Prioritization of Environmental Protection vs Economic Growth

In the modern world, countries have already realized the importance of engaging in environmental protection activities even as they strive towards achieving economic development. Therefore, it has become a modern-day struggle to eliminate environmental pollutants in their economic growth processes (Yang et al., 2022). However, doing so has been a challenge since it is nearly impossible to isolate environmental pollution from some economic development activities that have taken place in the modern world, especially in industrialized and developing countries. Therefore, most countries are in the position of having to make a decision to either prioritize environmental protection or forego some economic development milestones. Arguably, countries should prioritize environmental protection, which brings about long-term sustainability, ecosystem benefits, and climate change mitigation.

It is advisable that countries prioritize environmental protection for their long-term sustainability. Environmental protection is significant for the sustainability of the ecosystem, which gives life and health to human beings, natural resources, and other world life. The natural resources that make up the environment are water, air, and soil. If these elements are conserved through environmental protection, they facilitate the long-term sustainability of life within the ecosystem (Gavrilescu, 2021). Protecting the environment, therefore, contributes largely to the sustenance of life, including that of human beings, and it is therefore encouraged. Simply put, countries need to put the environment before economic endeavors to protect the sustainability of the ecosystem, which features even the elements that are crucial in economic development, such as human beings and natural resources. Apart from ecosystem sustainability, environmental protection also brings about ecosystem benefits.

Second, it is encouraging for countries to prioritize environmental protection over economic growth since it comes with various chemical and biological benefits that support life and general global well-being. Through the prioritization of environmental protection, the ecosystem becomes healthy and can, therefore, support various valuable processes that benefit humanity and general life in the world, such as pollination, carbon exchange, and water filtration. Through these processes, human beings experience positive outcomes in their survival as well as well-being, which, to a larger extent, contribute to economic growth and sustenance (Begon & Townsend, 2021). Therefore, any country looking forward to the sustenance and betterment of the life, health, and well-being of its people should put a major focus on environmental protection in place of pursuing economic growth. Notably, in the same way, the protection of the environment is beneficial to ecosystem processes; it is crucial in climate change mitigation.

Further, countries are encouraged to practice environmental protection activities since they contribute to the mitigation of climate change. When the environment gets degraded as a result of various human activities, such as those that lead to the emission of greenhouse gases, it contributes largely to climate change. These climate changes have major consequences on the environment and ecosystem and affect even the well-being of human beings, including their economic well-being. One way to mitigate climate change is to protect the environment. The prioritization of environmental protection goes a long way towards preventing the occurrence of climate change and its negative outcomes, which also hurts human life and well-being (Abbas et al., 2022). Therefore, it is called for countries to prioritize environmental protection to save the world from the challenges that come with climate change, which is harmful to humanity.

Conclusively, countries should prioritize environmental protection and economic growth since the former is associated with long-term ecosystems, sustainability, ecosystem benefits, and climate change mitigation over economic growth. Majorly, the whole idea of having countries focus on environmental protection rather than economic growth is that environmental protection makes it easier to pursue economic growth when prioritized. In the long run, these countries benefit from what comes with environmental protection and have a better framework to achieve economic growth. It is, therefore, appropriate to have countries put measures in place to ensure that they have a safe environment in which they can engage in other activities.