The case for free market environmentalism

1995 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-156
Author(s):  
Jan Narveson
Keyword(s):  
Free Market ◽  
Market Environmentalism

scholarly journals A Free-Market Environmentalist Transition toward Renewable Energy: The Cases of Germany, Denmark, and the United Kingdom

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 4659
Author(s):  
William Hongsong Wang ◽  
Vicente Moreno-Casas ◽  
Jesús Huerta de Soto
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Private Property ◽  
Free Market ◽  
State Intervention ◽  
Tax Rate ◽  
Reform Agenda ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Market Environmentalism ◽  
The Uk

Renewable energy (RE) is one of the most popular public policy orientations worldwide. Compared to some other countries and continents, Europe has gained an early awareness of energy and environmental problems in general. At the theoretical level, free-market environmentalism indicates that based on the principle of private property rights, with fewer state interventionist and regulation policies, entrepreneurs, as the driving force of the market economy, can provide better services to meet the necessity of offering RE to protect the environment more effectively. Previous studies have revealed that Germany, Denmark, and the United Kingdom have made some progress in using the market to develop RE. However, this research did not analyze the three countries’ RE conditions from the perspective of free-market environmentalism. Based on our review of the principles of free-market environmentalism, this paper originally provides an empirical study of how Germany, Denmark, and the United Kingdom have partly conducted free-market-oriented policies to successfully achieve their policy goal of RE since the 1990s on a practical level. In particular, compared with Germany and Denmark, the UK has maintained a relatively low energy tax rate and opted for more pro-market measures since the Hayekian-Thatcherism free-market reform of 1979. The paper also discovers that Fredrich A. Hayek’s theories have strongly impacted its energy liberalization reform agenda since then. Low taxes on the energy industry and electricity have alleviated the burden on the electricity enterprises and consumers in the UK. Moreover, the empirical results above show that the energy enterprises play essential roles in providing better and more affordable RE for household and industrial users in the three sampled countries. Based on the above results, the paper also warns that state intervention policies such as taxation, state subsidies, and industrial access restrictions can impede these three countries’ RE targets. Additionally, our research provides reform agendas and policy suggestions to policymakers on the importance of implementing free-market environmentalism to provide more efficient RE in the post-COVID-19 era.

Free Market Environmentalism

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry L. Anderson ◽  
Donald R. Leal
Keyword(s):  
Free Market ◽  
Market Environmentalism

Frontiers of Free Market Environmentalism

2015 ◽  
pp. 151-163
Author(s):  
Terry L. Anderson ◽  
Donald R. Leal
Keyword(s):  
Free Market ◽  
Market Environmentalism

Is Free-Market Environmentalism “Mainstream”?

2000 ◽  
Vol 91 (5) ◽  
pp. 227-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry L. Anderson ◽  
Jane S. Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Free Market ◽  
Market Environmentalism

scholarly journals TAKING PROPERTY RIGHTS SERIOUSLY: THE CASE OF CLIMATE CHANGE

2009 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 296-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan H. Adler
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Free Market ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Human Welfare ◽  
Change Policy ◽  
Market Environmentalism ◽  
Developed Nations

The dominant approach to environmental policy endorsed by conservative and libertarian policy thinkers, so-called “free market environmentalism” (FME), is grounded in the recognition and protection of property rights in environmental resources. Despite this normative commitment to property rights, most self-described FME advocates adopt a utilitarian, welfare-maximization approach to climate change policy, arguing that the costs of mitigation measures could outweigh the costs of climate change itself. Yet even if anthropogenic climate change is decidedly less than catastrophic, human-induced climate change is likely to contribute to environmental changes that violate traditional conceptions of property rights. Viewed globally, the actions of some countries—primarily industrialized nations—are likely to increase environmental harms suffered by other countries—less developed nations that have not (as of yet) made any significant contribution to climate change. It may well be that aggregate human welfare would be maximized in a warmer, wealthier world, or that the gains from climate change will offset environmental losses. Yet such claims, even if demonstrated, would not address the normative concern that the consequences of anthropogenic global warming would infringe upon the rights of people in less-developed nations. As a consequence, this paper calls for a rethinking of FME approaches to climate change policy.

scholarly journals Tropical Deforestation: Can Property Rights Stem the Tide?

SURG Journal ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-54
Author(s):  
Daniel Bayley
Keyword(s):  
Property Rights ◽  
Tropical Forests ◽  
Private Property ◽  
Free Market ◽  
Tropical Deforestation ◽  
Private Ownership ◽  
Private Property Rights ◽  
Effective Form ◽  
Tropical Forest Management ◽  
Market Environmentalism

In this report the property right structures surrounding tropical forest management are analyzed with a specific case study presented on tropical forests in Honduras. In order to adequately understand the set of property rights in place surrounding tropical forests, the applicable sets of property rights are laid out and explained (private, common, state, and open access). It is argued that the current property rights regimes in place surrounding tropical forests are inadequate and are the issue leading to high levels of deforestation. Conflicts and controversies surrounding the issue are presented for a counterargument and separate view of the issue. It was found that the current property rights regime in Honduras is inadequate for effective resource management as it lacks enforceability along with structure and is the prominent issue surrounding tropical deforestation. Private property rights were the most effective form of property rights found for maintaining natural resources, and it is therefore recommended that private ownership be instilled upon tropical forests to reduce the rate of deforestation. Free Market Environmentalism (FME) is offered as a solution to the current methodology for the management of tropical forests, as it advocates for private ownership and an enforceable set of rights. Therefore, it is recommended that a private property rights regime following the FME methodology replace existing state property rights in order to stem the tide of tropical deforestation.

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