Hacking economics for people and planet

05 February 2018

As global environmentalism and environmental policy-making has moved into the 21st century, it has not significantly addressed a critical blindspot: the fundamental human system that lies at the root of our ecological and social challenges. This Foresight brief will focus on that particular ‘scientific’ field, that is seemingly immune to the oft-spoken mantras promoting change, innovation and new critical thinking in all other fields.
The implications for policy are in a way quite simple. If we are truly committed to achieving the sustainable development that provides increased well-being within Nature’s limits, then demanding that our economics evolves is a prerequisite; just as we demand innovation and creativity from our technologies, our other sciences, our businesses and our governments, is a prerequisite. Global environmental policy-making alone cannot keep up with the conventional economy’s ability to outpace ecological limits and conservation attempts.

Каждый доллар, потраченный на восстановление деградировавших лесов, может принести экономические выгоды в размере 30 долл. США.