Our relationship with the environment and our use of energy are both shaped by our economic systems.
For every barrel of oil that is burnt, and for every emission of greenhouse gases, there is a corresponding financial transaction – a transaction which fails to account for true environmental and social cost.
Economic systems also have profound effects on social issues – inequality, poverty and consumption, which in turn impact on how we can address environmental problems.
Because of these essential connections, our work includes an economic analysis of climate change and energy use. We direct our research towards understanding how well-designed economics can encourage sustainable use of energy and the environment.
We examine the features of currency design which can encourage a responsible interaction with the environment
Historically, economics has developed without a proper appreciation of the true cost of burning fossil fuels. But economics has always been about the management of scarce resources – and so we can use an improved understanding of true environmental costs to develop current economic structures, ensuring they promote responsible use of the environment.
We examine the features of currency design which can encourage a responsible interaction with the environment and the use of renewable energy sources, and we seek to develop work on alternative systems of currency and innovative economic institutions which work for the social and environmental good.