3rd lecture The goals of environmental policy

Question 1

Malthusianism

Answer 1

Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834)
An Essay on the Principle of Population
Human population grows exponentially, food supply arithmetically
Poverty is the result of natural laws, thus inevitable

Question 2

Problems with Malthusianism

Answer 2

Food supply has risen exponentially
Distribution of resources was more effective

Question 3

Meadows: Limits to growth

Answer 3

Five trends were studied:
The accelerating rythm of industrialisation,
Rapid Population Growth
Widespread malnutrition
Depletion of non-renewable resources
Deteriorating environment

Question 4

Meadows: Limits to growth Conclusions:

Answer 4

Without any change in the trends, the world would definitely collapse sometime before 2100
The most probable result would be a rather sudden and uncontrollable decline in both population and industrial capacity
Solution: steady-state world, redistribution of resources

Question 5

Problems with „Limits to growth”

Answer 5

Too pessimistic about technological advances
Too few variables, oversimplification
Different types of economic growth: energy intensive growth versus environmentally benign growth (road transportation versus well-managed forestry)

Question 6

Gro Harlem Brundtland: Our Common Future

Answer 6

Current global trends cannot be sustained in the long run becuase they destroy the environment and are unjust
The notion of sustainable development: „is a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”

Question 7

Equity:

Answer 7

fairness in the distribution of environmental services within and between generations

Question 8

Assessing sustainability – three key criteria

Answer 8

Equity: What will be the impact on the distribution of wealth and other factors affecting the quality of life?

Futurity: Impact on medium and long term?

Value of environment: Proposals that treat environmental services as though they were free violate this criteria

Question 9

Assessing sustainability – the capital approach

Answer 9

One generation should bequeath to its descendants at least as much capital as it is inherited from its immediate ancestors

Weak sustainability: environmental capital and economic capital is substitutable. We should only care about the amount of capital.

Strong sustainability: environmental and economic capital is not substitutable, there is no reverse action. We should protect every form of environmental capital!

Question 10

Different types of environmental capital

Answer 10

Critical environmental capital:
Attributes of the environment which are of the greatest importance or rare but highly valued

Constant environmental capital:
Constant assets are not yet scarce, but could become so if not managed carefully

Tradable environmental capital:
Either such assets are not in danger of becoming scarce, or the environmental services are not highly valued, or could be easily compensated