Green Economy: Reframing Ecology, Economics, and Equity
Green Economy: Reframing Ecology, Economics, and Equity
The real and perceived conflicts among economic growth and ecological protection define one of the central tensions in environmental policy. The premise of the concept of a green economy is that it is possible at some level to transform this assumed, traditional zero-sum into a positive relationship. Although its intellectual origins may be traced to the fields of ecological economics, business greening, and ecological modernization, the green economy concept gained particular visibility in the wake of the 2009 financial crisis. This chapter argues that the green economy concept may be influential both in policy framing and as a framework for guiding and carrying out economic and political change. Three modifications in treatments of the concept would make it more acceptable and relevant for future policy debates: rethinking the purpose of growth as well as how it is achieved; shedding more light on economic inequality and its ecological consequences; and emphasizing the intrinsic as well as the utilitarian value of ecological assets and services.
Keywords: green economy, economic growth, ecological economics, sustainable growth, ecological modernization, green growth
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