3_Antoniades_Antonarakis_Crises.pdf (803.54 kB)
Financial crises, environment and transition
chapter
posted on 2023-06-10, 02:14 authored by Andreas AntoniadesAndreas Antoniades, Alexander AntonarakisAlexander AntonarakisThe chapter contributes state-of-the-art perspectives and results for the poorly understood relationship between economic crises and the environment in the context of sustainability transition. We first develop a theoretical perspective on the relationship between crises and the environment using case study evidence from the literature. We point to key parameters such as the nature of each crisis and its context, the degree of socio-environmental resilience, the multiple environment and economic sectors involved, the diverse temporality of effects, the capacity of the countries involved, and the policy responses adopted. In the second part of the paper, we present evidence on the environmental impact of more than 400 financial crises during the period 1970–2015, focusing on atmospheric emissions, deforestation and biodiversity. We complement this analysis with evidence on the environmental impact of the Great Stagnation, i.e. the period of slower growth rates following the global financial crisis of 2008/09. Our findings demonstrate that financial crises do not have a unidirectional effect on the environment. We find short-term benefits to air pollution, decreases in biodiversity and some evidence of decreasing deforestation rates. Benefits can be short-lived, though, and may be accompanied by shifts in the involved actors’ practices and behaviours that lead to negative longer-term impacts. Neither is the Great Stagnation associated with a unidirectional environmental impact, and there is worrying evidence of a worsening of biodiversity. We conclude that a slowdown in economic growth rates –even a prolonged one that acquires the characteristics of a ‘new normal’ does not inevitably lead to environmental improvement. Meeting the SDGs and transitioning to sustainability requires a paradigmatic policy shift that goes beyond a narrow focus on the rate of economic growth.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Publisher
SpringerExternal DOI
Page range
25-43Pages
190.0Book title
Financial crises, poverty and environmental sustainability: challenges in the context of the SDGs and covid-19 recoveryPlace of publication
ChamISBN
9783030874162Series
Sustainable development goals seriesDepartment affiliated with
- International Relations Publications
Research groups affiliated with
- Sussex Sustainability Research Programme Publications
Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Editors
Isabell Kempf, Andreas Antoniades, Alexander AntonarakisLegacy Posted Date
2022-01-10First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2022-01-11Usage metrics
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