Sustainability and the New Economics: Synthesising Ecological Economics and Modern Monetary Theory

Preface
Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction
	References
Part I: The Current Mess
	Chapter 2: The Earth System, the Great Acceleration and the Anthropocene
		2.1 What Is the Earth System?
		2.2 The Great Acceleration
		2.3 The Anthropocene
		2.4 Climate Change
		2.5 Planetary Boundaries
		2.6 Future Trajectories of the Earth System
		References
	Chapter 3: Australia’s Natural Environment: A Warning for the World
		3.1 Introduction
		3.2 Australia: An Historical Perspective
		3.3 Australia: Current Perspective
		3.4 Drivers of Environmental Change
		3.5 Human Overpopulation
		3.6 Terrestrial Environments
		3.7 Freshwater and Marine Environments
		3.8 Ecological Sustainability – Is It Possible?
		3.9 Conclusions
		References
	Chapter 4: Climate Change and Human Health
		4.1 Introduction
		4.2 Climate Change, the Anthropocene, and Human Development
		4.3 Coal, Air Pollution and Health in Australia
		4.4 Climate Change and Health
			4.4.1 Classifying the Health Effects of Climate Change, Including Mental Health
		4.5 Conclusion
		References
	Chapter 5: How Sustainable Are the UN Sustainable Development Goals?
		5.1 Introduction
		5.2 Development Based on Growth and Debt, 1980–2015
		5.3 SDGs Retain the Growth Strategy
		5.4 SDG2: ‘Safe, Nutritious and Sufficient Food’
		5.5 SDG11, SDG9: Urban Development, Infrastructure and Industry
		5.6 SDG12: Sustainable Production and Consumption
		5.7 SDG8: ‘Sustainable Economic Growth’?
		5.8 Problems of Population and Affluence
		5.9 Conclusion
		References
Part II: How We Got Here
	Chapter 6: The Evolution of Neoliberalism
		6.1 Introduction
		6.2 What is Neoliberalism?
		6.3 The Rise of Neoliberalism in the 1970s
		6.4 Hard Neoliberalism
		6.5 Soft Neoliberalism
		6.6 The Crises of the Twenty-First Century
		6.7 Political Implications
		6.8 Concluding Comments: The Way Forward
		References
	Chapter 7: Population Growth
		7.1 Introduction
		7.2 Expanding the Resource Base
		7.3 Early Environmental Concerns
		7.4 The Global Problem
		7.5 Population or Consumption?
		7.6 Climate Change as ‘The Great Educator’?
		7.7 Australian Environmental Organisations
		7.8 The Harsh Reality of 2020 Meets Delusions of Limitless Futures
		References
	Chapter 8: A Brief History of The Limits to Growth Debate
		8.1 Introduction
		8.2 The Club of Rome and The Limits to Growth
		8.3 Reactions from Economics and Science
		8.4 Attack from Activist Economists
		8.5 New Approaches to Limits
		8.6 Assessments of The Limits to Growth vs. Real World Outcomes
		8.7 Conclusion
		References
	Chapter 9: The Role of the Fossil Fuel Industry
		9.1 Fossil Fuels: The Foundation of Exponential Population and Economic Growth
		9.2 Global Fossil Fuel Evolution
		9.3 Australian Fossil Fuel Evolution
		9.4 Power and Political Influence
		9.5 The Climate Change Nemesis
		9.6 Corrupting the Market
		9.7 The Australian Response: Ratcheting Climate Ambition Ever Downwards
		9.8 From Hard to Soft Denial
		9.9 Conclusion: Facing the Climate Emergency
		References
	Chapter 10: Economic Failures of the IPCC Process
		10.1 Introduction
		10.2 Nobel Oblige
		10.3 The Scientific Assessment
			10.3.1 Reading Catastrophe and Seeing Utopia
			10.3.2 Drowning Scientists with Economists
			10.3.3 Equating Climate with Weather
			10.3.4 Equating Time with Space
			10.3.5 Trivial Estimates of Serious Damages
		10.4 The Failure of Peer Review
		10.5 Conclusion
		References
Part III: Designing a Safe and Prosperous Future
