Ecological debts and energy–material debts

Fander Falconi and Rafael Burbano

Chapter 26 in Elgar Encyclopedia of Energy Economics, 2025, pp 97-108 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Ecological debt refers to the responsibility that rich and industrialized countries bear for the degradation of the environment and the exploitation of natural resources and environmental sinks in impoverished countries. This concept, disseminated in academic circles and by social and environmental justice movements in both the Global North and South, has been used to denounce the injustice in the distribution of environmental and economic costs and to demand fair compensation. The total ecological debt, per capita, and mixed (a combination of the first two) of domestic material consumption (DMC) and accumulated carbon dioxide emissions over time are calculated using a proprietary methodology. In the case of accumulated carbon debt, in the 19th century the United Kingdom bore the greatest burden, while in the 20th and 21st centuries the United States became the primary debtor. China emerged on the global scene in the early 20th century, and its CO2 emissions have risen significantly since the 1950s.

Keywords: Ecological Debt; Environmental Justice; Environmental Responsibility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035310364
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