Lecture Changing perspectives on the environment

Core Concepts of Ecological Economics

The core concepts in ecological economics are somewhat harder to define, as it is a broader field than environmental economics. There is also more variation in viewpoints and disciplinary approaches among ecological economists, including perspectives from biology, ecology, and other sciences, as well as engineering, systems modeling, history, and philosophy.

Nonetheless, we can identify a set of core concepts to which ecological economists generally subscribe. These three core concepts are:

1. 
   The economic system is a subset of the broader ecological system
   
2. 
   Sustainability should be defined according to ecological, rather than economic, criteria
   
3. 
   It is essential to rely upon a range of academic disciplines and perspectives, in addition to economics, to provide insight into environmental issues