	Chapter 11: An Introduction to Ecological Economics: Principles, Indicators, and Policy
		11.1 Introduction
		11.2 Principles of Ecological Economics
		11.3 Principles in More Detail
			11.3.1 The Economy is Embedded in Society, and Society is Embedded in the Biophysical World
			11.3.2 The Purpose of the Economy is to Maximise Collective Wellbeing
			11.3.3 Other Aspects of Wellbeing
				11.3.3.1 Natural Capital (Natural Wealth)
				11.3.3.2 Population Size
				11.3.3.3 Health and Education
				11.3.3.4 Human-Made Capital (Human-Made Wealth)
				11.3.3.5 Trophic Diversity
				11.3.3.6 Law and Governance
				11.3.3.7 Shuffling Financial Assets (Virtual Wealth) Does Not Equate to Generating Real Wealth
				11.3.3.8 International Relations
			11.3.4 Sustainability, Distribution, and Allocation
			11.3.5 Nations Should Strive for Maximum Self-Sufficiency
			11.3.6 Internationalisation and Globalisation
			11.3.7 Thermodynamics, Biocapacity and Throughput
			11.3.8 Global Resource Throughput Should be Less Than the Planet’s Biophysical Capacity
			11.3.9 Continuous Absolute Decoupling is a Dangerous Myth
			11.3.10 The Optimal Size of an Economy is Where Net Benefits are Maximised
			11.3.11 Some Countries Will Need to Implement Degrowth Policies
			11.3.12 Population Size Matters
			11.3.13 Humankind Needs to Respect the Ecological Limits of the Planet or Face Collapse
		11.4 Conclusion
		References
	Chapter 12: Energy Systems for Sustainable Prosperity
		12.1 Introduction
		12.2 Global Strategy for Cutting GHG Emissions from Energy
		12.3 Energy Efficiency and Conservation
			12.3.1 Distinguishing Conservation from Efficiency
			12.3.2 Energy Conversion Efficiency
			12.3.3 Rebound
		12.4 Renewable Energy: Current Status
		12.5 Real Barriers and Myths
			12.5.1 Vested Interests Are Resisting the Transition
			12.5.2 The Base-Load Myth
			12.5.3 The EROI Myth
			12.5.4 Consumption—The Real Problem
		12.6 Discussion and Conclusion
		References
	Chapter 13: Climate Change Litigation and Human Rights
		13.1 Introduction
		13.2 Climate Change Litigation
			13.2.1 Obstacles
			13.2.2 Climate Change Litigation in Australia: The Rocky Hill Decision
		13.3 International Law, Human Rights and Public Decision-Making
			13.3.1 International Law and Climate Change
			13.3.2 The Influence of International Law on Domestic Decision-Making
			13.3.3 International Law in Australian Litigation
		13.4 Corporations and Climate Change: Holding Emitters Accountable
			13.4.1 Tortious Actions
			13.4.2 Corporations Law: Financial Disclosure
			13.4.3 Corporations Law: Directors’ Duties
		13.5 Conclusion
	Chapter 14: Paying for a Green New Deal: An Introduction to Modern Monetary Theory
		14.1 Introduction
		14.2 Mainstream Macroeconomics in a Nutshell
		14.3 The MMT Paradigm Shift
		14.4 The Role of Private Banks
		14.5 The National Government’s Budget
		14.6 Government Deficits and Debt
		14.7 What a Prudent Monetary-Sovereign Government Should Do
		14.8 A Government Job Guarantee Scheme
		14.9 Paying for a Green New Deal
		References
	Chapter 15: Conclusion and Policy Options
		15.1 Herman Daly’s Policies
		15.2 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
		15.3 Alliance of World Scientists
		15.4 Other Policy Priorities Worth Considering
			15.4.1 General
			15.4.2 Agriculture-Forestry
			15.4.3 Corporations
			15.4.4 Education
			15.4.5 Energy
			15.4.6 Governance
			15.4.7 Mining
			15.4.8 Trade
		References
Appendices
	Appendix 1: Timeline of Key Events from the Big Bang
	Appendix 2: Glossary of Financial Terms
	Appendix 3: Glossary of General Economic Terms
	Appendix 4