FFR160

What are the five largest groups of in-flow materials

1. Construction materials (by far the largest group) 2. Biomass 3. Fossil fuels 4. Metals 5. Industrial materials These materias have rucksacks (a ruck sa k is material that is not used and thus have to be removed at the extraction step) Rucksacks do not ave to have large environmental impacts, but are still a source of waste, mote extraction leads to larger rucksack-waste accumulation.

What is discounting?

How do we value the utility (welfare) of future generations? Translating into climate change: Future consumption should be valued lower- simply because it occurs at a future point in time (hard to justify morally, and incompatible with the idea of sustainable development) - because we don't know if there will be anyone around at all in the future (can only justify a very low discount rate) - since we expect to be richer in the future, and the richer we are the less welfare we gain from more income.

Historical perspective: Anthropocene

Humans have such a large impact on nature that we warrant our own geological epoch. Although the environmental impacts of today are not unique, the scale of the impact is unique, the scale of the impact is unique. However, we have a better understanding of our impact today.

Describe the differences in the indicators

Subjective indicators are based on values and ideas, or the perceived quality of life. Objective indicators evaluate the factors that can bring about quality of life, not quality of life itself. Also, just because the basic prerequisites for quality of life exists, does not mean that people perceive their quality of life as high. It is relative.

What is the Brundtland definition of sustainability?

Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Both intra-generational justice ("the needs of the present"), and inter-generational justice ("future generations")

Define the concepts "sustainable" and "development"

Sustainable: keep into to being, uphold the course of, support, to endure without giving way or yield. Development: social progress and better standards of living with larger freedom, improved quality of life. What do we want to sustain and what do we want to develop? And how do we combine the two?

Explain the drivers of economic growth

1. Hours worked (share of population in work force, hours per employee) 2. Increased productivity (improvements in technology and trade, more output per input of labor. capital and resources)

What are arguments against EKC?

1. Analogies with EKCs for sulphur emissions or CFCs are not valid, GHG emissions are strongly linked to economic activity 2. Technological potentials can be questioned for some consumption categories 3. Even if technologies would become available that would solve the climate issue, the key questions is if society is really able to deliver such solutions. 4. Trends show that improvements in ecological efficiency cannot keep up with the overall growth in demand.

Give example on ethical systems

1. Anthropocentrism: only humans have moral standing, the environment should be protected if it benefits humans (nature only has an instrumental value) 2. Animal rights: all beings have conscious desires and values as individuals, individual animals have rights, not species as a whole. 3. Biocentrism: all life have moral standing as individuals, each individual has a teleos which is good if it is fulfilled. 4. Ecocentrism: ecosystems, mountains, forests, and species have moral standing as a community, everything has an importance in the web of life. 5. Weak ecocentrism: biocentric, but ecosystems, mountains, forests, and species also have moral standing.

Explain limited assimilation capacity of emitted substances

1. Assimilation capacity - the ability of nature to degrade and incorporate substances into the natural cyclic flow of substances 2. Example: Cu-containing goods on Stockholm - Large stocks, but exposure is low and therefore the emissions a re negligible almost across the board (very few sources actually emit a noticeable amount of Cu) 3. Inherently dissipative use of materials - materials are degrades, dispersed, and lost in the course of a single use. - Dissipative use works on different time scales: Short term (dissipative use e.g. detergent), long term (accumulated stock in society e.g. copper)

Explain limited space:

1. Competition of bio-productive (fertile) land: - Bioenergy (forest and agriculture) - Food (agriculture) -Material (forestry) - Nature conservation - Buildings, infrastructure, industrial activities (human activity, non-renewable resources) 2. Mining: - Mainly local effects and relatively small compared to other land use in a global perspective

How is the restriction limited space connected to the principles?

1. Connected to 3: - The physical conditions for production and diversity within the ecosphere must not systematically be deteriorated 2. Activities: - Agriculture - Forestry - Fisheries - Other land use (e.g. mining)

How is the restriction limited availability of resources connected to the principles?

