EDITORIAL

12 May 2026

The United Nations wants scientists to help design indicators of progress that go beyond GDP. Researchers should seize the chance and be aware of past failures.

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Harmful impacts of greenhouse-gas emissions, such as those from transport, are not accounted for in GDP. Credit: RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post/Getty

“Growth at any cost leaves us all poorer.” Those were the words of United Nations secretary-general António Guterres last week at the launch of a landmark report, Counting What Counts , which he commissioned from a team of researchers and policymakers ( www.un.org/beyondgdp ).…