Among the first strategic moves by the new UK government is to kill the Sustainable Development Commission. This is deeply misguided.

The Commission was founded ten years ago to talk sense within government about sustainability. Its work already saves the government £60-70 million annually through environmentally friendly moves, with the potential to save £300-500 million over the next five years. And this is the tip of the iceberg.

What is the cost to the government? The Commission cost £3 million annually, of which the government paid less than £2 million. Even in purely financial terms, axing the Commission was foolhardy.

The justification announced by Caroline Spelman, environment secretary, is that the issues the Commission deals with have become so “mainstream” that a special agency is no longer required. That is like saying that the public’s interest in money has become mainstream, so we no longer need the Bank of England. In fiscal affairs a watchdog is needed. Sustainability needs a watchdog every bit as much.

Sustainable development has not become mainstream, far from it. The concept is not even understood in government or industry in any systematic way, yet alone implemented. The Commission was a model agency, bringing high levels of expertise with a clear mission. It reported to government on practical steps to take towards sustainability. Many of those steps would save money. Others would have moved us toward a sustainable economy, generating wealth for the country when we need it. The Commission was unique — the one informed voice in government about how to point our economy toward the future.

Our economy and culture are at a turning point. We can still have a carbon-neutral economy and thrive as a species. But to do so will take change deeper and broader than the Industrial Revolution. The government has not come close to understanding the needed changes. By killing the Commission, the government is decorticating itself about the most crucial issues we face, and that way lies madness.