Sustainability Economics: An Introduction

169 Pages·2012·6.292 MB·English

by  Peter Bartelmus

Sustainability Economics
This book is a concise introduction to an emerging field within economics.
Drawing on numerous disciplines, including environmental science, environ-
mental and ecological economics and optimal growth theory, sustainability
remains a hazy and complex subject.
The author set out with two objectives: one, to bring some order into
the proliferating measures, models and management of sustainability; and
two, to facilitate access to a complex inter-disciplinary subject area. The
book points to practical ways of assessing and enhancing the long-term
environmental and economic sustainability of our economies.
The result is a fully international study that should bridge the gap
between disciplines and prove to be an essential guide to anyone interested
in one of the most important concepts in the social sciences.
Peter Bartelmus is a Professor at the University of Wuppertal, Germany.
He wrote the book as a Visiting Scholar at Columbia University, USA.
Routledge Textbooks in Environmental
and Agricultural Economics
1 The Economics of Agricultural Development, Second Edition
George W. Norton, Jeffrey Alwang and William A. Masters
2 A gricultural Marketing
James Vercammen
3 Forestry Economics
John E. Wagner
4 Agribusiness Management, Fourth Edition
Jay Akridge, Freddie Barnard, Frank Dooley and John Foltz
5 Sustainability Economics
An introduction
Peter Bartelmus
Sustainability Economics
An introduction
Peter Bartelmus
with illustrations by Arik Bartelmus
First published 2013
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2013 Peter Bartelmus
The right of Peter Bartelmus to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patent Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Bartelmus, Peter.
Sustainability economics: an introduction/Peter Bartelmus.
p. cm.
1. Environmental economics. 2. Sustainable development.
3. Economic development–Environmental aspects. I. Title.
HC79.E5B368 2012
338.9’27–dc23
2011047099
ISBN: 978-0-415-68682-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-68683-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-11838-2 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Sunrise Setting Ltd
To Little Lea, who will inherit what we leave behind

Contents
List of figures ix
List of tables xi
Preface xiii
Acknowledgements xvii
1 Introduction 1
PART 1
Ecological sustainability: How much nature do
we need? 11
2 How much nature do we have? 13
3 How much nature do we need? Can we sustain
its use? 23
4 What should we do about it? 37
PART 2
Economic sustainability: How much for nature? 47
5 What is the value of nature? 49
6 Accounting for economic sustainability 61
7 What should we do about it? 73
8 Bridging the gap: ecological and environmental
economics 86
viii Contents
PART 3
Sustainable development: What else do we need? 95
9 A cure-all paradigm? 97
10 What should we do about it? 108
11 Some conclusions: What is countable?
What counts? What should we do about it? 119
References 125
Author index 139
Subject index 143
Appendix 149
A syllabus for a short course, including powerpoint
slides, can be accessed at the book’s web page at
www.routledge.com
Figures
1.1 Anthropocentric and eco-centric view of the
human environment 2
1.2 Economic exchange system 3
1.3 Environment–economy interaction 3
1.4 Finding the balance (cid:79)5
1.5 Environmental-economic polarization 7
2.1 Global warming 16
2.2 Ecological Footprint 2007, major world regions 17
2.3 Material flow accounts of the European Union 19
2.4 Global energy balance 20
3.1 How bad is it? 24
3.2 Carrying capacity of people and their activities 25
3.3 Substitution 27
3.4 Economic growth and resource productivity in
Germany: an input–outout model 29
3.5 Limits-to-growth model, business-as-usual scenario 30
3.6 Ecological Footprint trend 31
4.1 Delinking natural resource use from economic
growth – a tunnel vision? 39
4.2 μηδέν ’άγαν, nothing in excess 41
4.3 Corporate social responsibility 42
4.4 Command and control 43
5.1 The value of nature 50
5.2 Environmental externality 51
5.3 How much for an elephant? 53
5.4 The total economic value 54
5.5 Discounting the damage of a nuclear meltdown 55
5.6 How much for nature? How much for economic output? 57
5.7 Economic values of an environmental service 59
6.1 GPI, GDP and personal consumption per capita,
USA, 1950–2004 62