When we look at the state of the world today, what is most evident is the fact that the major problems of our time - energy, environment, economy, climate change and social justice - cannot be understood in isolation. They are interconnected problems, which means that they require corresponding systemic solutions. Today's global economy has brought about critical distress for ecosystems and societies and we have to go to the very root of the problems to find a way out. This volume develops a synthesized interpretation of ecological economics integrating different levels: (economic) system, (business) practice and the (economic) actor. It discusses how changes on a systems level are connected to changes in practice and development of individual consciousness. Transformative Ecological Economics delves into the insight and knowledge from different sources of inspiration (thermodynamics, Darwinism, anthroposophy and Buddhism) as well as into an integrated story describing and illustrating the core ideas, principles and values that characterize a utopian society anchored in ecological economics. Implementation of the deep changes demanded depends on our ability to write a new story, a utopian one for sure, but one which is in accordance with and based on the reality in which we live. This book will be of interest to those who study ecological economics, political economy and environmental economics.

In The Green Leap to an Inclusive Economy, two leading thinkers, Stuart L. Hart and Fernando Casado Caneque, challenge head on the two biggest issues facing humanity and the planet today: Inequality and Environmental Degradation. They present the new design thinking required for a more inclusive and sustainable economy which respects both people and planet. Far from simply presenting the problems, this book offers insightful case studies that showcase the challenges and opportunities of base of the pyramid venturing in different geographical and cultural contexts, as well as providing a detailed description of the tools that have been proven to enhance the innovation of business models to address the issues. Through telling these stories, the authors provide a roadmap for how to make an inclusive and sustainable economy a reality, where opportunity and prosperity are available to more of the people that participate in the economy as workers, consumers, owners and the wider community, whilst addressing the risks to the natural capital we all depend on. This book is essential reading for anyone looking to accelerate the development of an inclusive business for the benefit of society and the planet, as well as those involved in the study and research of the base of the pyramid and sustainable business solutions.

Problems of climate change, biodiversity and air pollution are clearly growing globally, but more particularly in Asia because of its economic importance and richness in nature. The increasing interest in environmental and resource economics applied in regions of Asia will make this book an outstanding resource to the existing literature, particularly in the fields of environmental and resource economics and the integration of applied content in traditional and agricultural development. At present there is no single handbook or text on the state of current knowledge in environmental economics in Asia or one which offers a comprehensive guide to students and academics on the subjects of environmental economics research. This book will help to fill the gap in the existing literature.

During the last decades, environmental economics as a science has been very successful in improving our understanding of environment-economy interdepen dence. Using conventional economic methodology, environmental aspects have been explicitly incorporated into economic models making use of the concept of externality. This concept was already familiar to economists long before evidence of severe environmental deterioration found its way into the headlines and peo ple's awareness. But before that time, external effects were not considered as being empirically very relevant, they seemed to be -like the example of the bees and the fruit trees - somewhat bucolic in nature. All that changed dramatically when it was no longer possible (or easy) to ignore the large-scale environmental disruption with its negative feedback on consumers and producers caused by growing pollution and excessive use of environmental resources. In diagnosing the discrepancy between private and social cost as the cause of the problem, the externality paradigm proved very useful. The correct diagnosis implies the straightforward cure to internalise all external cost, namely the damage cost of pollution. But it is one thing to identify the qualitative nature of the problem at an abstract conceptual level and quite another thing to place specific money values on pollution damage and society's valuation of the environment, respectively, in the context of specific pollution (control) problems. Very often it is controversial not only how inefficient the no-policy situation is but also what exactly the net benefit of any public action of reducing pollution is."

River systems around the world are degraded and are being used unsustainably. Meeting this challenge requires the development of flexible regimes that have the potential to meet essential consumptive needs while restoring environmental flows. This book focuses on how water trading frameworks can be repurposed for environmental water recovery and aims to conceptualise the most appropriate role for law in supporting recovery through these frameworks. The author presents a comprehensive study of the legal frameworks in four jurisdictions: the States of Oregon and Colorado in the western United States; the province of Alberta in Canada; and the Murray-Darling Basin in Australia/Basin State of New South Wales. A close comparative analysis of these four jurisdictions reveals a variety of distinctive regulatory arrangements and collaborations between public and private actors. In all cases, the law has been deployed to steer and coordinate these water governance activities. The book argues that each regime is based on a particular regulatory strategy, with different conceptions of the appropriate roles for, and relationships between, various actors and institutions. Legal frameworks do not have the capacity to rationalise and provide an overarching and absolute solution to the complex environmental and governance issues that arise in the context of environmental water transactions. Rather, the role of law in this context needs to be reconceptualised within the paradigm of regulatory capitalism as establishing and maintaining the limits within which regulatory participants can operate, innovate and collaborate.

