Climate change, resource depletion and the limits of nature

George Kararach ()

Chapter 6 in Liberating Economics From Ideologies and Dystopia, 2025, pp 75-87 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Environmental and climate policymaking today is being informed by policy and institutional choices that often deviate from original notions of neoliberalism. Historically, neoliberalism said little about the environment, but we can infer some key directions or principles: rely on the private sector and the market to solve environmental problems; limit regulation as this distorts markets; grow now and clean up later (as reflected in the Kuznets curve); and focus on privatising property rights. While some of these principles have played a role in advancing environmental protection at the margins, new models are urgently needed. We are rapidly approaching tipping points on, inter alia, land use change, freshwater use, biodiversity loss and climate change that could irreversibly affect growth and development pathways for humanity. Moreover, behavioural economists argue that individuals do not always react rationally to a price alone, and an additional “nudge” can significantly enhance behaviour. An important recent development in the classical neoliberal focus on market-based instruments to achieve environment policies has been a recognition of the need for accompanying measures to manage social and competitiveness effects. In terms of industrial competitiveness concerns, there is little evidence of any impacts of environmental policies on cross-country competitiveness.

Keywords: Climate change; Resource depletion; Environmental policies; Biodiversity loss; Sustainability; Neoliberalism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035316175
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