Inter. generational justice and weak and strong sustainability Flashcards
Determants of climate change
values and facts
Determinants of climate change
- stoping emissions of GHG today would have enourmos cost, economically and human suffering
- not lessening missions will instead cost the future
Why discount future benefits?
- risk
- impatience
- different economical places
- oportunity cost of money
Reasons to discount the future cost of climate change
Future consumption should be valued lower:
- because it occurs in a different time
- because we dont know if they will be around
- because we expect to be richer in the future
Decoupling
if the economy grows faster than the environment impact increases
Discounting
value of the future generations welfare
Ramsey rule
if we mean to maximize welfare (utility) from consumption over time, the ramsey rle tells us the discount rate
Assumption: human welfare only depends on material consumption
Weak sustainability, def and rational
Weak sustainability = high substitutability
Def: the sum of natural and man made capital must not decline
Rational: loss in one type of capital can be compensated for through increase in other since
- nature has no value in itsef
- high subsititability
= technological optimism
Strong sustainability, def and rational
Strong sustainability = low substitutability
Def: neither natural nor man made capital must decline
Rational: compensation for loss of some natural capital is not possible, since.
- nature has value in itself
- low subsitutability
= uncertainty and irreversability
Easterling Paradox
lack of correlation between economic growth and happiness
Ecosystms services 4 categories
Regulating, provisioning, supporting, cultural
- think the first 3 are substitutable by tech, some harder and more costly
