Conserving Economics for Biodiversity

The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review (Dasgupta 2021), henceforth the Review, tells us that we are embedded in Nature and our economies are bounded within Nature. It helps us estimate the value of natural capital and include it in estimations of economic output. The Review’s key messages concern (i) keeping our demands well within Nature’s supply, (ii) moving away from gross domestic product (GDP) towards inclusive wealth as a measure of economic success, and (iii) acknowledging the institutional failure in addressing global environmental problems and resolving them through institutional reforms in the financial and education systems. However, this commentary suggests that the Review is about conserving economics for biodiversity. It offers little opportunity for transformative change in our thinking and acting, to change our relationship with Nature so that we can conserve its diversity and dynamism...

Why Socio-metabolic Studies are Central to Ecological Economics

Global material extraction has tripled since the 1970s, with more than 100 billion tonnes of materials entering the world economy each year. Only 8.6% of this is recycled, while 61% ends up as waste and emissions that is the leading cause of global warming, and large-scale pollution of land, rivers, and oceans. This paper introduces Socio-metabolic Research (SMR) and demonstrates its relevance for ecological economics scholarship in India. SMR is a research framework for studying the biophysical stocks and flows of material and energy associated with societal production and consumption. SMR is widely conducted in Europe, US, and China. In India, it is still at an infant stage. In this paper, we review pioneering efforts of SMR in India, and make the case for advancing the field in the sub-continent. The crucial question is whether India can source materials and energy necessary for human development in a sustainable manner.

Self-care or Delay in Seeking Healthcare

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Solar Microgrids in Rural India

This study evaluates the benefits that rural households in India derive from dedicated solar microgrid service systems. A case study was conducted in Lakshmipura-Jharla, Rajasthan, a village in western India with significant potential for producing solar energy. In 2013, a private investor set up a solar microgrid in the village and distributed energy-efficient appliances. Its goal was to give poor households access to modern energy services. The study data were collected through a survey conducted among randomly selected households in the village. The survey found that such an electricity provision service had multidimensional benefits: flexible use of the energy service, more effective time allocation among women, more study time for students, improved indoor air quality, and safer public places. Given the initial unmet demand for modern energy in the village, technological interventions supported by policy has helped to expand consumption possibilities and new demand for services has emerged. The household-level frontier rebound effect is estimated to be more than 100%, reflecting a one-and-a-half times increase in the demand for illumination services among rural households. Frontier rebound effect estimates help quantify the benefits of solar microgrids and energy-efficient appliances for households in rural areas...

When the “Field” Moves Online

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Using Economic Instruments to Fix the Liability of Polluters in India

This review paper highlights the informational requirements for the effective use of environmental policy instruments to achieve ambient standards of pollution in India. A section on the Integrated Urban Air Pollution Assessment Model is attempted to identify data requirements for, and information gaps associated with, using these instruments. We review the available information and identify informational gaps that thwart the realization of ambient standards of environmental quality. In India, command-and-control instruments are arbitrarily used to assign liability without taking cognizance of economic estimates. The available cost–benefit estimates of air and water pollution, combined with air quality modelling for urban areas and water quality modelling, are essential inputs for using environmental policy instruments to ensure compliance with ambient standards. We discuss how to use economic estimates while designing and using economic instruments such as pollution taxes and pollution permits, in addition to command and control.

Making Nature Count

Earth’s biodiversity is the ultimate engine of local and global economies and compromising the renewability of our natural resources will ultimately halt economic growth. Despite this, humankind has continued to exploit natural resources such as fisheries and forests at highly unsustainable rates in the pursuit of flawed development paradigms and simplistic metrics such as gross domestic product (GDP). This has already led to the loss of natural habitats and the decline and extinction of species as well as consequences such as an increase in zoonotic pandemics. The Economics of Biodiversity, a recent report by Sir Partha Dasgupta, addresses how the failure of our current institutions has brought us to where we stand and suggests ways by which we may reform our economic thought to mitigate the impacts on biodiversity. The report identifies important first steps: changing the way we measure economic “success”...