1. Connected to 4: - The use of resources must be efficient and just with respect to meeting human needs 2. Strategies to reduce the environmental impact: - Dematerialization, regulation the flow of materials (m in the imuP-equation) - How? Reducing, slowing down, or closing the flow. Reducing the flow (use less of the material): - use the material more efficiently - increase the quality of the material - miniaturization - multi-functionality Slowing down the flow (make the material last longer): - Make equipment last longer - Protect the material in the equipment - Better maintenance ("the shortest life-span of a part is not the life-span of the whole product") - Reparability Closing the flow (use the material again, more of a societal perspective as well as a design aspect): - Re-use the goods - Recycling in production processes, better knowledge of this flow - Recycling in consumer goods because it depends on consumers/society - Cascading or down-cycling

Describe 3 plausible criteria for an ethic

1. Consistency- the ethic cannot be contradictory 2- Universalism- principles that apply to all similarly situated individuals (it cannot be contextual) 3. Intuitive- principles must, at least for everyday situations, lead to intuitive recommendations-

What are the 3 dimensions?

1. Ecological: maintain environmental production capacity (cropland, health fisheries, clean water, recreational space) and environmental assimilation capacity (ozone layer, acidifications, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and oceans) 2. Economic: managing resources (finite natural resources and man-made capital) 3. Social: social institutions and structures (vertical relationships between institutions and individuals, and horizontal relationships between individuals) These dimensions are connected by interconnections, trade-offs, and the juggling of all three at the same time!

What are arguments in favor of EKC?

1. Economic growth is a prerequisite for political will for environmental agreements 2. The technological potentials make it possible 3. Possibility of solving big environmental issues, even on the scale of climate change.

Solution oriented pairs of opposites

1. Efficiency vs. sufficiency - reducing energy use per area of house, or reducing housing area itself? 2. Technical fix vs. value and lifestyle change - technology will solve a lot of future problems, or peoples' changes in lifestyle and values will solve structural problems? 3. Individual vs. Politics/structure - where does the solution lie, who has the capital to create change, and who has the moral obligation? 4. Reform vs. Radical change - can we change the system from within, or is the system broken and has to be changed altogether?

Describe the 8 Millennium Development Goals

1. Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty - the proportion of the people living in extreme poverty declined by half at the global aggregate level 2. Achieve universal primary education- 90% of countries reached the goal in 2010 3. Promote gender equality and empower women - global aggregate level of women in parliament grew slowly and reached 20% in 2010 4. Reduce child mortality - in sub-Sahara Africa 1 in 10 children die before the age of five 5. Improve maternal health - complications during pregnancy and childbirth is still one of the leading causes of death for adolescent girls. 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases - worldwide the number of newly infected people with HIV continues to fall, dropping with 33% by 2010. 7. Ensure environmental sustainability. 8. Global partnership for development-

What are the two values in environmental ethics?

1. Final value- valuable in itself (when you cannot answer the question why), for example to live a good life 2. Instrumental value - is valuable since it contributes to another value, for example studying for the next exam.

What are the 3 measures of economic activity?

1. GDP (economic activity within country boarders) 2. GNI, Gross National Income (value added from companies owned by country's citizens) 3. NDP, Net Domestic Product (GDP minus depreciation of capita goods)

Describe objective indicators with domains

1. HDI, including health, education, and living standards 2. EIU (economist intelligence unit), including: - Health (life expectancy at birth) - Family life (divorce rate) - Community life (church attendance, union membership) - Material wellbeing (GDP, PPP) - Political stability and security (ratings) - Climate and geography - Job security (unemployment rate) - Political freedom (indexes of political and civil liberties) - Gender equality (ratio of male to female earnings) Satisfaction of human needs are not absolute, but depend on expectations, adaption, and comparison to others.

Problem oriented pairs of opposites

1. High substitution vs. low substitution - can we substitute natural capital with man-made capital? 2. Anthropocentrism vs. ecocentrism - what is in the center of the ethical system, humans as individuals or ecosystems?

How is the restriction limited assimilation capacity connected to the principles?

1. It is connected to 1 and 2: - Substances extracted from the lithosphere must not systematically accumulate in the ecosphere (e.g. oil) - Society produced substances must not systematically accumulate in the ecosphere (e-ge medicine or pesticides) 2. Large risks for systematically increasing concentrations of substances that... - have a large societal flows or stocks compared to natural flows or stocks - are persistent - are foreign in nature 3. Strategies to reduce the environmental impact: - Transmaterialization, substituting materials (i in imuP-equation) - Substitute a material for a less harmful, a less scarce, or a renewable material

Define low and high substitutability

1. Low: it is hard to substitute natural capital with man-made capital, because nature has a value in itself. Often paired with strong sustainability. 2. High: natural and man-made capital is more or less interchangeable, because nature does not have value in itself. Often paired with weak sustainability.

