Starting the Subject on Environmental Economics!
Has anyone ever noticed that economy and ecology share a common root?
OK, even if we don’t speak Greek it is easy to notice that they share a few letters (and yes, the word “economy” comes from Greece, I know it is not a good time to say it).
This happens for a reason. Economy and ecology are essentially linked. However, most people believe that nature and ecosystems are simply a lot of animals and plants that we love to admire.
But let’s think about biodiversity. Only considering land-based ecosystems we are losing each year services worth around € 50 billion. By 2050 costs could be equivalent to 7 % of global GDP. Conserving forests avoids greenhouse gas emissions worth US$ 3.7 trillion. So nature is money and money needs nature!
Environmental economics is an emerging discipline, but at the same time it is a very old way of thinking economics. Its goal is to show the economic significance of the environment and its protection. To do so, there are two main schools of thought. On one hand, there are those who think that the best strategy is to make nature speak the language of the economics (money). On the other hand, others consider that it should be the other way around, and economy must speak the language of nature (physics, basically).
Envi-ronmental economists design new instruments for the environmental policy such as the monetary valuation of ecological resources, the carbon markets or the ecological taxes. Thousands of articles are being developed every day trying to come up with new ways to protect the earth using economic instruments.
Mr. Pigou, Mr. Coase and Mr. Georgescu-Roegen will be our travel companions during this trip.
Kepa Solaun. Teaching in the International Master in Sustainable Development
5 comentarios /
11 Nov 2011
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evacurto
IMSD /
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