Green Economics

Let’s Talk about the price of Fish

by Liza Griffin

2008 The Green Economist. 1 (1). Pp14-20.

‘Economia Verde’ e Desenvolvimento Territorial Sustentável: Opções Estratégicas para Portugal

by Nuno Gaspar de Oliveira

Co-authored with Winston Jeronimo (CENSE, Center for Environmental and Sustainability Research, Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal)
Published in IBER - INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS REVIEW | NUMBER 3, by CIGEST

ABSTRACT
O conceito de ‘Economia Verde’ (Green Economy) nasce antes de mais do desafio Humano em criar uma... more ABSTRACT
O conceito de ‘Economia Verde’ (Green Economy) nasce antes de mais do desafio Humano em criar uma sociedade mais justa, equilibrada e sustentável e resulta na melhoria do bem-estar humano e da igualdade social, ao mesmo tempo em que reduz significativamente os riscos ambientais e a escassez ecológica. Mas afinal o que é a ‘Economia Verde’? Estaremos perto de lá chegar, exigirá grandes mudanças sociais e políticas, teremos os instrumentos necessários para a fomentar, monitorizar, afinar? Quais riscos e custos sociais e económicos gerados pelos padrões recorrentes de uso excessivo de recursos naturais e da desregulação dos serviços dos ecossistemas? Conseguiremos proceder à transição de uma forma sistémica, recorrendo à economia ecológica e à transformação tecnológica? Sendo Portugal um país historicamente com grande vocação agrícola, florestal, marítima e turística, estará melhor preparado para aceitar, promover e desenvolver a inovação necessária para a transição para a ‘Economia Verde’? Será possível acompanhar a transição política e estratégica ao nível dos instrumentos de planeamento económico e territorial? Temos estratégias e planos para o desenvolvimento sustentável (ENDS), para a conservação da Natureza e da biodiversidade (ENCNB) e para o ordenamento do território (PNPOT), entre muitas outras estratégias, planos estratégicos, planos de ordenamento, planos de acção e tantos outros planos, estratégias e instrumentos. O que se pretende com este trabalho é criar uma base conceptual para acompanhar o desenvolvimento da temática da ‘Economia Verde’ e qual a sua importância nos mecanismos e instrumentos de planeamento territorial, partindo de uma primeira análise exploratória de cruzamento dos principais instrumentos de desenvolvimento (idealmente, sustentável) nacional que tem como base a gestão de capital natural e analisar como poderão responder aos desafios da ‘Economia Verde’?

Keywords: Green Economy, Economia Verde, Biodiversidade, Sustentabilidade, Planeamento Territorial
 
ABSTRACT
The concept of 'Green Economy' rises from the human challenge of creating a fairer, balanced and sustainable improvement of human welfare and social equality, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcity. So, what is 'Green Economy'? And will it require major social and political changes? Do we have the necessary tools to promote, monitor, assess a ‘Green Economy’? What are the risks regarding social and economic costs generated by recurring patterns of overuse of natural resources and the deregulation of ecosystem services? Can we make systematic transition, using ecological economics and technological adaptation? Portugal is a country with historically great potential in agriculture, forestry, marine and tourism, will it be ready to accept and foster the innovation necessary for a 'Green Economy' transition? Is it possible to monitor the transition of the economic and territorial planning instruments at the political and strategic level? Will the current national strategic plans for sustainable development (ESDS), nature conservation and biodiversity (ENCNB) and planning (PNPOT), along with other strategic plans, development plans, action plans and many other plans, strategies and instruments follow and foster the change? The aim of this paper is to explore a conceptual basis for monitoring the development of the theme of 'Green Economy' and its importance regarding the mechanisms and instruments of policy and planning, starting from an initial exploratory analysis of the intersection of the main instruments of development (ideally, sustainable) which is based on the national management of natural capital and examine how they can meet the challenges of 'Green Economy'.

Keywords: Green Economy, Biodiversity, Sustainability, Planning

Transitioning to a Greener Fleet: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of a Vehicle Fleet Program at the Texas General Land Office in Austin, Texas

by Texas State PA Applied Research Projects

Kosub, Jeffry, "Transitioning to a Greener Fleet: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of a Vehicle Fleet Program at the Texas General Land Office in Austin, Texas" (2010). Applied Research Projects, Texas State University-San Marcos. Paper 329.
http://ecommons.txstate.edu/arp/329

