CH10 envirionment Flashcards
(25 cards)
Define sustainable development.
Development that meets present needs without compromising future generations’ ability to meet theirs.
What does NNI* stand for in environmental accounting?
Net National Income accounting for depreciation of both manufactured and natural capital. Formula: NNI* = GNI – Dm – Dn
Full formula for Sustainable Net National Income (SNNI or NNI**)?
SNNI = GNI – Dm – Dn – R – A
Define Dm and Dn in environmental accounting.
Dm = Depreciation of manufactured capital; Dn = Depreciation of environmental capital.
What does R and A stand for in NNI**?
R = Restoration cost; A = Aversion cost (cost to prevent environmental degradation).
Define an externality.
A cost or benefit that affects third parties not involved in the transaction.
Define public good and public bad.
Public good = shared benefit; Public bad = shared cost (e.g., pollution).
What is the Environmental Kuznets Curve?
A hypothesized inverted-U relationship between income and pollution.
Name 3 pollutants EKC applies to.
Sulfur dioxide, lead, and particulates.
Does EKC apply to greenhouse gases?
No – GHGs do not follow the inverted-U pattern.
What is a carbon tax?
A tax imposed on the carbon content of fossil fuels to reduce emissions.
Define cap-and-trade system.
A system that sets a cap on emissions and allows trading of permits.
Key features of Ostrom’s principles?
Local participation, monitoring, sanctions, conflict resolution, nested governance.
What does the Tragedy of the Commons refer to?
Overuse of shared resources due to lack of ownership or regulation.
What is a free rider?
Someone who benefits from a public good without contributing to its cost.
Define scarcity rent.
Extra income from a limited resource due to its scarcity.
What is marginal social cost (MSC)?
The total cost to society from producing one more unit, including externalities.
What’s the condition for allocative efficiency?
Marginal Benefit = Marginal Cost
Formula for social cost.
Social cost = Private cost + External cost
Define autonomous adaptation.
Individual or community-led adjustments to climate impacts (e.g., changing crops).
Define planned adaptation.
Government or institutional interventions to adapt to climate change.
What is a debt-for-nature swap?
Exchange of national debt relief for environmental conservation commitments.
What is a global public good?
A benefit that is shared globally, like rainforest preservation or CO₂ reduction.
Example of internalizing an externality.
Pollution tax shifting MPC to MSC and reducing output to optimal level.
