1. ECOLOGICAL DEBT: WHO OWES
WHOM?
Picture: nasa.gov

2. TRADITIONAL DEFINITIONS
extraction of natural
resources
ecologically unequal terms
of trade
intellectual appropriation
putting at risk the food and
cultural sovereignty
contamination of the
atmosphere
chemical and nuclear
weapons
Picture: thedailygreen.com , bbc.co.uk

3. : “the debt accumulated
by Northern, industrial countries toward Third
World countries on account of resource
plundering, environmental damages, and the free
occupation of environmental space to deposit
wastes, such as greenhouse gases, from the
industrial countries”
(AcciónEcológica, Ecuador, quoted in Bellamy
Foster and Clark 2003,193).
“The annual ecological debt of the North, owed
to the South, without even looking at the
cumulative impact, is thus calculated to be at least
three times the financial debt that the south
currently `owes‟ to the North” (Bellamy Foster
and Clark 2003,196).

4. RESOLUTION: INTERNATIONAL
CAMPAIGN FOR THE RECOGNITION
AND PAYMENT OF THE ECOLOGICAL
DEBT
Third World Industrialization
stripped of and Big Mac External Debt
Ecological Debt
resources Lifestyles – used as Political
Compounding
beginning in disproportionate Pressure
1492 pollution
Principal Causes of Unsustainability

5. COMMUNITIES AND COUNTRIES
TO ADOPT THE FOLLOWING:
Existence of
Ecological Debt
Cease trade that
External Debt
increases
has already been
ecological debt
paid
by WTO
Cease lines of
Restore affected
Credit by
areas
IMF/Worldbank
Cancel Structural Cease intellectual
Adjustment appropriation
Programs Change Lifestyles

6. WHERE IS CANADA SITUATED IN THIS
DEBATE?

8. Question:
Is it possible for Canada to implement renewable
energy platform? Considering Canada‟s
conservative political climate, especially in
Alberta, what needs to change before Canada can
introduce “green” policies?

9. http://youtu.be/LovjRWZNgS4

10. LIMITS TO GROWTH/
SURVIVALIST APPROACH

11. THE LIMITS TO GROWTH
APPROACH
Limits to Growth/Survivalists often argue
for the equitable and sustainable
economies.
“The ecological debt arises
from two separate problems.
These problems can be
combined in order to
calculate the ecological debt
in monetary terms.”
Second, rich countries use
First, raw materials and other environmental space and
products exported from relatively services
poor countries are sold at prices disproportionately, without
that do not include compensation payment, and without
for local or global externalities. recognition of property rights
(for instance, the free use of
carbon dioxide absorption
capacities).
From the Heinreich Böll Foundation:

12. LIMITS TO GROWTH:
ACTORS AND APPROACHES
“think globally, act stocks of non-renewable
globally” resources
elites (government; experts capacity of ecosystems to
in produce renewable
modeling, ecology, biology) resources
human population as an
aggregate entity whose size
and growth are considered
an aspect
Mainly limited to those with access to power or a
recognized voice- individuals without this access
are hardly recognized

13. THE LIMITS TO GROWTH APPROACH –
ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT
Measure ecological debt as a measure
of both public debt and ecological
footprint:
Using the ecological footprint as a
measure of ecological debt and global
overshoots, the comparison is then
made between North and South
countries due to previous development
and current consumption.

14. LIMITS TO GROWTHS SOLUTIONS
Limits to growth proponents do not claim to know the way for each
country, but instead call for this viewpoint, and especially the use of
ecological footprints, to be used when constructing policy.
Kitzes et al. (2008) suggest 3 possible approaches to address ecological debt
using ecological footprints, each with their own benefits and problems:
1. Use of historical patterns and current baselines
2. Making national footprints proportional to national capacity
3. Equal shares per person

15. EARTH OVERSHOOT DAY

16. LIMITS TO GROWTH VIEWPOINT
“Parts of Europe like France, Germany and
even, falteringly, the UK, are patting themselves on the
back for the first, flickering signs of recovery from
recession. Small glimmers of economic growth may
hearten old-style finance ministries, but they also mean
going back to the days of debt-fuelled over-consumption
that got us into the problem in the first place.”
Andrew Simms, 2009

17. PROMETHEAN PERSPECTIVE

18. Actors - Economists
● Mostly Economists (including resource extracting firms)
○ Free market economy will answer the question
of ecological debt, once natural resources and
common spaces are commodified.

19. Commodification
If commodified, those who have an interest
in the preservation of ecology will work to
ensure preservation.
Citizens may do so by voting for
representatives with a “Green” platform for
government, by creating preservation aimed
organizations like WWF or Sierra Club.
Perhaps firms with a particular interest in
nature may invest in renewable energy
production.
This means that it is not any one person or
persons accountable to care for ecology.