This study will accomplish three things. First, the study will provide a detailed discussion on cost-benefit analysis... more This study will accomplish three things. First, the study will provide a detailed discussion on cost-benefit analysis and how this type of analysis is used in the decision making process. Second, the study will provide background information on hybrid vehicles and alternative fuels their effect on the environment and the benefit these technologies can have on state and local fleets. Finally, the study will apply the technique of cost-benefit analysis of incorporating hybrid vehicles into the vehicle fleet program at the Texas General Land Office (GLO) in Austin, Texas. A discussion of the scholarly literature defines the costs and benefits associated with a program and offers uses for a cost-benefit analysis. The conceptual framework links the benefits and costs of hybrid vehicles introduced into the vehicle fleet program to the existing literature. The operationalization of the costs and benefit variables are identified, showing how each is measured. Additionally, the decision criteria of present value and net present value are used to determine the viability of the new fleet program. A sound cost-benefit analysis can help decision makers evaluate choices and assure the chosen project will provide the best return on investment. The findings of this study show that the Texas General Land Office can save approximately 100,000 each fiscal year for a three year period by introducing hybrid vehicles into the fleet. Additionally establishing motor pools at each field office with present on-going fuel savings each year.

Home Economics: Planting the Seeds of a Research Agenda for the Bioregional Economy

by Molly Scott Cato

Environmental Values 20 (2011): 481-501

In a world of climate change and declining oil supplies what is the plan for the provisioning of basic resources?... more In a world of climate change and declining oil supplies what is the plan for the provisioning of basic resources? Green economists suggest a need to replace the globalised economy, and its extended supply chains, with a more local economy. But what does this mean in more concrete terms? How large is a local economy, how self-reliant can it be, and what resources will still need to be imported? This paper proposes the concept of the ‘bioregion’—developed and popularized within the disciplines of earth sciences, biosciences and planning—as a heuristic device to facilitate the reconceptualisation of the global economy as a system of largely self-sufficient local economies.

An Ideal Sustainable Energy Model for Local Utilities: An Assessment of the City of San Marcos, Texas

by Texas State PA Applied Research Projects

Harkins, James S., "An Ideal Sustainable Energy Model for Local Utilities: An Assessment of the City of San Marcos, Texas" (2010). Applied Research Projects, Texas State University-San Marcos. Paper 330.
http://ecommons.txstate.edu/arp/330

THIS PAPER WAS THE WINNER OF THE 2010 MCGREW AWARD FOR RESEARCH Central Texas Chapter American Society for Public Administration (Capstone category)

The purpose of this research is to develop an ideal sustainable energy policy for the San Marcos Electric Utility. The... more The purpose of this research is to develop an ideal sustainable energy policy for the San Marcos Electric Utility. The utility of the 21st century should focus on doing more with less, rather than always producing more, which was the 20th century model. The San Marcos Electric Utility is uniquely positioned to become an energy utility for the 21st century by focusing on the five key components of the practical ideal model, known as the Sustainable Energy Utility. The five key elements are:


* Central Coordination
* Comprehensive Programs
* Flexible Incentives
* Financial Self-Sufficiency
* Setting a Standard

Key literature is reviewed on effective green policies for electric utilities, and applies them to policies in San Marcos, Texas. The research examines the historical context of renewable energy policies in the United States, and the lack of a comprehensive and consistent federal plan going back to the 1973 Arab oil embargo. By exploring how local governments acted in the absence of federal action, the research shows how local action is key to driving change. A case study of the San Marcos Electric Utility occurred, using document analysis, direct observation, and structured interviews to gauge certain policies in San Marcos to determine how close the policies of the San Marcos Electric Utility reflect the ideal policies established by the Sustainable Energy Utility. For the most part, San Marcos mostly meets the standards of the Sustainable Energy Utility. The research helped develop 23 recommendations to improve the policies of the San Marcos Electric Utility.

The Green Party in the Czech Republic: Where They Are Now

by Ondrej Cisar

by O. Císař. Agenda: Heinrich Boell Stiftung Magazine for South-Eastern Europe, 2011, 6, pp. 7-8.

Towards a Green Republicanism: Constitutionalism, Political Economy, and the Green State

by John Barry

published in The Political Economy of the Good Society, 17:2

The range of threats to modern society ranging from growing
environmental stresses (water shortages,... more The range of threats to modern society ranging from growing
environmental stresses (water shortages, deforestation, soil
erosion to climate change), food and energy insecurity, peak
oil, rising poverty and inequalities within and between societies, increasing passivity of citizens within democracies and the inexorable rise of corporate power within and over the democratic state can be summed up as facets of ‘unsustainability’ or ‘unsustainable development’. Just as it is commonplace to declare that the 21 st century will be China’s century, equally the politics of the 21 st century are and will be the politics of sustainability. Taking it as given that the transition to sustainability will be the dominant challenge and opportunity facing all societies in the coming decades ahead; this article looks at two traditions of political thought—namely green political theory and civic republicanism—and seeks to conjoin them to outline a new political approach—‘green republicanism’—which may respond to and rise to this challenge.

