The Limits of the Green Economy : From re-inventing capitalism to re-politicising the present

This book examines the risk that the ‘green economy’ is not so much about greening the economy, as it is about economising the green message. In doing so, the authors unravel the myth of the green economy in all its dimensions – from emissions trading to sustainable consumption, from population control to technological optimism. Taking a critical approach, this book offers a highly original perspective on the social and ecological consequences of a global economic system attempting to tackle climate change within the confines of capitalism. The book should be of interest to students and scholars of environmental politics, political philosophy, political economy and climate change.

Includes a foreword written by Erik Swyngedouw (Professor of Geography, Manchester University).

Projecting win-win situations, new economic opportunities, green growth and innovative partnerships, the green economy discourse has quickly gained centre stage in international environmental governance and policymaking. Its underlying message is attractive and optimistic: if the market can become the tool for tackling climate change and other major ecological crises, the fight against these crises can also be the royal road to solving the problems of the market. But how ‘green’ is the green economy? And how social or democratic can it be?

This book examines how the emergence of this new discourse has fundamentally modified the terms of the environmental debate. Interpreting the rise of green economy discourse as an attempt to re-invent capitalism, it unravels the different dimensions of the green economy and its limits: from pricing carbon to emissions trading, from sustainable consumption to technological innovation. The book uses the innovative concept of post-politics to provide a critical perspective on the way green economy discourse represents nature and society (and their interaction) and forecloses the imagination of alternative socio-ecological possibilities. As a way of repoliticising the debate, the book advocates the construction of new political faultlines based on the demands for climate justice and democratic commons.

This book will be of interest to students and scholars of environmental politics, political ecology, human geography, human ecology, political theory, philosophy and political economy.

Includes a foreword written by Erik Swyngedouw (Professor of Geography, Manchester University).