What are som problems with emphasizing the role of changing consumer behavior?

1. No good historical examples where it has solved environmental problems 2. Behaviors are difficult to change (technological fix may be easier) 3. The ideas of "sacrificing" lifestyle is not appealing 4. Tends to focus on "environmental symbols" rather than big changes 5. Moves focus away from the need for political solutions -> ≈100 companies emit more GHG than all other companies and consumers on the planet.

What are the Global Goals for Sustainable Development

1. No poverty 2. Zero hunger 3. Good health and well-being 4. Quality education 5. Gender equality 6. Clean water and sanitation 7. Affordable and clean energy 8. Decent work and economic growth 9. Industry, innovation, and infrastructure 10. Reduced inequalities 11. Sustainable cities and communities 12. Responsible consumption and production 13. Climate action 14. Life below water 15. Life on land 16. Peace and justice, strong institutions 17. Partnership for the goals

What are the two different approachs to quality of life?

1. Objective indicators with domains (HDI, capabilities, needs) 2. Subjective indicators (quality of life as a mental state, wellbeing or happiness)

What are some problems with sustainable consumption?

1. Only takes into account material consumption as a factor for well-being 2. Intimate and reflexive, and more consumption spurs more production 3. Changing consumption patterns, is difficult 4. Puts a focus on the consumer not the producer.

Define the precautionary and proactionary principles

1. Precautionary: safety measures may be called for even if there is no scientific evidence that an activity is dangerous to humans or the environment. For example, the basis for regulations that limit the use of new chemicals, a context in which the full consequences for the environment are rarely known but in which the inhibited use and spread of such chemicals could have major consequences. 2. Proactionary: good reasons are required for introducing new technology. If the negatives associated with the technology clearly overweigh the positives, implementation should of course be limited or stopped. But burden of proof is on those who want to limit implementation. Advocates of the principle claim that this is the more reasonable approach given that, overall, new technology have served humanity well in the past 200 years.

What are the two approaches to emissions accounting?

1. Production-based accounting (territorial accounting) - Emissions that leave the pipe within national territory - Method of the official National Emissions Inventories to the UNFCCC - Calculated from fossil fuel usage and processes in industry/agriculture - Advantages/disadvantages: [- Transparent and proven system - Fits national policy-making - Potential risk of "carbon leakage" (production moving abroad) - May create illusion of "green gowth" ] 2. Consumption-based accounting (consumption accounting) - Emissions tracked to the country of final consumption of products and services. - Includes emission from domestic final consumption and the caused by the production of imports. - Advantages/disadvantages: [- Complex measurement system - More uncertain estimates of emissions - reflects the actual effects of our lifestyle] - Makes the emissions in the western world larger. due to us consuming a lot of exports.

What are the 2 point of views on the economic aspect of climate change?

1. Some economists see climate change damages as a cost like any other, not something that in any substantial way affects the welfare of future generations. This makes it difficult to argue that we should make sacrifices that benefit future individuals that - on the whole - are much richer and enjoy a higher level of welfare than us. 2. Other economists sees climate change as something that threatens the basic element of life for people around the world - access to water, food production, health, and use of land and the environment - risking to drastically reduce the level of welfare for a large share of humanity. Not making large investments in GHG abatement today, to avoid this risk, is therefore deeply unethical.

Explain limited availability of resources:

1. Stocks in the lithosphere: - resources (what part of resources that are not feasible to extract) and reserves (what is economically feasible to extract) - Reserve base, what will be used in the near future (how much the reserves can expand) 2. A dynamic concept that changes every year, and uses an average concentration of elements in the Earth's crust 3. Resources and reserves: - Resource to reserve: New technology, new deposits, higher demand, rucksack-issue - Reserves to resources: lower demand, rucksack-issue, policy issues 4. Future mining of materials: - Reduced concentrations (Cu concentration in ore in the 1700's was almost 13%, today that concentration is only about 0.5%) - Increased energy use -> more difficult to extract with low concentrations - Increased environmental pressure -> More land use, and more waste - Increased costs -> better technologies less supply - Economic depletion of non-renewable resources (when the cost of extracting and using what is left exceeds its economic value) 2. Extraction rate: - Mining and refining capacity of metals - Main or bi/co-metals in an ore (rucksack-issue) 3. Distribution of resources among countries: - geopolitical reasons- some countries are main producers of very specific critical materials and thus we are very dependent on trade!

