The Limits of the Green Economy: From re-inventing capitalism to re-politicising the present PDF
Preview The Limits of the Green Economy: From re-inventing capitalism to re-politicising the present
The Limits of the Green Economy Projecting win-win situations, new economic opportunities, green growth and innovative partnerships, the green economy discourse has quickly gained centre stage in international environmental governance and policymaking. Its underly- ing message is attractive and optimistic: if the market can become the tool for tackling climate change and other major ecological crises, the fight against these crises can also be the royal road to solving the problems of the market. But how ‘green’ is the green economy? And how social or democratic can it be? This book examines how the emergence of this new discourse has fundamen- tally modified the terms of the environmental debate. Interpreting the rise of green economy discourse as an attempt to reinvent capitalism, it unravels the different dimensions of the green economy and its limits: from pricing carbon to emissions trading, from sustainable consumption to technological innovation. The book uses the innovative concept of post-politics to provide a critical per- spective on the way green economy discourse represents nature and society (and their interaction) and forecloses the imagination of alternative socio-ecological possibilities. As a way of repoliticising the debate, the book advocates the con- struction of new political faultlines based on the demands for climate justice and democratic commons. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of environmental politics, political ecology, human geography, human ecology, political theory, philosophy and political economy. Anneleen Kenis is a post-doctoral researcher at the Divisions of Bio-economics and Geography at KU Leuven, Belgium. Her research interests include ecologi- cal citizenship, climate change, activism, air pollution, democracy, post-politics, feminism, and more broadly, political ecology. Matthias Lievens is a post-doctoral researcher at the Centre for Ethics, Social and Political Philosophy at KU Leuven, Belgium. His research interests include representation, ideology, democracy, the concept of the political, sovereignty and constituent power, and more broadly, continental political theory. Routledge Studies in Environmental Policy Land and Resource Scarcity Capitalism, struggle and well-being in a world without fossil fuels Edited by Andreas Exner, Peter Fleissner, Lukas Kranzl and Werner Zittel Nuclear Energy Safety and International Cooperation Closing the world’s most dangerous reactors Spencer Barrett Meredith, III The Politics of Carbon Markets Edited by Benjamin Stephan and Richard Lane The Limits of the Green Economy From reinventing capitalism to repoliticising the present Anneleen Kenis and Matthias Lievens “This is an important and timely book. Kenis and Lievens present an incisive analysis of the productive plasticity of the contemporary environmental-political discourse that is epitomized by the concept of the ‘green economy.’ Reading it, for me, felt like scratching an intense itch.” Sherilyn MacGregor, Keele University, UK “This beautifully written and engaging book was badly needed. Kenis and Lievens help us understand why the ‘green economy’ as currently rolled out will worsen rather than alleviate global social and environmental ills but also point to a realistic way forward. The Limits of the Green Economy needs to be read widely and acted on as a matter of urgency.” Bram Büscher, Wageningen University, The Netherlands “In this timely book, Kenis and Lievens reveal the ‘green economy’ – a vision of lush, eco-balanced affluence engineered through smart markets and ethical enterprise – to be a strategic mirage, a pied-piper panacea that co-opts even critical spirits into a politics of complicity with hegemonic power. Against the faux consensus they rehabilitate conflict; against quotidian capitalism they reach out to ‘the commons.’ Anyone with an interest in a habitable future on Earth should read this book.” Gareth Dale, Brunel University London, UK “With an intransigent analytical power and incisive surgical precision, this book reveals the limits of the green economy. The alternative political road Anneleen Kenis and Matthias Lievens aim to open up requires imaginative power, scientific insight in both natural and social processes (and their inter- action), a rare intellectual courage, and especially an unwavering fidelity to the truth that things can and should be different.” Erik Swyngedouw, University of Manchester, UK “This book not only provides us with the most authoritative critique of the ‘green economy’ written so far, but also invites us to think in original and novel ways about the environmental field.” Guy Baeten, Lund University, Sweden This page intentionally left blank The Limits of the Green Economy From reinventing capitalism to repoliticising the present Anneleen Kenis and Matthias Lievens First published 2015 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2015 Anneleen Kenis and Matthias Lievens The right of Anneleen Kenis and Matthias Lievens to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised 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. Some of the material in this work is based on the authors’ book De mythe van de groene economie: Valstrik, verzet, alternatieven, published by EPO Uitgeverij, Belgium, 2012. 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 Kenis, Anneleen. The limits of the green economy : from re-inventing capitalism to re-politicising the present / Anneleen Kenis and Matthias Lievens. pages cm ISBN 978-1-138-78170-2 (hardback) — ISBN 978-1-315-76970-7 (ebook) 1. Capitalism—Environmental aspects. 2. Environmentalism—Economic aspects. 3. Economic development—Environmental aspects. I. Lievens, Matthias. II. Title. HC79.E5K42145 2015 333.72—dc23 2014038936 ISBN: 978-1-138-78170-2 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-76970-7 (ebk) Typeset in Goudy by Apex CoVantage, LLC Contents Foreword: Apocalypse now? From the marketisation to the politicisation of the environment ix Acknowledgements xvii 1 The green economy: The meaning of a new narrative 1 2 A post-political climate 18 3 The roots of the crisis 40 4 Reinventing capitalism 70 5 Change within limits 108 6 Repoliticising the present 138 Epilogue: Beyond the green economy 165 Index 167 This page intentionally left blank Foreword Apocalypse now? From the marketisation to the politicisation of the environment Franklin D. Roosevelt once stated empathically that books are weapons. If I go to the bookshop or surf to Amazon.com, I am far from convinced that this is the case, especially when it comes to books about ‘the environment’. Only rarely one stumbles upon a book that really stimulates reflection, disrupts common- sense understanding, undermines apparent certainties, turns ecological doom and gloom into creative engagement and at the same time encourages thought about new forms of social-ecological imagination and political action. This book is one of those rare exceptions. Anneleen Kenis and Matthias Lievens combine uneasy truths and thorough analysis with a clarion call for decisive political action. At the same time, the book moves beyond both the apocalyptic tone and moralistic pedantry that is often associated with critical social-economic and ecological lit- erature, and the limited approach of indicating all too easy solutions. This book does not promise a golden and sustainable future, as words cannot provide such guarantees. They can only indicate a direction. With an intransigent analytical power and incisive surgical precision, this book reveals the limits of the green economy. The alternative political road the authors aim to open up requires imaginative power, scientific insight in both natural and social processes (and their interaction), a rare intellectual courage and especially an unwavering fidelity to the truth that things can and should be different. Social-ecological change and transformation is not a pipe dream, it is an acute necessity. This is the emancipatory message, which resounds forcefully throughout this book and radically ruptures contemporary hegemonic environmental thinking. The dominant argumentation of ‘green economy’ pundits maintains that merely greening the existing socio-economic relations will bring a sustainable solution. Ecologising the economy would be necessary and sufficient to evade a pending ecological Armageddon while permitting the untroubled continuation of civili- sation as we know it for a while longer. It is precisely the premise of this biblical promise of a coming ecological catastrophe in the near future that should be rejected completely. Confronted with cataclysmic images of imminent ecologi- cal disaster, which predominate the ecological and climate discourse, and whose ultimate goal is precisely to make sure that the disaster does not take place (if we take the right measures), the only correct answer seems to be ‘don’t worry’ (Al
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