IASNOVA
Green Economy
The green economy is defined as economy that aims at making issues of reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities, and that aims for sustainable development without degrading the environment.
The 2011 UNEP Green Economy Report argues “that to be green, an economy must not only be efficient, but also fair. Fairness implies recognizing global and country level equity dimensions, particularly in assuring a just transition to an economy that is
- low-carbon
- resource efficient
- socially inclusive.
Examples – Eco labeling, Green stickers etc
Green economics is loosely defined as any theory of economics by which an economy is considered to be component of the ecosystem in which it resides.
Why is this topic important?
Seeveral questions ,specially terms related to Green Economy have come in past years prelims exams,such as Net Metering,Social Capital (last year),etc.
You can see it was picked from here,though it was an easy question-
Click on “Economic Intangibles” in the second line-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_Natural_Capital
So we will go through some important terms which have already come,and related terms which may come in prelims.
Green Finance
(Different from Green economy-related to Blockchain)
1. The financing of public and private green investment through blockchain. Green investment include but is not limited to environmental goods and services (such as water management or protection of biodiversity and landscapes) prevention, minimization and compensation of damages to the environment and to the climate, components of the financial system that deal specifically with green investments, such as Green Climate Fund or financial instruments for green investments approved by a recognised international green blockchain supervisory body.
2. It also comprises any project, policies, framework or system participating in the protection and application of inherent moral values (e.g abolition of crime against humanity, slavery, children labour….).”
Eco-Capitalism
Eco-capitalism, also known as environmental capitalism or (sometimes) green capitalism, is the view that capital exists in nature as “natural capital” (ecosystems that have ecological yield) on which all wealth depends. Therefore, governments should use market-based policy-instruments (such as a carbon tax) to resolve environmental problems.
Eco-socialism, green socialism or socialist ecology
It is an ideology merging aspects of socialism with that of green politics, ecology and alter-globalization or anti-globalization. Eco-socialists generally believe that the expansion of the capitalist system is the cause of social exclusion, poverty, war and environmental degradation through globalization and imperialism, under the supervision of repressive states and transnational structures.
Feed-in-tarriff
A feed-in tariff is a policy mechanism designed to accelerate investment in renewable energy technologies. It achieves this by offering long-term contracts to renewable energy producers, typically based on the cost of generation of each technology.
Eco-Tax
An ecotax (short for ecological taxation) is a tax levied on activities which are considered to be harmful to the environment and is intended to promote environmentally friendly activities via economic incentives.
Ecotaxes are examples of Pigouvian taxes, which are taxes that attempt to make the private parties involved feel the social burden of their actions.
Natural Capital
Natural capital is the world’s stock of natural resources, which includes geology, soils, air, water and all living organisms. Some natural capital assets provide people with free goods and services, often called ecosystem services. Two of these (clean water and fertile soil) underpin our economy and society, and thus make human life possible.
Purple Economy
The purple economy is that part of the economy which contributes to sustainable development by promoting the cultural potential of goods and services.
“The purple economy refers to taking account of cultural aspects in economics. It designates an economy that adapts to the human diversity in globalization and that relies on the cultural dimension to give value to goods and services.”
Net Metering
(asked in Prelims earlier)
Net metering (or net energy metering, NEM) is an electricity billing mechanism that allows consumers who generate some or all of their own electricity to use that electricity anytime, instead of when it is generated. This is particularly important with renewable energy sources like wind and solar, which are non-dispatchable (when not coupled to storage).
Green Trading
Green trading encompasses all forms of environmental financial trading, including carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide (acid rain), nitrogen oxide (ozone), renewable energy credits, and energy efficiency (megawatts). All these emerging and established environmental financial markets have one thing in common, which is making profits in the emerging emissions offset economy by investing in “clean technology”.
Food Miles
Food miles is the distance food is transported from the time of its making until it reaches the consumer. Food miles are one factor used when testing the environmental impact of food, such as the carbon footprint of the food.
Carbon Related Terms
Carbon credit
A carbon credit is a generic term for any tradable certificate or permit representing the right to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide or the equivalent amount of a different greenhouse gas (tCO2e).
Carbon credits and carbon markets are a component of national and international attempts to mitigate the growth in concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs). One carbon credit is equal to one tonne of carbon dioxide, or in some markets, carbon dioxide equivalent gases. Carbon trading is an application of an emissions trading approach.
Carbon Offset
A carbon offset is a reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases made in order to compensate for emissions made elsewhere. Offsets are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e). One tonne of carbon offset represents the reduction of one tonne of carbon dioxide or its equivalent in other greenhouse gases.
Carbon Footprint
A carbon footprint is historically defined as the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an individual, event, organization, or product, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent.
Carbon Neutrality
Carbon neutrality, or having a net zero carbon footprint, refers to achieving net zero carbon dioxide emissions by balancing carbon emissions with carbon removal (often through carbon offsetting) or simply eliminating carbon emissions altogether (the transition to the “post-carbon economy”). It is used in the context of carbon dioxide-releasing processes associated with transportation, energy production, agriculture, and industrial processes.
Carbon Finance
Carbon finance is a branch of environmental finance that covers financial tools such as carbon emission trading to reduce the impact of greenhouse gases (GHG) on the environment by giving carbon emissions a price.
Carbon Emission Trading
Carbon emissions trading is a form of emissions trading that specifically targets carbon dioxide (calculated in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent or tCO2) and it currently constitutes the bulk of emissions trading.
This form of permit trading is a common method countries utilize in order to meet their obligations specified by the Kyoto Protocol; namely the reduction of carbon emissions in an attempt to reduce (mitigate) future climate change.
Carbon Price
A carbon price — the method widely agreed to be the most efficient way for nations to reduce global warming emissions — is a cost applied to carbon pollution to encourage polluters to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases they emit into the atmosphere: it usually takes the form either of a carbon tax or a requirement to purchase permits to emit, generally known as carbon emissions trading, but also called “allowances”.
Carbon Dioxide Scrubber
A carbon dioxide scrubber is a piece of equipment that absorbs carbon dioxide (CO2). It is used to treat exhaust gases from industrial plants or from exhaled air in life support systems such as rebreathers or in spacecraft, submersible craft or airtight chambers. Carbon dioxide scrubbers are also used in controlled atmosphere (CA) storage. They have also been researched for carbon capture and storage as a means of combating global warming.
Carbon Neutral Fuel
Carbon-neutral fuel is energy fuel or energy systems which have no net greenhouse gas emissions or carbon footprint. One class is synthetic fuel (including methane, gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel or ammonia) produced from renewable, sustainable or nuclear energy used to hydrogenate carbon dioxide directly captured from the air (DAC), recycled from power plant flue exhaust gas or derived from carbonic acid in seawater. Renewable energy sources include wind turbines, solar panels, and hydroelectric powerful power stations.Another type of renewable energy source is biofuel. Such fuels are potentially carbon-neutral because they do not result in a net increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases.
