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Transcript
The emergence and current challenges of ecological economics Inaugural lecture as professor (with special responsibilities) Inge Røpke Outline 1. The basic idea of ecological economics 2. The development of ecological economics as a scientific field 3. Examples of research programmes 4. Current challenges The basic idea of ecological economics The economy is embedded in nature Economic processes are always also natural processes Economic processes ought to be studied also as natural processes Differs from the monetary focus of environmental economics: Externality: when social costs of production are higher than private costs Considered as an exception The biophysical position: ”Externalities” are inevitable and pervasive Cost shifting is a key feature of the economic system Why is this important? • The biophysical growth of the economy may undermine the basic life support systems for humans • There are limits to biophysical growth • Implies an ethical challenge: when I use the resources, you can’t • Calls for understanding how socio-economic processes undermine the environment and create unequal access to resources The ‘social construction’ of scientific fields • Since Kuhn: not a tale about how we become ever wiser in friendly cooperation • A combination of cognitive and social history: – Development of ideas / conflicting perspectives – Social conditions outside research – Social processes within the research community – Competition for reputation (Whitley: reputational organisations) Long cognitive history • Physiocrats • Studies inspired by thermodynamics • Why no breakthrough? E.g. – Division of labour between disciplines – Opposition to dominant thinking – Did not answer urgent problems New social conditions and discourses From the late 1950s to the early 1970s Pollution Population Resources Ecology Energy Social movements Modern ecological economics formulated • Biologists: from systems ecology to the inclusion of society (minority position) • Economists: biophysical perspective on the economy (very small minority) • Two landmark publications in 1971 Part of the first wave of environmental interest: ecology Institutionalisation took nearly 20 years • Frustration with the established disciplines • Intellectual developments paved the way: – Problem-driven transdisciplinary work – Energy studies – Systems theory • ISEE founded in 1988 by people from – – – – Systems ecology Biophysical economics Energy modelling Environmental economics Part of the second wave of environmental interest: sustainability Born with a tension • Hard for ecologists to distinguish between economists and economists • ISEE included both mainstream environmental economists and socio-economists • Socio-economics: conflicts, power, institutions, broader social science • Changing balance over time, e.g. – Willingness to cooperate with natural scientists – Cooperate with the influential to get political influence and academic recognition – The publish or perish pressure – Policing the boundaries: power of definition Why not a large field today? • Rapid expansion in the early 1990s, followed by backlash • Process of differentiation of scientific fields – More focused interests, e.g. empirical issues – Reputation strategies • Many competing / complementary fields developed: – Political ecology, industrial ecology, common property, transition studies... • New growth: ecological economics increasingly integrated into established institutions Part of the third wave of environmental interest: climate change Research: operationalise scale • The ‘full world’ perspective • Greater ‘size’ implies greater risk for life support systems • Measurement important for policy Different approaches to ‘calculating in nature’ • • • • • • • Carbon Energy Material flow accounting Ecological footprint Appropriation of photosynthesis Water footprint ... MFA: Economy-wide Material Flow Accounting ETC/SCP working paper, 2011: Key messages on material resource use and efficiency in Europe New conceptualisations of unequal exchange The ethical challenge in the ’full world’ When I use the resources, you can’t. Money can expand, but not the real-real economy Positions change over time... somewhat • Even mainstream economists increasingly acknowledge the seriousness of environmental problems • The Danish Economic Council, April 2012: the Danish economy is sustainable ‘Genuine savings’: Yearly investments in machines, education and research ˃ The value of the yearly reduction of oil and gas deposits and the damage caused by carbon emissions and other air pollution Positive savings: we ensure the future living conditions of our children The ”wise men” acknowledge: it may be a problematic assumption that natural capital can be replaced by humanmade capital But they avoid the distributional challenge: Research: Valuation and decision-making • Mainstream economics: – Market prices are relevant measures of values – When market prices are not available: try to construct them (cost-benefit analysis) • Critique: prices reflect – Income inequality – Historically constructed institutions, power structures, gender roles etc. • Basic incommensurability – Many languages of valuation – Valuation is always political • Multicriteria analysis and deliberative methods Research: Socio-economic dynamics • • • • How are socio-ecological systems managed? What happens at the ‘commodity frontiers’? How do the transfers take place? What is driving consumption? Consumption on the agenda Only a small part of consumption is considered in environmental terms New normal standards are constructed behind our backs Travelling, housing, electronics... This cannot go on... Current challenges – additions But we don’t want consumption reduction through catastrophes Slower by design, not disaster Economic growth destroys the environment and longterm stability Economic and political stability depends on economic growth Tim Jackson: The horns of the dilemma The economic crisis is not only a bubble crisis: resource scarcity threatens economic growth A high oil price is necessary to make the extraction of more oil profitable A high oil price undermines economic growth The climate problem does not allow burning the fossil fuels available Carbon Capture and Storage does not seem to be round the corner Most emerging alternatives have a low Energy Return On (energy) Investment (and a low energy intensity) Source: Murphy & Hall: Energy return on investment, peak oil, and the end of economic growth, 2011. Growth is getting ever more difficult to achieve in the rich countries Source: Norbert Reuter: Presentation on the welfare state in post-growth society Return to business as usual is not an option Double crises, triple crises... Systemic crisis Research challenges • Slower by design, not disaster • Sustainability transitions are needed • Price regulation is necessary, but insufficient: planning is required to avoid very painful adaptation and to speed up • Interrelated research fields: – Transformation of socio-technical systems – Ecological macroeconomics – Changes of cross-cutting institutions Taking a systems perspective How can the lock-in of the food system be broken? Beyond the monetary focus in macro theory • Transformations of socio-technical systems are needed • Blackboxed in macroeconomics. Only a quantitative focus on productivity • Replace the focus on the quantity of ’economic activities’ with a focus on concrete economic activities: it is not possible first to ’bake the cake’ and afterwards to decide what it should be ’used for’ From consumption to investment • Large-scale transformations of socio-technical systems require resources – Investments are not necessarily profitable for private investors (reduce profit expectations) • Green investments encourage consumption growth – Rebound effects have to be avoided • Consumption has to give way to investment – How can the burden be distributed in a just way? Institutional change is needed Changes of cross-cutting institutions • Macroeconomic models are based on given institutions – Minor changes may be analysed – Difficult to analyse systemic transformation • Present institutions depend on growth and promote growth • How should institutions be transformed to work in a nogrowth society? Ecological economics fitting in at AAU • Socio-technical systems: energy, food, cities... • Socio-economics, economics of innovation, economic anthropology (STS) • Environmental ethics • .... We will not have time to get bored.... Thank you for your attention!