The core of the debate is now what we do, when and how much we spend on it.
Some participants in the programme advocated 'fixing and growing the economy first, so that future generations are wealthier and more able to prevent, or adapt to, climate change'
It was pointed out by others that the ecological debt we pass down might be far greater than the financial debt we currently have.
Part of the polarisation (which naturally happens in such a debate) seemed to be about the balance between financial debt and ecological debt. However, this failed to appreciate that it's not a case of either-or. Especially with some of the great work being done by the likes of Cameron Hepburn at Oxford University, on breaking the links between economic growth and material throughput in the economy, many people are challenging the polarisation. They are working tirelessly towards building a future where there is some economic growth and prosperity, and lifting the bottom segment of the global population out of poverty within a sustainable society living within one planet's ecological resources.
As Planetary CFO, I would argue that the creation, and periodic updating, of a World Balance Sheet can capture and report on the information needed to square the circle on these various elements, enabling sensible decisions to be taken now about our resources, their deployment and the impacts of those decisions over time. It could help us to set realistic and achievable goals on how far and how fast to redirect resources (eg away from fossil-fuel industries and into green industries). It would help us to assess how we are doing at serving the basic needs of the global population. I think the time has come for both extremes in the currently polarised debate to use methodical techniques such as accountancy (which are already proven, through centuries of practice) to provide the logical frameworks for a well-reasoned and evidence-based approach to creating a sustainable future where no future generation will be any worse off than the ones currently alive.