The bioeconomics of planetary energy transitions—a theoretical note

Topher L. McDougal ()
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Topher L. McDougal: University of San Diego, California, USA

Economics of Peace and Security Journal, 2022, vol. 17, issue 2, 5-18

Abstract: Evidence is mounting that unprecedented economic growth experienced by human societies over the past two centuries has induced a state of crisis for the Earth’s ecological systems—a crisis that threatens human society’s existence and heightens the risk of violent conflict. This article presents a simplified model of bioenergetic evolution on a planetary level. It examines human energy exploitation based on three strategies concerning the natural world: (1) predation, (2) competition, and, more cursorily, (3) mutualism. Predation involves the capture of energy pre-processed by the biotic community (living organisms sharing a common environment). Competition involves appropriating lands to capture solar-generated energy, edging the biotic community out. Mutualism involves engaging the biotic community in a mutualistic effort to harvest energy (and discard energy waste in the form of heat) outside of the planetary system. The model implies that, theoretically, substantial government investment in Earth-based solar generation may be required to effect a planetary energy transition to avert ecological collapse. The model suggests that this transition is not likely to happen automatically as a function of substitution by individual economic actors prior to ecological collapse; rather, it requires top-down coercive and/or incentive measures applied by government.

Keywords: bioeconomics; sustainable energy transitions; predation; competition; mutualism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C62 Q40 Q57 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:epc:journl:v:17:y:2022:i:2:p:5-18

DOI: 10.15355/epsj.17.2.5

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