Theme on the Environment, Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment (TEMTI)
Overview and Mission Statement
The intersection between economics and the environment has become one of the key centres of attention for sustainability. This is also the problem area that concerns the Theme on the Environment, Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment (TEMTI).
In a relatively short period of time, human activity has led our planet to the brink of large scale ecological disaster. One of the most serious dimensions of this ecological crisis is the massive extinction of species that has been caused by the destruction of land, coastal and marine habitats, especially in biodiversity hotspots. In addition, illegal trade and traffic of wildlife, has significantly contributed to the extinction of species. Another aspect of this large scale disturbance is the warming of global average temperature which will have serious effects on ocean levels, rain and weather patterns and perhaps even on the generation of severe climate volatility. Finally, the capacity of the majority of the world’s ecosystems to provide environmental services has been seriously degraded. Many of these environmental services are critical for human welfare, as well as for the dynamic stability of the biosphere. This deterioration increases the probability of having non linear effects in ecosystems (i.e., abrupt and potentially irreversible changes) with deleterious consequences for human beings.
Science and technology have performed a complex role in the process of economic change in the past two hundred years. On one hand, they have increased human welfare and have contributed significantly to increasing life expectancy. But on the other hand, science and its technological applications have inadvertently brought about many problems for the environment and for human populations. Clearly there are no “technological silver bullets” for the solution of the most pressing environmental challenges of our times.
During this period, social disparities have increased and inequality has become pervasive. And even if we acknowledge the existence of a debate regarding the evolution of some of the indicators used to measure inequality, the inescapable truth is that disturbing international trends persist. Today, according to international development agencies, more than half of the world’s population (approximately three billion people) lives in or under the poverty line. It is clear that the Millenium Development Goals will not be attained, especially the ones related to poverty, hunger and health.
In spite of the more intense economic integration that exists today, the performance of the world’s economy in the past thirty years has been marked by lower growth rates in the highly industrialized nations and the middle income countries, and moderate growth rates in the lower income economies. In addition, the forces that have contributed to this more intense economic integration (especially the elimination of barriers to capital flows) have been at the root of violent and frequent financial and economic crises in the past twenty years. Some of these crises affect even the centres of international finance, as witnessed by the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market in the United States and its ramifications.
Thus, in many regions of the developing world the economic forces behind massive environmental degradation are also at the source of sluggish per capita income growth and intense inequality. In other cases, however, rapid growth can bring about greater pressure on the natural resource base and on the environment. This is best exemplified by China’s economy, where rapid expansion over the past two decades has coexisted with environmental problems such as the depletion and pollution of aquifers, soil erosion and loss of biodiversity.
There are other serious problems with the way in which the world thinks about economics. It is now a well known fact that national accounts fail to take into consideration the destruction of the stock of natural resources: for example, overfishing or the destruction of forested areas enter into the national account system as part of a process of growth, in spite of the fact that they are more akin to the depletion of capital and could be treated in terms of depreciation. This would not solve all problems concerning sustainability, but it would at least be a step in the right direction. Economic policy has a long way to go in order to promote the objectives of long term sustainability.
TEMTI is committed to turning around the negative trends of ill-defined economic policies and to recover the path towards social responsibility and environmental integrity. We are devoted to analysis and policy design in the critical issues surrounding economics and sustainability. This problem area includes issues related to macroeconomic policies, as well as trade and investment. Investment in the extractive industries, infrastructure projects and how these affect livelihoods of indigenous peoples are a key aspect of our agenda. Redefining growth and long term economic policies geared towards sustainable livelihoods, human welfare and the dynamic conservation of nature is one of the central aspects of our work.
Steering Committee
The members of the TEMTI Steering Committee are the following:
Alejandro Nadal, Mexico (Co-chair)
Pavan Sukhdev, India (Co-chair)
Peter May, Brasil (Co-chair)
Kanchan Chopra, India
Pierre Hauselmann, Switzerland
Joan Martínez Alier, Barcelona
Carlos Murillo, Costa Rica
Atiq Rahman, Bangladesh
Patrick Bond, South Africa
Kevin Gallagher, United States (Vice chair)
Flagship Projects
3I-C Project “The Macroeconomic Connection: Monetary and Fiscal Policies for Sustainability”
The goal of this action-oriented research project is to analyze the intersection between the environment and macroeconomic policies in five Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Mexico.
The objectives of this project are to:
1. Identify the effects of macroeconomic policies on the environment (biodiversity, forests, aquifers, soils, etc...)
2. Examine how macroeconomic policies contrain or strengthen environmental policies.
3. Examine ways and means to improve green national accounting.
4. Stregthen the role of IUCN in engaging more with multilateral institutions (IMF, World Bank, etc..).
Download the project description
Contact
Alejandro Nadal, Chair
El Colegio de México
Tel (52.55) 5659.8203 and 5554.9764
Mobile (521.55) 2653.5138
E-mail sirius.iceberg@gmail.com and anadal@colmex.mx
