This timely volume brings together some of the leading thinkers in ecological economics to show that achieving sustainable development will require economies to operate within ecological limits; nations to produce and maintain better rather than more physical wealth; and the international community to restore 'internationalist' institutions and trading arrangements. This book focuses on three critical issues pertaining to the broader goal of sustainable development - namely, the degenerative forces of globalisation, ecological sustainability requirements, and how best to negotiate the economic transition process. While the applicability of ecological sustainability to sustainable development is obvious, the association between economic transition and sustainable development, and more particularly, how globalisation forces can impact negatively on the sustainable development process, is poorly understood. This path-breaking book brings together some of the leading practitioners in the field of sustainable development to discuss these issues and to outline ways to achieve sustainable development without the perceived need for continuous growth. The book culminates with a number of policy recommendations and institutional modifications to assist nations and the global community to achieve sustainable development. This book will prove invaluable for academics and researchers in ecological, environmental, and natural resource economics as well as sustainable development, globalisation and international trade. Practitioners and policy-makers at all levels will find this resource both interesting and instrumental to their work.
Contents: PART I: INTRODUCTION 1. Globalisation, Economic Transition, and the Environment: An Introduction Philip Lawn PART II: GLOBALISATION 2. Globalisation versus Internationalisation, and Four Reasons Why Internationalisation is Better Herman Daly 3. Carrying Capacity, Globalisation, and the Unsustainable Entanglement of Nations William Rees 4. Institutionalised Pollution Havens Matthew Cole and Per Fredriksson PART III: ECONOMIC TRANSITION 5. Prosperity Without Growth Tim Jackson 6. Economic Transition in Australia: Time to Move Towards a Steady-state Economy Philip Lawn 7. Assessing the Transition Process Across the Asia-Pacific Region: Comparisons, Trends, and Policy Implications Matthew Clarke and Philip Lawn 8. Managing Without Growth in Canada: Exploring the Possibilities Peter Victor PART IV: THE ENVIRONMENT 9. The Environmental Kuznets Curve: Some Theoretical and Empirical Insights Philip Lawn 10. Planetary Boundaries: Using Early Warning Signals for Sustainable Global Governance Ida Kubiszewski, Will Steffen, Johan Rockstrom and Robert Costanza 11. Ecological Footprint Accounting Mathis Wackernagel, Alessandro Galli, Michael Borucke, Elias Lazarus and Scott Mattoon PART V: CONCLUSION 12. Globalisation, Economic Transition, and the Environment: Synthesis and a Way Forward Philip Lawn Index