Green Capital

Christian de Perthuis; Pierre-André Jouvet

Christian de Perthuis and Pierre-André Jouvet

Green Capital

A New Perspective on Growth

Translated by: Michael Westlake

Columbia University Press | 2015

https://doi.org/10.7312/de-p17140

Overview
Contents

About this book

Green Capital demonstrates that it is critical that we introduce a new price into the economy that measures the costs of damage to nature's regulatory functions. Brokering a sustainable peace between ecology and the economy, Green Capital describes a range of valuation schemes and their contribution to the goals of green capitalism, proposing a new approach to natural resources that benefits both businesses and the environment.

Many believe economic growth is incompatible with ecological preservation. Green Capital challenges this argument by shifting our focus away from the scarcity of raw materials and toward the deterioration of the great natural regulatory functions (such as the climate system, the water cycle, and biodiversity).

Although we can find substitutes for scarce natural resources, we cannot replace a natural regulatory system, which is incredibly complex. It is therefore critical that we introduce a new price into the economy that measures the costs of damage to these regulatory functions. This change in perspective justifies such innovations as the carbon tax, which addresses not the scarcity of carbon but the inability of the atmosphere to absorb large amounts of carbon without upsetting the climate system. Brokering a sustainable peace between ecology and the economy, Green Capital describes a range of valuation schemes and their contribution to the goals of green capitalism, proposing a new approach to natural resources that benefits both businesses and the environment.

Author information

Christian De Perthuis is a professor of economics at University Paris-Dauphine and head of the climate economics department. He is the author of several books, including Economic Choices in a Warming World. As chairman of the Green Tax Committee, he designed the carbon tax that was introduced by the French government in January 2014.

Pierre-André Jouvet is a professor of economics at the University of Paris-Ouest-Nanterre-la Défense and is the scientific director of the climate economics department. His recent book is Global Environmental Commons: Analytical and Political Challenges in Building Governance Mechanisms.

Reviews

Claude Henry, Sciences Po Paris and Columbia University:
By systematically destroying the natural foundations of our economic and social development, we deprive ourselves of the chance for sustainable growth. Is there a way out? The answers that Christian de Perthuis and Pierre-André Jouvet provide are a model of realism, characterizing in operational terms the radical shifts required to escape the trap we are in.

Frank J. Convery, chief economist, Environmental Defense Fund:
Trend is not destiny. For those who want to find a better way to live on the earth, this book is a source of insight and inspiration.

Jonathan Wiener, Duke University:
In this colorful and creative book, de Perthuis and Jouvet go beyond the usual environment-versus-economics debate to show that the real challenge is to recognize the significant values we are already enjoying (often without paying) from nature's capital, and to incorporate those values efficiently into our market signals and decisions. Emphasizing the need for enterprise and innovation, Green Capital offers an eclectic, imaginative, and pragmatic synthesis of environmental economics and sensible economic policy.

Jean Tirole, Toulouse School of Economics and Nobel Laureate in Economics:
Green Capital takes us on a salutary journey through biodiversity, water shortages, the energy transition, and much more to stress the importance of 'natural capital.' The book provides an accessible discussion of the economic value of the environment and of the tragedy of the commons, and it explains why, despite our reluctance to employ them, price signals are necessary to create the right incentives. A call for greater environmental awareness and more common sense, Green Capital is a must-read for all those interested in environmental policy issues.

Frontmatter Free access PDF PDF	i
Contents Free access PDF PDF	v
Introduction: The Color of Growth Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	1
2 The Spaceship Problem Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	18
3 Degrowth Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	26
4 Introducing the Environment into the Calculation of Wealth Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	36
5 “Natural Capital” Revisited Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	47
6 Hotelling Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	55
7 Nature Has No Price Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	67
8 Beyond Hotelling Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	76
9 Water, the Shepherd, and the Owner Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	89
10 How Much Is Your Genome Worth? Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	99
11 The Enhancement of Biodiversity Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	112
12 Climate Change Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	122
13 International Climate Negotiations Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	137
14 The “Energy Transition” Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	152
15 The Inescapable Question of the Price of Energy Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	164
16 Nuclear Energy Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	177
17 Growth-Generating Innovations Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	185
18 Planning or the Market Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	197
19 European Strategy Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	214
Conclusion: Green Capital, Green Capitalism? Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	231
Notes Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	237
Index Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	259

Green Capital

A New Perspective on Growth

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