Экокапитализм: рыночные решения экологических проблем.

The view that capital exists in nature as "natural capital"
sustainable businesses

Eco capitalism, also known as environmental capitalism or (sometimes) green capitalism, is the view that capital exists in nature as "natural capital" (ecosystems that have ecological yield) on which all wealth depends. Therefore, governments should use market based policy instruments (such as a carbon tax) to resolve environmental problems. The term "Blue Greens" is often applied to those who espouse eco capitalism. Eco capitalism can be thought of as the right wing equivalent to Red Greens. Critics of eco capitalism, such as eco socialists, view continued economic growth and commodification of nature as an inevitability in capitalism, and thus criticize bright green environmentalism.

The roots of eco capitalism can be traced back to the late 1960s. The "Tragedy of the Commons", an essay published in 1968 in Science by Garrett Hardin, claimed the inevitability of malthusian catastrophe due to liberal or democratic government's policies to leave family size matters to the family, and enabling the welfare state to willingly care for potential human overpopulation. Hardin argued that if families were given freedom of choice in the matter, but were removed from a welfare state, parents choosing to overbear would not have the resources to provide for their "litter", thus solving the problem of overpopulation. This represents an early argument made from an eco capitalist standpoint: overpopulation would technically be solved by a free market. John Baden, a collaborator with Garrett Hardin on other works including Managing the Commons, founded the Political Economy Research Center (now called the Property and Environment Research Center) in 1982. As one of the first eco capitalist organizations created, PERC's ongoing mission is "improving environmental quality through property rights and markets". The most popular eco capitalist idea was emissions trading, or more commonly, cap and trade. Emissions trading, a market based approach that allows polluting entities to purchase or be allocated permits, began being researched in the late 1960s. International emissions trading was significantly popularized in the 1990s when the United Nations adopted the Kyoto Protocol in 1997.

Terry L. Anderson, a graduate of the University of Montana who received his Ph. D. from Washington University, and who serves as the co chair of the Hoover Institution's Property Rights, Freedom and Prosperity task force, has advocated that free markets can be both economically beneficial and environmentally protective. Anderson specializes in how markets impact Native American communities and their economies. Anderson is a co author of Free Market Environmentalism, a book that explores how free market ideas could be used to solve environmental issues, based on Anderson's conclusion on a few case studies. Bruce Yandle, a graduate of Mercer University, attended Georgia State University where he earned an MBA and PhD. Yandle is the dean emeritus of Clemson University's college of business. He is prominent in the field of eco capitalism for his story of the "Bootlegger and the Baptist". Yandle's theory of the Bootlegger and the Baptist posits that ethical groups, religious institutions and business captains can align their organizations in the interest of regulation and economic growth. Paul Hawken is the architect of the United States first natural foods company, Erewhon Trading Company, where all products were organically composed. Hawken founded the research organization, Natural Capital Institute, and developed Wiser Earth, a program focused on providing a platform for all to communicate about the environment. Hawken has authored hundreds of publications, including four best selling books. In his writings, Hawken stresses that many viable ecological options exist for businesses that will benefit the environment, while simultaneously bringing about economic profit. One idea discussed in his book, Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution, is the possibility of developing lightweight, electricity powered cars as an alternative to current transportation modes. Hawken attributes the hesitancy of adopting these options to lack of knowledge of these alternatives and high initial costs. Hawken is now the head of OneSun, Inc., an energy corporation concentrated on low cost solar. In his publications, Brown posits that the key to an eco friendly economy is an honest market. He advocates for replacing harmful aspects of the environment, like fossil fuels, with renewable energy. In June 2015, Brown retired from Earth Policy and closed the institute. The following are common principles in the transition to eco capitalism.

A central part of eco capitalism is to correct for the market failure seen in the externalization of pollution. By treating the issue of pollution as an externality it has allowed the market to minimize the degree of accountability. To correct for this market failure eco capitalism would have to internalize this cost. A prime example of this shift towards internalizing externalities is seen in the adoption of a system for carbon trading. In a system like this people are forced to factor the pollution cost into their expenses. This system as well as other systems of internalization function on large and small scales (oftentimes both are tightly connected). On a corporate scale, the government can regulate carbon emissions and other polluting factors in business practices forcing companies to either reduce their pollution levels, externalize these costs onto their consumers by raising the cost of their goods/services, and/or a combination of the two. These kinds of systems can also be effective in indirectly creating a more environmentally conscious consumer base. As the companies who are creating the most pollution face falling profit levels and rising prices their consumers and investors are inclined to take their business elsewhere. This migration of investment and revenue would then be expected to make its way to business who have already incorporated the minimization of pollution into their business model thus allowing them to provide lower prices and higher profit margins attracting the migrating consumers and investors.