20. Actors - Government
○ Usually right-leaning conservative
governments with stronger confidence in
capitalism which believes nature is to be used by
people.
1. Implementation of Cap
and Trade
2. Separation of
production from Government Policies
sustainability
3. Imposing a Carbon Tax

21. ~ These policies all allow rich firms who are
creating this ecological debt to continue
using natural resources for profit.
~ Through this system, the poorer countries
of the world are paying the ecological debt
created by the richer countries.

22. Commodification assumes people have the means and knowledge to
distinguish ecologically harmful acts
Commodification rewards homoeconomicus behaviour. Ignores human
nature, equality and responsibility.
Cap and Trade allows rich countries to continue producing green-house
gases and excavating large areas of land.
Cap and trade disregards pollution from cars, office buildings, and small
factories, etc.
Conservative governments often deny that expanding the oil industry
cannot be separated from increasing greenhouse gases and rapid climate
change.
Large emitters can pay the carbon tax and still produce a large eco-
footprint. Smaller emitters are penalized.

23. Deep Ecology and Ecological Debt
susan-proctor.com

24. Shift Away from
Anthropocentric Arrogance
Shift to Transpersonal Ecology
Changes in Lifestyle on Behalf
of the North
Self within „Self ‟

25. The Miracle Toilet: Cholera-Fertilizer Toilet Program
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/12/01/o
pinion/1248069392074/the-miracle-toilet.html

26. REDEFINING HOME: BIG VS.
GREAT
“An animal‟s home is When you see an
utilitarian, not animal shelter, you see
excessive. Animals‟ it as part of
homes are made of nature, not an
natural materials: impenetrable barrier
mud, sticks, sod, bam between that animal
boo, straw. Animals‟ and the natural world.
homes will Our shelters should
degrade, once be constantly
abandoned, or they changing, growing, de
will be taken over and grading, according to
maintained by another our needs. Shelter is
animal. Animals live in transient, malleable, so
homes that mething that we can
breathe, that don‟t abandon from season
poison them. to season, if our
needs dictate.”

27. Means to Resolve Ecological Debt
Through Deep Ecology
Shifts in
Personal Change in Tackeling Governments Redefine notions
Philosophical Concepts of Population and of Hierarchy and
Changes Markets Growth Governmental Authoritarianism
Policy

28. Consumer Capitalism

29. CONSUMER CAPITALISM
“Capitalistic civilization dominates present age production relationships.
Capitalist economy is responsible for degradation of agro-ecology (land)."
Capitalism has already had its grip over our lives.
Land is increasingly becoming a secondary source of livelihood.
People‟s entire lives are market based and riskier.
Farmers are forced to produce crops for industries and commerce.

30. CONSUMER DIVIDE:
NORTH VS. SOUTH
North South
• 20% of pop. Makes 86% of • The poorest fifth produces
purchases. 3 percent of the total
• Richest fifth consumes 58% carbon dioxide.
of all energy.
• Richest fifth produce 53%
of carbon dioxide. • Souce: United Nations Development Programme, 1998.

32. CONSEQUENCES OF CONSUMER
CAPITALISM
“Globalization enlarges Western capital‟s pool of
available productive labourers, compensating to
some extent for the relative shrinkage of domestic
productive capacity.”
Development at the expense of foreign workers
“To provide basic amenities to all peoples (in the
next 40 years), it is estimated that the consumption
of energy will increase 5 to 35 times today‟s levels.”
Growth in Labor Manufacturing sectors.

33. CONSUMER CAPITALISM AND
RESPONSIBILITY
Who Pays?
Individuals in the Global Reduction of
North are not expected to cut Redistribution sources that drive
their overall consumption
consumerism

34. SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS
Conditions for Against
sustainable sustainable
capitalism capitalism
Higher taxes on raw materials Creation of new products
and outputs further degrade the land
Value-added tax on Autonomism, global
environmentally friendly governance, decommodification
products of life, deglobalization of capital

35. GREEN TAXES AND GREEN
CONSUMERISM
“Are designed to induce consumers to make purchases that are less
environmentally damaging. An alternative market based means to the same
end is provision of information about the environmental impact of a good, to
facilitate green consumerism.”

36. THE ECOFEMINIST
PERSPECTIVE
thegreenelephant.us

37. Without regenerative
labors,
humanity couldn’t exist.

38. Who are the actors in this debate?
lifepositive.com arielsalleh.info cnsjournal.org

39. ECOLOGICAL DEBT
Social
debt
Ecological
debt
Embodied
debt

40. The North-South Divide and Ecofeminism
school.edturtle.co.uk
How does it relate to ecological
debt?

41. FIN!!!