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REM 363/ENV 399 Week 1 - INTRODUCTION

REM 363/ENV 399 Week 1 - INTRODUCTION. Structure of the course. Part 1 – Introduction to environment and economy (Weeks 1 to 4) Part 2 – Market analysis and policy (Weeks 5 to 8) [Note: class is cancelled for Reading Week, Feb 14 & 16]

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REM 363/ENV 399 Week 1 - INTRODUCTION

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  1. REM 363/ENV 399Week 1 - INTRODUCTION

  2. Structure of the course Part 1 – Introduction to environment and economy (Weeks 1 to 4) Part 2 – Market analysis and policy (Weeks 5 to 8) [Note: class is cancelled for Reading Week, Feb 14 & 16] Part 3 – Valuing ecosystem services and measuring sustainability (Weeks 10 to 13) [Note: instructor is away Week 9, Feb 2 & Mar 2] Part 4 – Applications and Review (Weeks 13 to 15)

  3. Required text and readings • Ecological Economics: An Introduction, M. Common and S. Stagl. Cambridge University Press, 2005. • Web-based readings can be accessed via the course web site at: http://research.rem.sfu.ca/downloads/REM-363/ • The texts and readings do not cover all aspects of the course, so it is important to attend classes and tutorials

  4. Course Evaluation • Tutorials (10%) – one hour tutorial each week, graded on attendance and participation (Note: tutorials start this week!) • Assignments (30%) – two assignments, given out in tutorial and handed in to T.A. by specified date [Note: Late assignments are penalised one grade step per day] • Term Project (30%) – A paper of 2500 words (max) with proper references – graded on content, argument, clarity of thought and presentation • Final Exam (30%) – final exam is April 15, 12:00 to 15:00

  5. Economics vs. Ecological Economics "Economics is the study of how people use their limited resources to try to satisfy unlimited wants." Parkin, Economics Ecology is the “study of the interactions between organisms and their environment” Begon et al., Ecology Ecological economics “is about the interactions between economic systems and ecological systems“ Common and Stagl, Ecological Economics

  6. Basic Concepts An economy consists of: • decision makers • coordination mechanisms Other subject areas in Economics: • conventional neoclassical economics (e.g. positive) • welfare economics (e.g. normative) • resource vs. environmental economics • ecological economicsexamines the interaction between ecological systems and the economy such that economic activity can be consistent with sustaining ecological systems

  7. Circular Flow of Products, Factors and Money in an Economy PRODUCT MARKETS Household consumption of goods and services Supply of goods and services Expenditures by households $ Receipts to firms $ HOUSEHOLDS FIRMS Production costs of firms $ Receipts to public $ Household supply of factors Acquisition of factor services by firms FACTOR MARKETS

  8. Environment - Economy Linkages • How is the Environment Important to the Economy? • as a natural resource base • to supply natural amenities (ie. landscape, etc.) • for its waste assimilation capacity • as a life support system

  9. Ecological Economics View of the Relationship between the Economy and the Environment ECOSYSTEM MATERIALS RECYCLING ENERGY & MATERIALS EXPLOITATION AMENITIES PRODUCTION CONSUMPTION GOODS & SERVICES ENERGY & MATERIALS EXPLOITATION ENERGY & MATERIALS WASTES ENERGY & MATERIALS WASTES AMENITIES ECONOMIC SYSTEM

  10. Some Early Models of Economy-Environment Linkages Input-Output Model Models the interaction of different industries/sectors in terms of flows of inputs from one industry to another and culminating in final outputs of goods and services. Can be extended to include resource inputs and waste outputs.

  11. Source: rri.wvu.edu

  12. Materials Flow Model Concerned with the flows of materials and energy through the economic system, their processing, transformation and return to the environment in the form of waste.

  13. Source: epa.gov

  14. Environmental Impact Assessment (e.g. deforestation) Concerned with effects of economic activities on the environment, both positive and negative. May involve complex interactions and feedbacks. We are only beginning to understand the nature of these effects.

  15. Herman Daly's Steady State Economy Model An alternative approach to the standard economic model, recognizing the biophysical limits of the planet’s ecosystem. There is a constant stock of both capital and people, losses of each being exactly balanced by new investment and births. Major task is establishing the proper "scale" or size of the economy at its steady state.

  16. Sustainable Development … the way forward? • Sustainable development is development that: "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". [Source: Our Common Future, World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987, p8] • or “maintaining the capacity of the joint economy-environment system to continue to satisfy the needs and desires of humans for a long time into the future” [Source: Ecological Economics, Common and Stagl, 2005, p8) • Is this a new paradigm ??

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