Visioning the Green Economy Molly Scott Cato Reader in Green Economics Cardiff School of Management

Ecological Balance rather than Economic Growth

From cowboy to spaceman

A steady-state economy FAn end to economic growth FRate of throughput of resources slower than the ability of the planet to regenerate FEvolution rather than growth

An economy that fits within its ecosystem

From linear to cyclical economy F‘extracts fossil fuels and ores at one end and transforms them into commodities and waste products’ F‘cannot turn pots back into clay’ FPermaculture suggests the need to reuse our wastes

Industrial ecology FDesigning with nature in mind FExamines the impact of industry and technology on the biophysical environment FExamines local, regional and global flows of materials and energy in products, processes, industrial sectors and economies

Natural metabolism FBusinesses should ‘match the metabolism of the natural world’ F‘Products that, when their useful life is over, do not become useless waste but can be tossed on to the ground to decompose and become food for plants and animals and nutrients for soil’—Jonathan Porritt F‘Buildings that, like trees, produce more energy than they consume and purify their own waste water’

A new consumption ethic

The bioregional economy F‘All life on the planet is interconnected... But there is a distinct resonance among living things and the factors which influence them that occurs specifically within each separate place on the planet. Discovering and describing that resonance is the best way to describe a bioregion.’ FAn economy embedded in its local environment F‘Borrowing our resources from the local natural environment’

Localisation and reskilling

A convivial economy

Find out more: FMy Blog: Fwww.gaianeconomics.blogspot.com FGreen Economics: An Introduction to Theory, Policy and Practice F(Earthscan, 2009)