--- title: Globally, Economies Are Growing While Emissions Are Dropping description: New analyses show that carbon emissions are diverging from economic growth in many countries. canonical: https://time.com/6632271/climate-emisisons-and-economic-growth/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-02-02T21:47:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T17:03:55.118Z article:section: Climate og:title: Countries Are Proving It's Possible to Boost the Economy While Cutting Emissions og:description: New analyses show that carbon emissions are diverging from economic growth in many countries. og:url: https://time.com/6632271/climate-emisisons-and-economic-growth/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5a477f892c751499/698a4476cabb1d814fe52318/netherlands-tata-steel.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Tata Steel Steel Mill in Velsen og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Countries Are Proving It's Possible to Boost the Economy While Cutting Emissions twitter:description: New analyses show that carbon emissions are diverging from economic growth in many countries. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5a477f892c751499/698a4476cabb1d814fe52318/netherlands-tata-steel.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Countries Are Proving It's Possible to Boost the Economy While Cutting Emissions > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. Senior correspondent Justin Worland goes beyond traditional climate coverage to connect the energy transition to the bigger decisions reshaping companies, markets and society. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=d4cd2c5c-d63a-4f22-9855-2901f0c49c97&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Friday (1x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 40,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 34.2% | TIME, August 2026 | | Click rate | 2.1% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Justin Worland, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership Senior leaders shaping the climate transition. An engaged audience of executives and decision-makers spanning operating companies, finance, policy, consulting, communications and media. ### TIME Future Proof: key statements * Future Proof is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * Future Proof is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=d4cd2c5c-d63a-4f22-9855-2901f0c49c97&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/subscribe?i=d4cd2c5c-d63a-4f22-9855-2901f0c49c97&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's climate and energy newsletter? Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Feb 2, 2024 9:47 PM UTC  Tata Steel steel mill close to the North Sea coast and port of IJmuiden on October 5, 2023 in Velsen. Tata Steel steel mill close to the North Sea coast and port of IJmuiden on October 5, 2023 in Velsen.Sjoerd van der Wal—Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Feb 2, 2024 9:47 PM UTC (_To get this story in your inbox, subscribe to the TIME CO2 Leadership Report newsletter_ [_here_](https://www.time.com/co2-newsletter)_._) Ever since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, economic output has grown in lockstep with carbon emissions. The relationship is simple: the more humans produce and consume, the more energy required. And, more energy equals more emissions. That history has led to a persistent belief that dealing with climate change necessarily means accepting lower growth. Now, reality is challenging that assumption. In recent weeks, new analyses have pointed out that carbon emissions are diverging from economic growth in many countries. In these columns, I often look more closely at specific businesses or policies. But at times it can be worth pausing to reflect on the macro trends at play and their significance for private sector climate action. And it’s hard to overstate that separating economic growth from emissions really is a game changer. Most obviously, it matters in the energy sector. The demand picture is changing in ways that some observers would have thought impossible not too long ago, and investors and businesses would be wise to challenge their assumptions that the future will look like the past. But it’s relevant outside the energy sector and across the broader economy, too. The fact that carbon emissions can be durably decoupled from economic growth is real-world proof that the green transition underway can endure without crushing the economy. Companies and investors who ignore this may be in for a rude awakening. The prospect of [advancing economic development while cutting emissions](https://time.com/6110774/carbon-emissions-economy/) has been closely watched and debated for decades. Climate advocates insisted that clean energy could drive the same prosperity as fossil fuels; naysayers said cutting emissions would lead to economic decline. Data points—like a [drop in emissions during recessionary periods](https://time.com/3966553/recession-emissions-decline)—only served to reinforce the gloomy vision. But in recent years the picture has changed rapidly. In January, the Rhodium Group, an independent research group, [found](https://rhg.com/research/us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-2023/) that U.S. carbon emissions dropped slightly last year even as the economy grew thanks in large part due to the continued move away from coal power. And this week an [analysis](https://www.iea.org/commentaries/the-relationship-between-growth-in-gdp-and-co2-has-loosened-it-needs-to-be-cut-completely) from the International Energy Agency showed how this same trend is playing out to varying degrees across developed countries. GDP has grown while emissions drop in the U.S., Europe, Japan, Korea, Australia, and New Zealand. In other countries, including India and China, the speed at which emissions are increasing has slowed down even as economic growth continues much more rapidly. Each country has its own story, but the general contours remain the same: clean energy, energy efficiency, and the electrification of things that would have once been powered by fossil fuels. This is definitely a positive climate development, but it goes without saying that this decoupling isn’t happening fast enough. The good news is that accelerating the decoupling would also create opportunities for new innovations across industries and technologies. Business just needs to seize them. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6632271/climate-emisisons-and-economic-growth/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6632271/climate-emisisons-and-economic-growth/"},"headline":"Countries Are Proving It's Possible to Boost the Economy While Cutting Emissions","datePublished":"2024-02-02T21:47:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T17:03:55.118Z","description":"New analyses show that carbon emissions are diverging from economic growth in many countries.","url":"https://time.com/6632271/climate-emisisons-and-economic-growth/","keywords":["Leadership Report","climate change","healthscienceclimate"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5a477f892c751499/698a4476cabb1d814fe52318/netherlands-tata-steel.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Climate","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5a477f892c751499/698a4476cabb1d814fe52318/netherlands-tata-steel.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Tata Steel Steel Mill in Velsen","caption":"Tata Steel Steel Mill in Velsen","creditText":"Sjoerd van der Wal—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/climate/","name":"Climate"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/co2-leadership-report/","name":"Leadership Report"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6632271/climate-emisisons-and-economic-growth/","name":"Countries Are Proving It's Possible to Boost the Economy While Cutting Emissions"}}]}] ```