Sustainable Development Policy: A European Perspective uses a variety of multidisciplinary perspectives to explore the ways in which sustainable infrastructures can play a more prominent and effective role in international development policy. Building on a solid introduction to sustainability and development policy, this book discusses ways in which viable reform can be promoted through coherent governing, the design of social security systems, education systems and the possibilities of fair trade as an alternative trading concept . Sustainable Development Policy generates a platform on which to encourage constructive dialogue on issues surrounding sustainability in the wake of the global scarcity of natural and economic resources. This edited collection will be of great interest to all students and lecturers of development studies and development policy, as well as researchers from other disciplines looking for an introduction to sustainable development policy and its practical applications.

Despite their obvious importance, the ethical implications of climate change are often neglected in economic evaluations of mitigation and adaptation policies. Economic climate models provide estimates of the value of mitigation benefits, provide understanding of the costs of reducing emissions, and develop tools for making policy choices under uncertainty. They have thus offered theoretical and empirical instruments for the design and implementation of a range of climate policies, but the ethical assumptions included in the calculations are usually left unarticulated. This book, which brings together scholars from both economics and ethical theory, explores the interrelation between climate ethics and economics. Examining a wide range of topics including sustainability, conceptions of value, risk management and the monetization of harm, the book will explore the ethical limitations of economic analysis but will not assume that economic theory cannot accommodate the concerns raised. The aim in part is to identify ethical shortcomings of economic analysis and to propose solutions. Given the on-going role of economics in government thinking on mitigation, a constructive approach is vital if we are to deal adequately with climate change. This volume will be of great interest to students and scholars of environmental ethics, economics, political science, political philosophy and the philosophy of economics.

As demand for natural resources increases due to the rise in world population and living standards, conflicts over their access and control are becoming more prevalent. This book critically assesses different approaches to and conceptualizations of resource fairness and justice and applies them to the analysis of resource conflicts. Approaches addressed include cosmopolitan liberalism, political economy and political ecology. These are applied at various scales (local, national, international) and to initiatives and instruments in public and private resource governance, such as corporate social responsibility instruments, certification schemes, international law and commodity markets. In doing so, the contributions contrast existing approaches to fairness and justice and extend them by taking into account the interplay between political scales, regions, resources, and power structures in "glocalized" resource politics. Various case studies are included concerning agriculture, agrofuels, land grabbing, water resources, mining and biodiversity. The volume adds to the academic and policy debate by bringing together a variety of disciplines and perspectives in order to advance both a research and policy agenda that puts notions of resource fairness and justice center-stage.

The book evaluates and analyses the level of green development in over 100 major cities in Asia Pacific. A quantitative analysis of the relationship with economic growth, income distribution, innovation capabilities, service sector, governance levels, and city clusters are accumulated and presented in the form of a new index; the Urban Green Development Index (UGDI). Amongst the cities discussed in the case studies are Penang (Malaysia), Singapore, Vladivostok (Russia), Portland (USA), Hamburg (Germany), and Stockholm (Sweden).

Unlike existing books on the topic that cover more on non-economic aspects of natural disasters, this book covers economic aspects of natural disasters viz damage assessment, risk management and resilience. The book contains several case studies and covers some of the major natural disasters in different countries, most notably the recent Nepal earthquake, tsunami in Fukushima, the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, floods in Thailand, the typhoon Haiyan, and the eruptions of Mount Merapi. It also suggests avenues for better public policies to tackle economics of natural disasters.

The power of capital is the power to target our attention, mould market-ready identities, and reduce the public realm to an endless series of choices. This has far-reaching implications for our psychological, physical and spiritual well-being, and ultimately for our global ecology. In this consumer age, the underlying teachings of Buddhist mindfulness offer more than individual well-being and resilience. They also offer new sources of critical inquiry into our collective condition, and may point, in time, to regulatory initiatives in the field of well-being. This book draws together lively debates from the new economics of transition, commons and well-being, consumerism, and the emerging role of mindfulness in popular culture. Engaged Buddhist practices and teachings correspond closely to insights in contemporary political philosophical investigations into the nature of power, notably by Michel Foucault. The 'attention economy' can be understood as a new arena of struggle in our age of neoliberal governmentality; as the forces of enclosure - having colonized forests, land and the bodies of workers - are now extended to the realm of our minds and subjectivity. This poses questions about the recovery of the 'mindful commons': the practices we must cultivate to reclaim our attention, time and lives from the forces of capitalization. This is a valuable resource for students and scholars of environmental philosophy, environmental psychology, environmental sociology, well-being and new economics, political economy, environmental politics, the commons and law, as well as Buddhist theory and philosophy.

