The costs and benefits of environmental sustainability

Abstract

The natural science in GEO-6 makes clear that a range and variety of unwelcome outcomes for humanity, with potentially very significant impacts for human health, become increasingly likely if societies maintain their current development paths. This paper assesses what is known about the likely economic implications of either current trends or the transformation to a low-carbon and resource-efficient economy in the years to 2050 for which GEO-6 calls. A key conclusion is that no conventional cost–benefit analysis for either scenario is possible. This is because the final cost of meeting various decarbonisation and resource-management pathways depends on decisions made today in changing behaviour and generating innovation. The inadequacies of conventional modelling approaches generally lead to understating the risks from unmitigated climate change and overstating the costs of a low-carbon transition, by missing out the cumulative gains from path-dependent innovation. This leads to a flawed conclusion as to how to respond to the climate emergency, namely that significant reductions in emissions are prohibitively expensive and, therefore, to be avoided until new, cost-effective technologies are developed. We argue that this is inconsistent with the evidence and counterproductive in serving to delay decarbonisation efforts, thereby increasing its costs. Understanding the processes which drive innovation, change social norms and avoid locking in to carbon- and resource-intensive technologies, infrastructure and behaviours, will help decision makers as they ponder how to respond to the increasingly stark warnings of natural scientists about the deteriorating condition of the natural environment.

Climate justice: priorities for equitable recovery from the pandemic

“…Economic considerations, understandably, dominate UN climate summits as nations and other actors negotiate the mobilization of resources for climate action and sustainable development (Pidcock & Yeo, 2017). However, and consequently, environmental and social considerations, namely climate action and social justice, are relegated as conditional on economic growth in development and climate policy debates (Borel-Saladin & Turok, 2013;Degryse & Pochet, 2009;Ekins & Zenghelis, 2021;Elder & Olsen, 2019;Grimalda et al, 2016;Menton et al, 2020;Niekerk, 2020;Pacheco et al, 2016;Schor, 2015;Voigt, 2016;Wiedmann et al, 2020;Zeng et al, 2020).…”

“…In essence, the relegation of climate action and social justice as secondary or conditional objectives mirrors attitudes held within the historically dominant model of development, that is, 'grow now/clean up later' (Ekins & Zenghelis, 2021). Yet, the pursuit of economic growth without environmental and social co-objectives risks irreversible environmental damage (Pegels & Altenburg, 2020), as well as perpetuating social inequality and undermining the pursuit of a just transition (Marpi & Erlangga, 2021;Mountford et al, 2018).…”

Climate change and fiscal sustainability: Risks and opportunities

“…The impact of adopting policies to transition the economy to net zero, and associated risks, is a function of the broader global macroeconomic context. Recent evidence on productivity strongly suggests the world needs markedly higher investment (Zenghelis 2021). Weak private confidence has meant ex ante desired investment lagged desired saving for more than a decade, driving real risk-free interests rates to below zero.…”

“…It is increasingly recognised that growth is not only compatible with sustainability, it requires it (Zenghelis 2021). Recent studies have highlighted the urgent need to strengthen the quality of natural assets (New Climate Economy 2018).…”

Green Construction Practices: Ensuring Client Satisfaction Through Health and Safety Performance

“…The construction sector has been one of the main contributors to the environmental problems been witnessed today due to the adoption of traditional construction methods. These environmental problems have been on the upward trend due to rapid urbanization resulting from rural-urban migration (Ekins & Zenghelis, 2021;Meng et al, 2021). However, the construction sector contributes enormously to the economy of any country.…”