Foundations
What branch of economics focuses on how economic activities affect the environment and how environmental policies can be designed?
Environmental economics
What is the process of estimating the monetary worth of ecosystem services and natural resources?
Environmental valuation
What is a tax on the carbon content of fossil fuels designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions called?
Carbon tax
What is the name of the curve that suggests environmental degradation increases with economic growth up to a point, then decreases as income continues to rise?
Environmental Kuznets Curve
What is the term for economic growth that is achieved without increasing environmental harm?
Decoupling
What principle states that those responsible for pollution should bear the costs of managing it?
Polluter pays principle
What type of value do people assign to simply knowing that a natural resource or species exists?
Existence value
What system allows companies to buy and sell permits that allow them to emit a certain amount of pollution?
Cap-and-trade (or emissions trading)
What perspective believes that technological innovation can solve most environmental problems?
Technocentrism
What model advocates for intentionally reducing consumption and production to achieve sustainability?
Degrowth
What is it called when the free market fails to distribute resources efficiently, leading to environmental harm?
Market failure
What is the value called that people place on the potential future use of a resource?
Option value
What is a market-based instrument, other than taxes, that can be used to reduce pollution?
Tradable permit (or subsidy for clean technology)
What is the term for the overuse of shared resources due to lack of clear ownership?
Tragedy of the commons
What economic system aims to keep products, materials, and resources in use for as long as possible through recycling and reuse?
Circular economy
What term describes costs or benefits that impact people who are not directly involved in an economic transaction?
Externalities
What is the name of the survey-based method that asks people how much they would pay for specific environmental services?
Contingent valuation
What is a financial incentive given by the government to promote environmentally friendly practices?
Subsidy
What economic theory emphasizes the limits of Earth's resources and the need for sustainable development?
Ecological economics
What is the concept of meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs?
Sustainable development
What is the economic term for the reduction in value resulting from the consumption of non-renewable resources?
Resource depletion
What is the practice of including environmental costs and benefits in national economic accounts called?
Green accounting
What is a government-imposed limit on the total amount of a pollutant that can be emitted called?
Pollution quota also known as emissions cap
What is the term for an economic model based on continuous resource extraction, production, and disposal?
Linear economy
What model combines social foundations and ecological ceilings to define a safe and just space for humanity?
Doughnut economics model