Table 1 - uploaded by Edward B. Barbier
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Earth systems science maintains that there are nine "planetary boundaries" that demarcate a sustainable, safe operating space for humankind for essential global sinks and resources. Respecting these planetary boundaries represents the "strong sustainability" perspective in economics, which argues that some natural capital may not be substituted and...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... capital approach to sustainability asserts that the value of the aggregate stock of all capital- reproducible, human and natural-must be maintained or enhanced over time to ensure that overall welfare does not decline. However, within this approach, there are contrasting weak versus strong sustainability views, which differ in the treatment of natural capital (see Table 1). As pointed out by [9] (p. ...
Context 2
... safe operating space can therefore be treated as an economic asset that should earn a rate return comparable to holding other assets in an economy. Following the principles of weak sustainability (Table 1), sustainable management of this asset requires efficient use over time. The capital approach to sustainability asserts that the value of the aggregate stock of all capital-reproducible, human and natural-must be maintained or enhanced over time to ensure that overall welfare does not decline. ...
Context 3
... capital approach to sustainability asserts that the value of the aggregate stock of all capital-reproducible, human and natural-must be maintained or enhanced over time to ensure that overall welfare does not decline. However, within this approach, there are contrasting weak versus strong sustainability views, which differ in the treatment of natural capital (see Table 1). As pointed out by [9] (p. ...
Context 4
... safe operating space can therefore be treated as an economic asset that should earn a rate return comparable to holding other assets in an economy. Following the principles of weak sustainability (Table 1), sustainable management of this asset requires efficient use over time. This has consequences that, in turn, affect the choice of policies that may be adopted to manage and allocate the safe operating space available for humankind. ...
Context 5
... such a framework must take into account the uncertainty over thresholds, abrupt and irreversible change, and the magnitude of welfare impacts [4,8,13]. As we have emphasized in this paper, recognizing the need for planetary boundaries to limit human impacts on critical global sinks and resources is synonymous with the "strong sustainability" perspective in economics (Table 1). This view maintains that some forms of natural capital are essential, and thus cannot be substituted by reproducible and human capital; consequently, the sustainability goal of maintaining and enhancing the value of the aggregate capital stock requires preserving essential natural capital. ...
Context 6
... such a framework must take into account the uncertainty over thresholds, abrupt and irreversible change, and the magnitude of welfare impacts [4,8,13]. As we have emphasized in this paper, recognizing the need for planetary boundaries to limit human impacts on critical global sinks and resources is synonymous with the "strong sustainability" perspective in economics (Table 1). This view maintains that some forms of natural capital are essential, and thus cannot be substituted by reproducible and human capital; consequently, the sustainability goal of maintaining and enhancing the value of the aggregate capital stock requires preserving essential natural capital. ...
Context 7
... if planetary boundaries place limits on some uses of the global environment, this "safe operating space" must still be managed efficiently and sustainably [8]. Here, we have shown that, if the safe operating space defined by planetary boundaries is treated as a depletable stock, then the principles of weak sustainability should be applied (Table 1). That is, the safe operating space is a capital asset, and its sustainable management requires efficient use over time. ...
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Citations
... Unfortunately, there is a wealth of recent studies that do discuss them together (e.g. Barbier and Burgess, 2017;Small et al., 2023;Sureth et al., 2023). We consider that this is not beneficial for democratising the framework and guaranteeing the ongoing and engaged involvement of those with an impact, as well as those who are impacted by the framework, as Jabot (2023) call for. ...
Purpose
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Design/methodology/approach
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Findings
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Practical implications
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Originality/value
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... Two major positions have evolved-"weak" vs "strong" sustainability. Weak sustainability allows full substitutability between capital stocks, whereas strong sustainability argues that the need to maintain critical thresholds of some stocks (particularly natural capital) necessary for human well-being and even human existence itself [35]. Tourism research displays very little awareness of the relevance of this distinction to the sustainable development process [30]. ...
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... This approach has different views of sustainability in treating natural capital. However, it is about determining how to manage the nature available for exploitation by humanity efficiently and sustainably in a safe operating space (Barbier & Burgess, 2017). ...
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... It also raises issues in respect to the concept of the Anthropocene as stated by Crutzen (2002), Ruddiman (2003Ruddiman ( , 2013, Lewis and Maslin (2015), Waters et al. (2016), Steffen et al. (2015, 2007), and Zalasiewicz et al. (2015, 2008. Specifically, for sustainability to occur in the Anthropocene, it must operate within the safe thresholds of the environment-human system, and be consistent with the fostering of a conducive co-evolutionary relationship between the environment and the anthroposphere (e.g., Algunaibet et al., 2019;Barbier and Burgess, 2017;Gaffney and Steffen, 2017;Herrmann-Pillath et al., 2022;Li et al., 2021;O'Neill et al., 2018;Schellnhuber, 1998). Consequently, the EHI having no defined limits for sustainability to occur is contrary to the established precepts and concepts of the environment-human system and relationship outlined. ...
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... The stock-taking of the pressure human (economic) activities exert on natural equilibria is a useful and necessary tool to assess and sustainably manage human use of natural resources. Nevertheless, the extent to which this tool has been utilized in economic research has been limited by a lack of integration of the concept into economic theory and methods, though some preliminary attempts have been made: Barbier and Burgess (2017) interpret the planetary boundary framework as representing a strong sustainability perspective (i.e. the processes and systems encapsuled by the planetary boundary framework are non-substitutable with human-made capital) and the space below planetary boundaries as depletable stocks that should be managed in line with the weak sustainability principle. O'Neill et al. (2018) also treat the planetary boundary framework along the lines of strong sustainability and empirically evaluate the capability of countries to provide basic human needs without transgressing nationally downscaled planetary boundaries. ...
... Planetary boundaries impose scarcities on economies (Barbier and Burgess 2017). Due to their characteristic of a common pool resource, they need to be actively governed. ...
... Due to their characteristic of a common pool resource, they need to be actively governed. Otherwise, the budget implied by planetary boundaries will be overexploited and prices associated with planetary boundaries will be too low (see also Barbier and Burgess 2017). Thus, policy instruments are needed that address these externalities. ...
The crises of both the climate and the biosphere are manifestations of the imbalance between human extractive, and polluting activities and the Earth’s regenerative capacity. Planetary boundaries define limits for biophysical systems and processes that regulate the stability and life support capacity of the Earth system, and thereby also define a safe operating space for humanity on Earth. Budgets associated to planetary boundaries can be understood as global commons: common pool resources that can be utilized within finite limits. Despite the analytical interpretation of planetary boundaries as global commons, the planetary boundaries framework is missing a thorough integration into economic theory. We aim to bridge the gap between welfare economic theory and planetary boundaries as derived in the natural sciences by presenting a unified theory of cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis. Our pragmatic approach aims to overcome shortcomings of the practical applications of CEA and CBA to environmental problems of a planetary scale. To do so, we develop a model framework and explore decision paradigms that give guidance to setting limits on human activities. This conceptual framework is then applied to planetary boundaries. We conclude by using the realized insights to derive a research agenda that builds on the understanding of planetary boundaries as global commons.
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... Despite the natural resources and environmental concerns, the improvement in the quality and quantity of the economy, technological innovation, and human well-being are global sustainable development goals (SDGs) (Zameer et al., 2020;Zhang et al., 2021). Sustainable development depends upon innovation and the efficient use of natural resources (Barbier and Burgess, 2017). Higher levels of production warrant higher natural resource consumption. ...
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