80

Energy makes a much more substantial contribution to economic growth than most conventional macro-economic approaches acknowledge. This issue is all the more crucial since several “weak signals” (of varying degrees) suggest that time is running out for a number of Southern countries to eradicate poverty and prepare their populations to deal with the damage done by both the depletion of natural resources and climate change. Unless a decisive shift towards circular economies occurs, the prospect that Southern societies could collapse and Northern societies could face long-term impoverishment can no longer be ruled out.JEL Classification: O13, Q01, Q54.