Anarchism and Ecological Economics: A Transformative Approach to a Sustainable Future explores the idea that anarchism - aimed at creating a society where there is as much freedom in solidarity as possible - may provide an ideal political basis for the goals of ecological economics. It seems clear that it is going to be impossible to solve the problems connected to environmental degradation, climate change, economic crashes and increasing inequality, within the existing paradigm. The anarchist aims of reducing the disparities of rank and income in society and obtaining a high standard of living within environmentally sound ecosystems chime well with the ecological economists' goal of living within our environmental limits for the betterment of the planet and society. The book refers to the UN's sustainability development goals, and the goals expressed in the Earth Charter, viewing them through an anarchist's lens. It argues that in order to establish ecological economics as a radical new economy right for the 21st century, neoliberal economics needs to be replaced. By connecting ecological economics to a solid philosophical tradition such as anarchism, it will be easier for ecological economics to become a far more potent alternative to "green" economic thinking, which is based on, and supports, the dominant political regime. Innovative and challenging, this book will appeal to students and scholars interested in economics and the politics surrounding it.

Although economists have long advocated the use of economic instruments in the implementation of environmental policy, they have only recently gained acceptance. There is a growing consensus within the European Union that both Member States and the environment would benefit from the use of such incentive-based economic instruments. Environment, Incentives and the Common Market has been written by members of the Study Group on the Environment and Economics of the National Environmental Forum, which includes economists and social scientists from all the major Dutch universities and research institutes. The book covers a wide range of topics on the use of taxation and tradeable permits in a variety of abatement policies. It concludes with comments on political feasibility.

This book provides an in-depth analysis of the energy transformation process ongoing in Germany, now commonly referred to as energiewende, in the European context, with a focus on the electricity sector. It presents an expert look at the origins of the German energiewende, its concrete implementation, its impacts within the European context as well as medium and long-term perspectives. The authors, internationally recognized energy, electricity, and climate economists at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) and Berlin University of Technology, conclude that the first years of the energiewende have successfully laid the foundation for a renewables-based electricity system in Germany, but that challenges remain in relation to decarbonizing the electricity system and phasing out nuclear energy. The authors also provide ground-breaking insights to inform energy policy in other countries and at the European level. In the outlook, the authors explore upcoming issues, such as coupling between the electricity and other sectors, and behavioral changes of industry and households. The book addresses readers in the energy industry, energy and climate policymakers, regulators, and others interested in the low carbon energy system transformation in Germany, Europe, and worldwide.

Whilst China's growing economy is widely regarded as being responsible for severe environmental degradation and a high reliance on energy from fossil fuels, China is emerging as a potential leader in new green energy technologies. Outlining the extraordinary growth in China's wind power capacity since 2005, this book explores the deliberate creation of a whole industry and the strategy of transitioning the power sector to renewable energy by accelerated experimentation and through literally pushing the emerging wind power sector to its limits. Investigating how wind power may not always be considered as sustainable in a wider Chinese developmental context, the book traces the struggle China has had in getting this high technology sector to qualify as truly Chinese scientific development, whilst often being opaquely at the mercy of foreign expertise, technology, and certification. The book furthermore exposes the surprising nuances, dynamics, and potency of unexpected players in Chinese wind power marketisation. Complex interplays are revealed between wind turbine control systems, algorithms in critical software technology, relationships between suppliers, wind farm developers, financiers, the electrical grid itself, the coal lobby, the broader Chinese state, and much more. The book has important implications far beyond wind power and contemporary China studies, highlighting the much wider story of China's fragmented and experimental style of innovating, upgrading, and greening.

Human induced biodiversity loss is greater now than at any time in human history, with extinctions occurring at rates hundreds of times higher than background extinction levels. The field of biodiversity economics analyses the socio-economic causes of and solutions to biodiversity loss by combining the disciplines of economics, ecology and biology. This field has shown a remarkable degree of transformation over the past four decades and now incorporates the analysis of the entire diversity of biological resources within the living world. Biodiversity Economics presents a series of papers that show how bio-economic analysis can be applied to the examination and evaluation of the problem of various forms of biodiversity loss. Containing state-of-the-art bio-economic research by some of the leading practitioners in the field, this volume will be an essential research tool to those working on biodiversity issues in the academic, policy and private sectors.

