Economics for Rebels

Currently markets determine most of what happens around us. But markets have no morals: everything is up for grabs. If you have the money, you can turn wetlands, forests, or any other biodiversity rich areas into mono-cultural agricultural lands, human habitats, or mines in the name of development. But can we and should we compensate this by making the developers pay for biodiversity conservation somewhere else? This is the central question around biodiversity offsetting and in his research, Sophus zu Ermgassen has been keen to understand if it is possible to design nature markets in a way that satisfies both ecological and financial objectives, and if not, what the alternative is. Sophus co-hosted Season 2 of Economics for Rebels and has asked his guests many exciting questions. In this opening episode to Season 3 we get to hear Sophus also as a guest. Edited by Aidan Knox.

Corinne Baulcomb, a Senior Lecturer at SRUC/University of Edinburgh, dives into the transformative joy of teaching ecological economics. She discusses her innovative approach in educating students to think ecologically and interdisciplinary. Topics range from creating impactful problem-based projects to balancing diverse economic views while fostering teamwork. Corinne emphasizes the importance of 'aha' moments in learning and the necessity of making ecological economics accessible to encourage meaningful change in students' lives and communities.

Various global initiatives have emerged to try to address the degradation of the living world, but despite decades of implementation we’ve had limited success at changing that trajectory. Why? Dr Niak Koh is a sustainability scientist based at the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University. In some of her recent work, Niak has focused on what biodiversity agreements can learn from the implementation of international human rights agreements, which have historically been more successful. So, what are the secrets behind better international agreements? Hosted by Sophus zu Ermgassen. Edited by Aidan Knox.

It is now well-established that contemporary society has finite ecological constraints, and massive inequality in wealth, wellbeing and carbon consumption. But how is the consumption of our shared ecological space distributed across society, and what’s the ecological efficiency through which today’s economy generates improvements in wellbeing? In this episode host, Sophus zu Ermgassen welcomes Dr Marta Baltruszewicz, who has led some fascinating research empirically exploring interlinkages between energy consumption, inequality and wellbeing in the UK.

In this conversation, Mike Clark, a Senior Researcher in Sustainable Food Solutions at Oxford, explores the ecological economics of food systems. He delves into the rising food demand driven by population growth and income, predicting a significant increase in agricultural production by 2050. Clark discusses the environmental toll of food systems, including greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss, while advocating for mostly plant-based diets as a major mitigation strategy. He also highlights the importance of policy reforms to encourage healthier, sustainable eating habits.

Ecological economics is all about staying within planetary boundaries while providing prosperity for all. This, however, means that we desperately need to transcend both our growth-centred worldview and our fully growth-dependent economic and social systems. The solutions proposed by ecological economics cover messages of true political nature. While bottom-up initiatives are incredibly important in this transition, drastic top-down policy changes would make a massive difference. Our guest today, Tim Jackson is most certainly among those top ecological economists who are in constant liaison with policymakers trying to influence their decisions to move towards beyond growth institutions. In today’s podcast host Alexandra Köves is asking him, just how far is this concept beyond the political rationale for today’s decision-makers? Edited by Aidan Knox.

Talking about ecological economics often invokes the mentioning of limits. Ecological and social limits to growth are often brought up in the context where we need to respect these external boundaries and restrain ourselves accordingly. Today’s guest, Giorgos Kallis in his book Limits puts forward an unusual but compelling argument that instead of seeing a world where human wants are unlimited and the environment limits them, we should start seeing a world where human desires are limited, and the ecological environment is abundant. While his line of thought is unorthodox in so many ways, understanding it should be essential to all those who are concerned about our growth-frantic world. Hosted by Alexandra Köves. Edited by Aidan Knox.

The sustainability transition ecological economists urge would mean that we radically transform our economies and societies. Such a transformation is not without disruptions and therefore we need tools to make it just. Our guest today, Vincent Liegey argues that the Unconditional Autonomy Allowance, in which all citizens are provided with guarantees to a minimum sustenance without any conditionality is just the tool we need in Degrowth transitions. It not only mitigates the insecurities around the changes and starts the redistribution much needed for a just and sustainable world but also helps decolonising our imaginaries. Hosted by Alexandra Köves. Edited by Aidan Knox. For more written material on the subject, check out: http://www.projet-decroissance.net/?p=2871; http://www.projet-decroissance.net/?p=2742; http://www.projet-decroissance.net/?p=2745;  http://www.projet-decroissance.net/?p=2745 Find Exploring Degrowth: A Critical Guide book here: https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745342023/exploring-degrowth

In this engaging discussion, Paul Brockway, an academic researcher from the University of Leeds, delves into the intricacies of ecological economics and energy systems. He unpacks why conventional decarbonisation models may lead us astray and highlights the significant role of energy efficiency in economic growth. Paul introduces the concept of exergy, emphasizing its critical importance for understanding energy dynamics. His insights on recycling and circular economies challenge prevalent assumptions about energy consumption, urging a deeper evaluation of our sustainable practices.

In our podcast series we have already covered many different perspectives on the necessary transformation of the monetary system to establish an ecologically sustainable and socially just world. Our guest today, Joe Ament argues that thinking about money differently allows us to think differently about sustainability. Much of our worldview on money is that it is a commodity and is therefore limited. Thinking instead that money is a social relation allows us to think of it as something not physical and hence, abundant. Edited by Aidan Knox.