Towards a model of green political economy: from ecological modernisation to economic security

by John Barry

published in International Journal of Green Economics, 2007

Abstract:
Perhaps the weakest aspect of the ‘triple bottom line’ understanding of sustainable development has... more Abstract:
Perhaps the weakest aspect of the ‘triple bottom line’ understanding of sustainable development has been the ‘economic’ dimension. Much of the thinking about the appropriate ‘political economy’ to underpin sustainable development has been either utopian (as in some ‘green’ political views) or ‘business as usual’ approaches. This article suggests that ‘ecological modernisation’ is the dominant conceptualisation of ‘sustainable development’ within the UK, and illustrates this by looking at some key ‘sustainable development’ policy documents from the UK Government. While critical of the reformist ‘policy telos’ of ecological modernisation, supporters of more radical versions of sustainable development need to also be aware of the strategic opportunities of this policy discourse. In particular, the article suggests that the discourse of ‘economic security’ ought to be used as a way of articulating a radical, robust and principled understanding of sustainable development, which offers a normatively compelling and policy-relevant path to outlining a ‘green political economy’ to underpin sustainable development.

Keywords: green political economy; sustainable development; economic security; ecological modernisation.

Epistemological Error: A Whole Systems View of Converging Crisis

by Jody Joanna Boehnert

Paper for 'Learning from the Crisis', Philosophy of Management conference at the University of Oxford, July 2010 and to be published in the journal Philosophy of Management in 2012.

Gregory Bateson said that we are ‘governed by epistemologies that we know to be wrong’ back in 1972. In the same book... more Gregory Bateson said that we are ‘governed by epistemologies that we know to be wrong’ back in 1972. In the same book Bateson wrote: 'the organism that destroys its environment destroys itself.’ Almost forty years later global ecological systems are in steep decline and converging crises make a deep evaluation of the underlying premises of our philosophical traditions an urgent imperative. This paper will suggest that the roots of the economic crisis are epistemological and that to correct this error whole systems thinking and ecological literacy will become increasing important in business management as well as in other disciplines. It will also suggest that the economic crisis opened new political space and has provided an opportunity for intervention. If we are brave enough to examine of the roots of our problems there is possibility for renewal.

Paper for Philosophy of Management conference at the University of Oxford in July 2010. More info here: http://bit.ly/a895P2+

Damian White A Green Industrial Revolution Sustainable Technological Innovation in a Global Age

by Damian White

Sympathetic critique of Natural Capitalism and Factor Four literatures......some initial attempts to formulate questions that a critical sociology of design should be asking......

Why the Green Economy?

by Andrew Smith

published in 'INFO magazine', by the French Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain, in their November/December 2011 issue on the Green Economy

The Green Economy is worth hundreds of billions of pounds (euro / dollars) each year; it spans many sectors including... more The Green Economy is worth hundreds of billions of pounds (euro / dollars) each year; it spans many sectors including the most fundamental ones of energy, food and water supplies; and in the last fifty years, it’s gone from fringe to mainstream, growing in value and coverage each year …

The economic imperatives that lead to the spiralling of negative externalities into an environmental crisis are well-documented: back in 1968, the inevitable tragedy of the commons was first written of in scientific journals: that a resource used by all but owned by none, would inevitably be over-used until it turned to dust. Though this was not the first description of the phenomenon; approximately 2300 years previously, Aristotle wrote:

    “that which is common to the greatest number has the least care bestowed upon it.”

The inevitability of the tragedy of the commons became economic orthodoxy. However, …

Bina, O. (2011) Green economy: fix our 'ends' not just our 'means'. In openDemocracy, 29th September 2011, http://www.opendemocracy.net/olivia-bina/green-economy-fix-our-ends-not-just-our-means (accessed: 29/9/11).

by Olivia Bina

While growth remains as our main goal economic and environmental crisis will persist. A green economy requires us to... more While growth remains as our main goal economic and environmental crisis will persist. A green economy requires us to aim at development rather than growth, through the responsible promotion of justice, the common good, and environmental sustainability.

Of Hand Mills and Heat Engines: Peak Oil, Class Struggle, and the Thermodynamics of Production

by Tom Keefer

This was my Major Research Paper for my Master's degree at York in Political Science. My PhD dissertation continues this line of investigation.

'Choose Life' not Economic Growth: Critical Social Theory for People, Planet and Flourishing in a 'Age of Nature'

by John Barry

fortcoming in Current Perspectives in Social Theory, Volume 26, 93–113

Choose a fucking big television
Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players, and electrical tin... more Choose a fucking big television
Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players, and electrical tin openers.

Choose leisure wear and matching luggage.
Choose a three piece suite on hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics.
Choose DIY and wondering who you are on a Sunday morning.
Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing sprit-crushing game shows
Stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth.