Here is a refreshing look at how American cities are leading the way toward greener, cleaner, and more sustainable forms of economic development.
In Emerald Cities, Joan Fitzgerald shows how in the absence of a comprehensive national policy, cities like Chicago, New York, Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle have taken the lead in addressing the interrelated environmental problems of global warming, pollution, energy dependence, and social justice. Cities are major sources of pollution but because of their population density, reliance on public transportation, and other factors, Fitzgerald argues that they are uniquely suited to promote and benefit from green economic development. For cities facing worsening budget constraints, investing in high-paying green jobs in renewable energy technology, construction, manufacturing, recycling, and other fields will solve two problems at once, sparking economic growth while at the same time dramatically improving quality of life. Fitzgerald also examines how investing in green research and technology may help to revitalize older industrial cities and offers examples of cities that don't make the top-ten green lists such as Toledo and Cleveland, Ohio and Syracuse, New York. And for cities wishing to emulate those already engaged in developing greener economic practices, Fitzgerald shows which strategies will be most effective according to each city's size, economic history, geography, and other unique circumstances. But cities cannot act alone, and Fitzgerald analyzes the role of state and national government policy in helping cities create the next wave of clean technology growth.
Lucid, forward-looking, and guided by a level-headed optimism that clearly distinguishes between genuine progress and exaggerated claims, Emerald Cities points the way toward a sustainable future for the American city.

Capitalist globalisation since the 1980s has produced immense benefits in terms of technical progress, poverty reduction and welfare improvement. However, it has been accompanied by profound contradictions, including ecological destruction, global warming, inequality, concentration of business power, and financial instability. Regulation of global political economy in the interests of the majority of the world's population is essential if the human species is to avoid a Darwinian catastrophe. This book explores China's rich history of regulating the market in the interests of the mass of the population. For over two thousand years the Chinese bureaucracy has sought pragmatically to find a Way in which to integrate the 'invisible hand' of market forces with the 'visible hand' of ethically guided government regulation. Instead of seeking confrontation with China, citizens and politicians in the West need to deepen their understanding of the contribution that China can make to globally sustainable development in the decades and centuries ahead.

In 1543, Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus challenged the view that the sun revolved around the earth, arguing instead that the earth revolved around the sun. His paper led to a revolution in thinking. In Lester Brown's brilliant and invigorating account of the industrial economy, he shows how a rethink of its fossil fuel-based, throwaway ethos is necessary to ensure that it works with, not against, the natural environment. The issue now is whether the environment is part of the economy or the economy is part of the environment. Brown argues the latter, pointing out that treating the environment as part of the economy has produced an economy that is destroying its natural support systems. One of the foremost experts on the new economic opportunities, Brown shows the vast economic potential and environmental gains that exist from eliminating the waste and destruction of current consumption. He describes how the global economy can be restructured to make it compatible with the earth's ecosystem so that economic progress can continue, with high standards of living and secure employment for all, while conserving resources and restoring the environment. In the new economy, wind farms replace coal mines, hydrogen-powered fuel cells replace internal combustion engines, and cities are designed for people, not cars. Eco-Economy is a map of how to get from here to there. It is an essential guide to the economy of the 21st century and will be compelling reading for business readers and environmentalists alike looking for ways to build a better future.

The response of the international community to the pressing socio-ecological problems has been framed around the concept of 'sustainable development'. The ecological pressure, however, has continued to rise and mainstream sustainability discourse has proven to be problematic. It contains an instrumental view of the world, a strong focus on technological solutions, and the premise that natural and human-made 'capitals' are substitutable. This trajectory, which is referred to as 'weak sustainability', reproduces inequalities, denies intrinsic values in nature, and jeopardises the wellbeing of humans as well as other beings. Based on the assumptions of strong sustainability, this edited book presents practical and theoretical alternatives to today's unsustainable societies. It investigates and advances pathways for humanity that are ecologically realistic, ethically inclusive, and receptive to the task's magnitude and urgency. The book challenges the traditional anthropocentric ethos and ontology, economic growth-dogma, and programmes of ecological modernisation. It discusses options with examples on different levels of analysis, from the individual to the global, addressing the economic system, key sectors of society, alternative lifestyles, and experiences of local communities. Examining key topics including human-nature relations and wealth and justice, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of environmental and development studies, ecological economics, environmental governance and policy, sustainable business, and sustainability science.

