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Green Capitalism

Green Capitalism. Professor Hannes H. Gissurarson Rio de Janeiro 19 June 2012. Environmental challenges. Pollution Over-exploitation of natural resources Endangered species Threats to the Wilderness. Examples. Pollution: “Money smell” from herring smelting in Icelandic fishing villages

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Green Capitalism

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  1. Green Capitalism Professor Hannes H. Gissurarson Rio de Janeiro 19 June 2012

  2. Environmental challenges • Pollution • Over-exploitation of natural resources • Endangered species • Threats to the Wilderness

  3. Examples • Pollution: “Money smell” from herring smelting in Icelandic fishing villages • Over-exploitation: Overgrazing in pastures and overfishing in open sea • Endangered species: Elephants, rhinos, whales • Wilderness: rain forests, mountains

  4. Solutions: Pollution • “Money smell”: good and bad side effects of economic behaviour • Who creates the cost: the fish processing plant or the people who demand cleaner air? • In the past: sensitive people should not settle in fishing villages • In the present: stricter requirements of clean air = informal property rights in air

  5. Solutions: Overgrazing • Icelanders settled the island 874–930 • Each valley used its own mountain pasture, held in common • Temptation for each farmer to send more sheep: cost for all, benefit for him only • Thrainn Eggertsson : quotas (itala) for each farm, a determined number of sheep • Criterion: sheep returning as fat as possible

  6. Solutions: Overfishing • Unrestricted access: over-investment in vessels: 16 boats where 8 would be sufficient • Rent from fishing ground dissipated in excessive cost • Ragnar Arnason: access restricted by individual transferable quotas • Each vessel owner interested in minimizing harvesting cost

  7. Solutions: Whales • Some whale stocks over-exploited, but not those in Icelandic waters • Whales harvest 6 million tonnes of seafod; man only 1.4 tonnes, in Icelandic waters • In essence: whale preservationists creating a cost for Icelandic fishermen • Whales should be subject to property rights; somebody responsible for them, either harvesting them or paying their cost

  8. Solutions: Elephants • Elephants valuable because of the ivory • Some elephant stocks in Africa strong, others not; but all listed as endangered species • Most sensible to create rights by neighbouring communities to utilise the elephants (i.e. selling hunting licenses and ivory) • Poachers turn into stewards • Works better than a total trade ban

  9. Solutions: Rhinos • Rhino horns valuable • Indeed endangered species • Same problem as with elephants: total trade ban ineffective • Better to create rights by neighbouring communitites to utilise the rhinos • Poachers again turn into stewards

  10. Solutions: Rain forests • Rain forests an ill-defined concept • Rain forests relatively new on the scene • Sources of biological diversity? A large area (like the Amazon) not necessary to maintain that • Lungs of the planet? No more than other areas with vegetation • People in South need development, to escape from poverty

  11. Solutions: Mountains • Hydro-electric plants may improve a riparian system, examples abound in Iceland • Lakes can make the environment more beautiful • Development necessary, to satisfy the need for energy

  12. Different approaches • Perservation v. Conservation • Pigovian taxes v. Coasean property rights • Stagnation v. Economic growth

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