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Module 5 Sustainability
definition, the three pillars of sustainability,
human capital natural capital man-made
capital Measure of SD weak or strong
sustainability, the relation with capital and
interest rate non renewable and renewable
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definition
How would you define sustainable
development? Many different definitions or
different views Bruntland report definition
dvpm that meets the needs of present generations
without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs (Our common
future, 1987) Formulation improving the sum of
total capital What is capital?
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the three pillars of sustainability,
Capital is what constitute the base of
sustainability. We have human capital, natural
capital and man-made capital Agreement is reached
that the sum should not decrease, but
disagreement exists on the specific role of
natural capital.... ....can man-made capital be a
substitute of natural capital? Or rather they are
complements? Weak sustainability view versus
strong sustainability view. Critical natural
capital cannot be substituted (at least everybody
agrees on it).....but on the base of what we
define the critical capital?
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Measure of SD
How to measure it.....(the concept of measurement
is already implying commensurability) human
capital measured by instruction and education
received (Pearce, Blueprint) natural capital
measured in money terms (Pearce, Bluprint
Costanza et al.in Science) man-made capital
measured in moeny terms (Pearce, Blueprint) As a
result we consider the value of capital over time
and its change and we haveGenuine Savings
Savings Km depr Kn depr Kh net
change Result some developing countries have
been considered less sustainable than some
western countries. For example Japan has high
level of GS because Savings are high and there is
no more nature left. When incorporating trade,
this measure is slightly corrected Comment very
partial measurement.
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weak or strong sustainability, strong or weak
comparability of values
Weak sustainability preception only focuses on
the sum as a whole Strong sustainability also
focuses on the 1) non-decreasing of natural
capital and 2) the weak comparability of
values The arguments reduce to two points 1) ??
motorway ? forest sustainable man-made
capital can substitute for natural capital
?? motorway ? forest unsustainable man-made
capital is complementar to natural capital 2)
Man-made capital is measured in money value but
natural capital cannot be measured in money
value. Strong comparability is not accepted
Why? Reduccionism not acceptance of the
measurement methodology Critical value of
natural capital without the Ozone layer life on
earth would not be possible Monocriterion
life is defenately something more complex than
money, and the compensation of
externalities. In synthesis, complementarity (1)
implies weak comparability (different capital are
incommensurable between them) (2) and
multicriteria valuation is proposed as the way to
operationalize sustainability
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the relation with capital and interest rate non
renewable and renewable
If we accept that natural capital cannot be
substituted by man-made capital (because
incommensurable), then any depletion of natural
capital can be seen, as a metaphore with
business, as bad business. differently from
real wealth, subject to the laws of
thermodynamics, debt in money (that is financial
wealth or, as Soddy called it, virtual wealth,
does not dacay entropically with the time but, as
the opposite, it grows according to the law of
compound interest. Frederick Soddy, nobel prize
winner for chemistry and ecological economist.
Cartesian Economics, 1922