Describe subjective indicators

1. Subjective well-being (SWB) - Affective component: to feel happy and well. - Cognitive component: life satisfaction 2. Societies with high SWB: - Functioning democracy and institutions - High trust - Economic equality - Gender equality - Low unemployment - Income of at least 10 000 EUR/cap (highly debated)

What are the 9 human needs? (Max-Neef)

1. Subsistence 2. Participation 3. Creation 4. Protection 5. Understanding 6. Identity 7. Affection 8. Leisure 9. Freedom

What are the four principles for a sustainable use of resources?

1. Substances extracted from the lithosphere must not systematically accumulate in the ecosphere. 2. Society-produced substances must not systematically accumulate in the ecosphere. 3. The physical conditions for production and diversity within the ecosphere most not systematically be deteriorated. 4. The use of resources must be efficient and just with respect to meeting human needs.

What are some problems with changing consumer behvaior?

1. The rate of technological change is not fast enough to reduce emissions (climate tagets may require both technology and behavioral change) 2. Technical change to solve one problem often causes new problems (e.g. nuclear energy, bioenergy) 3. Some pro-environmental lifestyles may also have other benefits (e.g. health benefits of commuting by bicycle or vegetarian diet)

What are the 5 stages of economical growth?

1. Traditional society - limited technology and static society (transition triggered by external influence or markets) 2. Preconditions for take-off - commercial exploitation of agriculture and extractive society (transition triggered by installation of infrastructure and emergence of sociopolitical institutions) 3. Take-off - development of a manufacturing sector (transition triggered by large investments in manufacturing, and development of modern social, economic, and political institutions) 4. Drive to maturity - development of wider industrial and commercial base (triggered by exploitation of comparative advantages in international trade) 5. High mass-consumption - people can cover their basic needs, and commercialism comes into action (triggered by?)

Describe weak and strong sustainability

1. Weak: the sum of natural and man-made capital must not decline, rationalized by loss in one type of capital can be compensated for through increases in others since nature has no value n itself, which results in a high level of substitutability between man-made and natural capital. 2. Strong: neither man-made nor natural capital must decline, rationalized by compensation for loss of some natural capital is not possible since nature has a value in itself, therefore it is not possible to offset losses of natural capital through increases in man-made capital, resulting in a low level of substitutability.

Describe the brief history of sustainable development

1962- Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" starts the modern environmental movement 1970- First Earth Day 1972- Limits to Growth, Stockholm Conference, and UNEP 1983-WCED (World Commission on Environment and Development) is established 1988- WCED presents "Our Common Future", also known as the Brundtland Report 1992- UNCED (UN Conference on Environment and Development), Agenda 21 2002- UN Johannesburg Summit, Earth Summit, Rio+10

What is utility maximization?

A concept within economics of humans as informed and rationally self-interested actors with the ability to make optimal choices (people's consumption choices reveal their preferences).

Define quality of life.

A general idea of what is good for people.

Describe Maslows hierarchy of needs:

A scale of needs, which when fulfilled leads to peak satisfaction. Every level of needs need to be achieved before moving on to the next level.

Historical Perspective: Judaeo-Christian influence

A shift in mentality due to dualism. The separation of mind and body, only man have a mind which is more valuable than the bosy, meaning that man has no ethical responsibility toward nature. God is separated from nature, and man is an image of God meaning man has control over nature.

What are ecosystem services?

Direct and indirect contributions ecosystems make to human well-being, i.e. the various ways in which ecosystems are of value to humans, as distinct from their final value or their value to other species. 1. Supporting ecosystem services- basic functions including sustaining primary biomass production, carbon and nitrogen cycles, top-soil formation, and evolution. 2. Provisioning ecosystem services - production of utility for humans, including fresh-water, food, fiber, biofuels, and genetic resources for drugs and chemicals. 3. Regulating ecosystem services - includes religious and cultural environmental values, as well as purely aesthetic values, and use of nature for recreation, eco-tourism, inspiration, or as a source of knowledge.

