Ecological economics,bioeconomics,ecolonomy,eco-economics,or ecol-econ is both a transdisciplinary and an interdisciplinary field of academic research addressing the interdependence and coevolution of human economies and natural ecosystems,both intertemporally and spatially. By treating the economy as a subsystem of Earth's larger ecosystem,and by emphasizing the preservation of natural capital,the field of ecological economics is differentiated from environmental economics,which is the mainstream economic analysis of the environment. One survey of German economists found that ecological and environmental economics are different schools of economic thought,with ecological economists emphasizing strong sustainability and rejecting the proposition that physical (human-made) capital can substitute for natural capital.
The ecological footprint is a method promoted by the Global Footprint Network to measure human demand on natural capital,i.e. the quantity of nature it takes to support people and their economies. It tracks this demand through an ecological accounting system. The accounts contrast the biologically productive area people use for their consumption to the biologically productive area available within a region,nation,or the world. In short,it is a measure of human impact on the environment and whether that impact is sustainable.
The Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) is a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that was published in 2000. The greenhouse gas emissions scenarios described in the Report have been used to make projections of possible future climate change. The SRES scenarios,as they are often called,were used in the IPCC Third Assessment Report (TAR),published in 2001,and in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4),published in 2007. The SRES scenarios were designed to improve upon some aspects of the IS92 scenarios,which had been used in the earlier IPCC Second Assessment Report of 1995. The SRES scenarios are "baseline" scenarios,which means that they do not take into account any current or future measures to limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The economic analysis of climate change explains how economic thinking,tools and techniques are applied to calculate the magnitude and distribution of damage caused by climate change. It also informs the policies and approaches for mitigation and adaptation to climate change from global to household scales. This topic is also inclusive of alternative economic approaches,including ecological economics and degrowth. In a cost–benefit analysis,the trade offs between climate change impacts,adaptation,and mitigation are made explicit. Cost–benefit analyses of climate change are produced using integrated assessment models (IAMs),which incorporate aspects of the natural,social,and economic sciences. The total economic impacts from climate change are difficult to estimate,but increase for higher temperature changes.
Resources for the Future (RFF) is an American nonprofit organization,founded in 1952 that conducts independent research into environmental,energy,and natural resource issues,primarily via economics and other social sciences. Headquartered in Washington,D.C.,RFF performs research around the world.
Integrated assessment modelling (IAM) or integrated modelling (IM) is a term used for a type of scientific modelling that tries to link main features of society and economy with the biosphere and atmosphere into one modelling framework. The goal of integrated assessment modelling is to accommodate informed policy-making,usually in the context of climate change though also in other areas of human and social development. While the detail and extent of integrated disciplines varies strongly per model,all climatic integrated assessment modelling includes economic processes as well as processes producing greenhouse gases. Other integrated assessment models also integrate other aspects of human development such as education,health,infrastructure,and governance.
This page is an index of sustainability articles.
Environmental issues are disruptions in the usual function of ecosystems. Further,these issues can be caused by humans or they can be natural. These issues are considered serious when the ecosystem cannot recover in the present situation,and catastrophic if the ecosystem is projected to certainly collapse.
The economics of climate change mitigation is part of the economics of climate change related to climate change mitigation,that is actions that are designed to limit the amount of long-term climate change.
The Master of Resource Management (MRM) degree is a graduate degree program in the School of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby,British Columbia,Canada. and the university centre of the Westfjords,Iceland. This program is designed for both recent graduates and individuals with experience in the private or public sector in dealing with natural resources and the environment. The program seeks students from a range of disciplines including biology,engineering,chemistry,forestry,geology,business,economics,geography,planning and social sciences. The program is recognized as an accredited sustainable planning program by the Canadian Institute of Planners and the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
Marilyn A. Brown is a Regents' and Brook Byers Professor of Sustainable Systems in the School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She joined Georgia Tech in 2006 after 22 years at Oak Ridge National Laboratory,where she held various leadership positions. Her work was cited by President Clinton as providing the scientific justification for signing the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. With Eric Hirst,she coined the term "energy efficiency gap" and pioneered research to highlight and quantify the unexploited economic potential to use energy more productively.
The contributions of women in climate change have received increasing attention in the early 21st century. Feedback from women and the issues faced by women have been described as "imperative" by the United Nations and "critical" by the Population Reference Bureau. A report by the World Health Organization concluded that incorporating gender-based analysis would "provide more effective climate change mitigation and adaptation."
Nebojsa Nakicenovic is an energy economist.
An energy system is a system primarily designed to supply energy-services to end-users. The intent behind energy systems is to minimise energy losses to a negligible level,as well as to ensure the efficient use of energy. The IPCC Fifth Assessment Report defines an energy system as "all components related to the production,conversion,delivery,and use of energy".
A carbon budget is a concept used in climate policy to help set emissions reduction targets in a fair and effective way. It looks at "the maximum amount of cumulative net global anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions that would result in limiting global warming to a given level". When expressed relative to the pre-industrial period it is referred to as the total carbon budget,and when expressed from a recent specified date it is referred to as the remaining carbon budget.
Diana Ürge-Vorsatz is a Hungarian scientist. She is professor of Environmental Sciences at Central European University. She is the Director of the Center for Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Policy. She has published widely on environmental and energy studies,primarily climate change mitigation.
Nancy D. Olewiler is a Canadian economist who is currently a professor at the School of Public Policy at Simon Fraser University. She is affiliated with numerous organizations such as Powertech Labs Inc.,BC Hydro,Powerex Corp,TransLink,and the Center for Public Research. Olewiler has received numerous awards for her contributions in the education and environmental economics sector. She was most recently a recipient of the 2017 YWCA Women of Distinction Award for her work at Queen's University and Simon Fraser University. She is also notable for her research in natural resource and environmental policy,the effects of environmental regulation on the economy,and environmental tax policies.
Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) are climate change scenarios of projected socioeconomic global changes up to 2100. They are used to derive greenhouse gas emissions scenarios with different climate policies. This concept has been used in the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report on climate change in 2021. The SSPs provide narratives describing alternative socio-economic developments. These storylines are a qualitative description of logic relating elements of the narratives to each other. In terms of quantitative elements,they provide data accompanying the scenarios on national population,urbanization and GDP. The SSPs can be quantified with various Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs),to explore possible future pathways both with regards to socioeconomic and climate pathways.
Kirsten Zickfeld is a German climate physicist who is now based in Canada. She is a member of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,and was one of the authors on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C (SR15).Zickfeld completed a Master of Science degree in physics at the Free University of Berlin in 1998,followed by a doctorate in physics at the University of Potsdam in 2004.[7]
In sociology,societal transformation refers to “a deep and sustained,nonlinear systemic change”in a society. Transformational changes can occur within a particular system,such as a city,a transport or energy system. Societal transformations can also refer to changes of an entire culture or civilization. Such transformations often include not only social changes but cultural,technological,political,and economic,as well as environmental. Transformations can be seen as occurring over several centuries,such as the Neolithic Revolution or at a rapid pace,such as the rapid expansion of megacities in China.
