How has global economic development affected the environment?

It depends on government policy and reinvestment - global economic development can place greater demands on firms to produce, leading them to use more resources and create more waste/pollution. However, it is important to recognise that according to classical economists that savings equal investment and that the ability to save is often an indicator of economic development. That resulting investment could be into better, greener technologies that could actually prove to save the environment. Despite that fact though, it is often considered that economic development leads to greater stress on the environment.