Although the negotiation of the Kyoto Protocol focused world attention on the global climate, it was just one step in the ongoing process of addressing climate change in all its facets. Research by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been ongoing since 1988. An extensive IPCC Working Group report published in 1995 examined the economic and social aspects of climate change. In this volume, eminent analysts assess that IPCC report and address the questions that emerge from it. The result is an instructive and cogent look at the realities of climate change and some methods (and difficulties) of dealing with them. William Nordhaus's introduction establishes the context for the book. It provides basic scientific background on climate change, reviews the IPCC's activities, and explains the genesis of the analyses. Subsequent contributions fall into two categories. Early chapters review analytical issues critical to social and economic understanding of climate change. A second set of chapters address specific economic questions surrounding climate-change policy. The result is an original and significant contribution to the evolving debate on this crucial hot-button topic.

This major annual publication presents a comprehensive overview of cutting-edge issues in environmental and resource economics. The expert contributors address some of today's most pressing environmental concerns including: pollution control policies Graphical Information Systems (GIS) and spatial analysis disclosure strategies for pollution control environmental policy under imperfect competition transport and the environment optimal forest harvesting. The Yearbook is an essential resource for economists, scholars and practitioners working in environmental and resource economics.

Democratization, globalization, and increased environmental awareness have had a profound impact on the regulation of industry in the energy and natural resources sector. This book analyses the changes in character of the way this industry is regulated, and seeks to make connections with theoretical perspectives on regulation as a major part of the modern legal system. Part I examines the emergence of alternatives to regulation, such as 'soft law' in developing countries, the European Electricity and Gas Directives of 1996 and 1998, the idea of regulation of company structure as opposed to performance, multi-faceted government alternative regulatory instruments, and market mechanics. Part II analyses conventional methods of regulation, and how they have evolved, including case studies from the Netherlands, the USA, Singapore, New Zealand, and the UK. Part III looks at regulatory innovations such as environmental audit, self-regulation, the 'Voluntary Action Plan', private-sector standard setting, and certification. Part IV examines the role of non-state actors, and their response to national and supranational regulatory changes, and globalization. Recent shifts in the perception of energy security, failures in energy company corporate governance, and evolving self-regulatory frameworks renders this a timely and worthy examination of the issues facing the energy and natural resources industry today.

The restoration of the Florida Everglades, the largest ecosystem restoration project in the world, is now underway. Missing from the original plan, however, is a study of the region's cities and farms and the economic impact their growth will make on this already endangered ecosystem. This book provides that analysis. Richard Weisskoff applies the widely-used Regional Economic Modeling Inc. (REMI) model to forecast the future of South Florida's six million-person, $300 billion economy. In addition, he supplies four significant pieces to the model, namely, detailed projections for agriculture, investment, tourism, and restoration spending. By integrating these and the results of a second economic modeling system (IMPLAN), he traces out three development paths for the region to the year 2030, and the demands for water and urban land required for each path. Also featured are the results of two land use/land cover surveys which are then used to measure the change in the value of ecosystem services in the Everglades region. The author provides an economic history of the region and statistically documents the transformation of the original Everglades into the sprawling cities and the sugar-citrus-cattle emporium, all of which share the same fragile ecosystem. The study concludes that the ultimate success of the restoration of the Everglades will depend on choices made regarding the future of the region's cities and farms. While the volume focuses on the Everglades, it serves also as a case study for other such restoration projects. Ecological and environmental economists, regional scientists, planning professionals, and government agencies will find this timely volume of great interest.

Water issues in the American West share many similarities with those seen elsewhere in the world as population growth exacerbates longstanding problems of inappropriate water use and management. The contributors to this timely volume examine the universal challenge of sustainable water management to improve the use of water resources already developed and find ways to moderate our growing collective thirst. The volume begins with an exploration of the opportunities, arguments, and mechanisms for transferring lessons between the American West and foreign nations. Succeeding chapters cover individual issues such as: water allocation and the relationship between market mechanisms and government-based approaches, the challenge of environmental protection, the protection of cultural values with a focus on indigenous water rights, the significance of international and interstate rivers in promoting regional conflict and cooperation, and the role of water management in sustainable development. A comprehensive look at one of our most pressing issues, In Search of Sustainable Water Management will be of great interest to scholars and practitioners in the areas of water management, law, policy studies, economics, planning and public administration.