At the conception of the ideology, major theorists of eco capitalism, Paul Hawken, Lester Brown, and Francis Cairncross, saw an opportunity to establish a different approach to environmentalism in a capitalist society. These generations currently make up 48% of the global marketplace and still have not hit their peak spending levels. As these generations' preferences continue to shape how businesses operate and market themselves, they could drive a continued shift toward green consumption. According to the Annual Review of Environmental Resources, "the focus of policy makers, businesses, and researchers has mostly been on the latter (consuming differently), with relatively little attention paid to consuming less". A review of how to encourage sustainable consumption from the University of Surrey shows that, "Government policies send important signals to consumers about institutional goals and national priorities." Governments can pull a variety of levers to signal this including product, trading, building, media, and marketing standards. Especially in the case of tradable pollution credits, the resulting market based system of emissions regulation is believed to motivate businesses to invest in technology that reduce greenhouse gas emissions using positive reinforcement (i. e. ability to trade unused credits) and punishment (i. e. the need to buy more credits).

Environmental full cost accounting explains corporate actions on the basis of the triple bottom line, which is best summarized as "people, planet, and profit". As a concept of corporate social responsibility, full cost accounting not only considers social and economic costs and benefits but also the environmental implications of specific corporate actions. While there has been progress in measuring the cost of harm to the health of individuals and the environment, the interaction of environmental, social, and health effects makes measurement difficult. Measurement attempts can be broadly categorized as either behavioral in nature, like hedonic pricing, or dose response which looks at indirect effects. A standardized measurement of these costs has yet to emerge. This should not be confused with the full cost method used by organizations searching for oil and gas that "does not differentiate between operating expenses associated with successful and unsuccessful exploration projects".

The current standard of using the gross domestic product (GDP) as an indicator of welfare is criticized for being inaccurate. An alternative to GDP, the genuine progress indicator compensates for the shortcomings of the GDP as a welfare indicator by accounting for environmental harms as well as other factors that affect consumption, such as crime and income inequality.

Tom Randall, a correspondent specializing in renewable energy for Bloomberg, calls to attention that wind and solar energy are "outperforming" fossil fuels. In terms of investments, clean energy outperforms both gas and coal by a 2 1 margin. This positive margin may be attributed to the consistently falling price of renewable energy production. Renewable energy sources hold assertive advantages over fossil fuels because they exist as technologies, not fuels. As time proceeds, renewable energy becomes inevitably more efficient as technology adapts. Technologies for extracting fuels may change, but the fuels remain as constants. Both the solar and wind industries have proven growth over time: Over the last 15 years, the solar industry has doubled seven times and the wind industry has doubled four times. Renewable energy sources also gain advantages over the fossil fuel industry through international governmental support. Globally, governments implement subsidies to boost the renewable energy industry. Concurrently, various global efforts fight against fossil fuel production and use. The demand for renewable energy sources has skyrocketed in the last 15 years, while fossil fuels have drastically fallen in demand (in capitalist societies). The worldwide concern of climate change (also known as global warming) is notably the largest contributor to the green energy industry's rapid acceleration, just as it is largely responsible for the decline of the fossil fuel industry. The overwhelming scientific consensus of climate change's reality and its potential catastrophic effects have caused a large part of the world's population to respond with panic and immediate action. While the world's response has been strong, environmentalists and climate scientists do not believe the response has been strong enough to counter climate change's effects, and that the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources is moving far too slowly. The global efforts and concerns of both governments and individuals to take action regarding implementing and transforming a society's energy sources from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources show the enormous potential of the green energy market. This potential is seen in the countless renewable energy projects under way. Currently, there are over 4,000 major solar projects being implemented. These, and all renewable energy projects, set goals of long term economic benefit. The Global Apollo Programme, set up by both economists and scientists, has a goal of creating a solar capability that can stand as a cheaper alternative to coal fueled power plants by 2025. In capitalist markets, solar energy has the very real potential of becoming a direct competitor to coal plants in less than a decade.

One of the most daunting barriers to the transition to an eco capitalist system is the systemic barrier that can be created by former models. Dimitri Zenghelis explores the idea of path dependence and the how continuing to build infrastructure without foresight seriously impedes the implementation and benefits of future innovations.