Choose your future. Choose life. (Irvine Welsh, Trainspotting, 1996)

Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist (Kenneth Boulding)

In this article, I outline a theory of a viable and normatively attractive political alternative to a growth-orientated economy, based on the invaluable insights from ecofeminist political economy; the wealth of alternatives to a growth-orientated economy one can find in green politics and the sub-discipline of green political economy; and the wealth of evidence demonstrating the well-being and equality detrimental effects of a growth-focused economy.  This article will argue that we (in the industrialised North) need to abandon the cornucopian myth of endless ‘material goods and services’ central to which
is a radical and profound rejection of growth in the ‘minority’ world of advanced ‘affluenza-infected’ consumer capitalism and its redirection to the majority world where economic growth is needed. ‘One planet living’, as a shorthand for sustainability demands this from a biophysical point of view (in terms of limited resources and ecological sinks) while global and egalitarian justice demands nothing less if a sustainable world is to be a just one.

Discourses of transition to sustainability in Ireland: outlines of a green republican strategy

by John Barry

Uncorrected copy edited chapter, forthcoming in O'Mahony, P and Keohane, K (eds), Environmentalism in Ireland: The Communicative Turn (Manchester University Press) -forthcoming

This chapter will seek to explore the issues affecting the political and cultural impact and influence of the... more This chapter will seek to explore the issues affecting the political and cultural impact and influence of the environmental movement in Ireland through examining some of the discursive cultural resources available to it, specifically in relation to a ‘green republican discourse’. The idea of green republicanism is examined both normatively and practically with respect to its generative potential as a mobilising discourse in the transition towards sustainability in Ireland.

Support for Personal Carbon Allowances - Summary Report

by Andrew Wallace

Summary of PCA aspects of PhD research

This report presents the findings of research into people’s attitudes to household carbon emissions. A postal survey... more This report presents the findings of research into people’s attitudes to household carbon emissions. A postal survey of 334 households and face to face interviews of 15 households were conducted in Newark and Sherwood District. They showed that support for personal carbon allowances (PCAs) outweighed opposition, and that the level of support varied between certain population sub-groups which had differing views of a range of related issues, such as use of public transport. People are strongly motivated by financial savings as much as by carbon savings.

Szén-Dioxid Piac Az Európai Unió új Tagállamaiban: Magyarországi Empirikus Elemzés

by Dora Fazekas

Bina, O and La Camera, F. (2011) Promise and shortcomings of a green turn in recent policy responses to the "double crisis", Ecological Economics, doi: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2011.1006.1021.

by Olivia Bina

contact me for further details

The paper analyses six international-scale responses to the financial and climate change 'double crisis' in order to:... more The paper analyses six international-scale responses to the financial and climate change 'double crisis' in order to: review how they define problems and solutions, analyse what underpins the policy choices revealed in these responses (the 'green turn'), reflect on the implications of the proposed solutions in terms of sustainability and global environmental justice, and to suggest three elements for a paradigm shift towards an 'alternative' turn embedded in ecological economics theory. The analysis reveals that responses by leading international organisations continue to appeal to the precepts of neoclassical economy. We argue that from an ecological economics perspective, policy responses under the various labels of green economy, green growth, sustainable growth, green new deal, fall well short of what is needed to fight the environmental crisis and rising inequality across and within countries. The idea of justice and equity that underpins the mainstream approach seems inadequate in terms of sustaining our environmental base and global environmental justice. Based on this critical review, we propose an 'alternative turn', centered on three elements of a paradigm shift leading to a new economy where the environmental base and global environmental justice are at the centre of the discourse.

MacIntyre and Green Economics

by Caleb Bernacchio

NURTURING THE HUMAN MIND AS THE OUTMOST INVALUABLE INTANGIBLE COMMODITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE TOWARDS WORLD’S ECOLOGICAL PROTECTION FOR A SUSTAINABLE MACRO-ECONOMY (PROBLEMS & SOLUTIONS)

by Adrian Toader-Williams

Published in the Herald of the International Academy of Sciences - Russian Section

The Human Civilization is on the verge of collapse within itself. Humanity’s sustainable behavior is the foundation... more The Human Civilization is on the verge of collapse within itself. Humanity’s sustainable behavior is the foundation towards the World’s ecological protection and towards a realistic World’s sustainable macro-economy; nurturing Human Mind is the key to the long term success. The roll of States and Governments, Schools and Universities along with Religious Organizations and Churches is highlighted as the need for partnership towards education. Human’s personal health and welfare is an integral part of our planet’s health. Anti-smoking, obesity prevention, sporting activities and parenthood training backed by financial incentive programs are recommended.