Which 3 steps describe human needs?

Ends: meeting human needs, and sustainable development is intergenerational Preconditions: ecological, economic and social (the three dimensions) Means: might differ from different contexts (they are not static)

What are the two GDP approaches?

Expenditure approach: GDP=C+G+I+(X-M) C: household consumption G: government consumption I: investments (X-M): export and import It doesn't include: - Companies buying from other companies - Households buying from other households - Financial products (the stock market) - Informal sector (anything that is not taxed or monitored by the government) Product approach: GDP=sum (value added)

Give examples of countries with high emissions using both principles.

Exporting countries, such as china, have high emission with production-based accounting. Service-focused countries, such as countries in Western Europe, have high emissions with consumption-based accounting.

What is GDP?

Gross Domestic Product is a measure of the total economic activity in a country over the span of, oftentimes, a year.

What is the Ramsey-rule?

If we aim to maximize utility (welfare), the Ramsey-rule tells us that the discount rate should be: r=d+n*g r- discount rate d- pure rate of time preference (societal impatience or risk of extinction, to what extent we discount future welfare per se) n- rate of diminishing marginal utility of income (the richer you become, the less you care about another dollar, the curve of the utility function) g- economic growth rate (how much richer do we expect to be in the future)

Historical perspective: Hunter and gatherers

Impact of the environment due to hunting, wildfires, and extinction of larger animals, though still low impact due to low population, nomadic lifestyle, and scarce technological knowledge.

What is sustainable consumption?

It is consumption that supports the ability of current and future generations to meet their needs without causing substantial damage to the environment. Consumption which takes into account SD-factors.

Historical perspective: Agricultural society

Large impact on the environment due to domestication of animals and plants, which changed up the ecosystems. Agricultural areas from then are now arid due to accumulation pf resources resulting in population increases and salination of the land because of irrigation. Deforestation, transportation, and irrigation (a lot of intentional impact, but also som unintentional impact)

What is critical natural capital?

Natural capital we simply cannot do without (such as topsoil and clean air)

Historical perspective: The industrial revolution

New technology results in new tools, an idea of progress (everything is possible), and an interconnected world (due to imperialism and colonialism) with better access to resources.

Determinants of climate change - cost vs. benefits.

On one hand, stopping all GHG emissions is costly (economically, in human suffering, and in human lives.) On the other hand, not reducing GHG emissions would have disastrous effects on humanity in the future, with enormous costs. What trade offs are we willing to go through with? Different economists offer very different answers on the trade-off problem!

Intergenerational justice

Rights-based definitions- we have a duty to give options to future generations and their lifestyle Climate change is an intergenerational issue- the more carbon dioxide we emit, the more warming occurs in the future due to accumulation and inertia.

Describe decoupling

We want to decrease the impact (I), but we still want human well-being (u*P), and we have control over the resource use (i*M)

Describe the Environmental Kuznets curve

There exists a tipping point at which environmental degradation decreases with an increase in income per capita. The hypothesis states that higher income per capita means better tools to deal with environmental degradation. This is due to our survival needs being fulfilled, and thus we can focus on other factors. Also, the industry has settled, meaning that we are no longer in need of day-to-day survival thinking. - Pre-industrial economies have increasing environmental degradation and income per capita. -Industrial economies is where the tipping point exists. as in sometime in the industrial economy the environmental degradation starts decreasing when he income per capita has reached a certain level. -Post-industrial economies have decreasing environmental degradation and increasing income per capita.

Describe the underlying values and assumptions for discounting?

Utility maximization: disregards distribution/justice issues, rights, and other values other than human utility. Assumptions: human utility is only dependent on material consumption, but what role is played by other factors in human utility?

What is Hume's law?

You cannot derive an ought from an is. Sustainable development is a normative question, not a scientific one!

Describe the total environmental impact equation

i*m*u*p=I i- technology, material choice (impact/kg( m- technology, material efficiency (kg/utility) u- welfare, lifestyle (utility/capita) P- population (capita) I- environmental impact Utility is an economic term that can mean fulfillment of basic needs, money, GDP, or welfare