelihoods.
• Fails to Differentiate Sustainable vs. Unsustainable Growth: Nations with lower environmental impact but high social well-being are undervalued compared to polluting, high-income nations.

Alternative Metrics That Align Development with Planetary Limits

• Planetary Boundaries Index (PBI): Measures resource use, carbon emissions, biodiversity loss, and pollution alongside traditional HDI factors.
  For example: PBI could penalize countries exceeding per capita ecological limits, ensuring a balance between development and sustainability.
• Doughnut Economics Framework: Combines social foundations (health, education) with ecological ceilings (carbon, water, land use) for sustainable progress.
  For example: Amsterdam adopted Doughnut Economics to limit urban expansion while ensuring citizens’ well-being.
• Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP): Captures nature’s contributions to human well-being by valuing forests, rivers, and biodiversity as economic assets.
  For example: China introduced GEP to evaluate ecological health alongside GDP, promoting conservation-based policies.
• Happy Planet Index (HPI): Measures life expectancy, well-being, and ecological footprint, favoring nations with sustainable and equitable lifestyles.
  For example: Costa Rica consistently ranks high on HPI, proving well-being can be achieved with minimal environmental damage.
• Sustainable Development Index (SDI): Adjusts HDI by penalizing excessive carbon emissions and resource use, rewarding low-impact development.
  

A holistic development model must integrate sustainability with human well-being. Metrics like the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI), Inclusive Wealth Index (IWI), and Doughnut Economics offer a balanced framework, ensuring economic gains do not erode ecological capital. A redefined HDI, incorporating carbon footprints and resource efficiency, can drive sustainable policymaking.

DOWNLOAD PDF