Abstract
The West's dominance of the world order is being tested by China, Russia, and other nations. This standoff over energy and monetary hegemony has critical implications because neither bloc has a regenerative plan for resource management of the planet. Since the population demand for global resources began to exceed its supply in 1971, world economic growth has surpassed the availability of natural resources. Society's increasing need for energy calls into question the legitimacy of sovereign governments in accounting for their ecological deficits. A new measure for the energy-value of resources through their sustainable yield is necessary to adjust the financial imbalances in energy, production, and trade while meeting basic human needs within the limits of Earth's natural systems. The calculation of maximum sustainable yield could transform the neoclassical economic system of value-added into a process of value-renewed exchange by using the metabolic measure of carrying capacity. Biophysical economics may then become the basis for energy, monetary, and security agreements among sovereign nations to devolve the stewardship for restoring net energy-value to people within their bioregional areas. A planetary compact, focusing on the ratio between sustainable yield and human need, would encourage new partnerships between businesses, governments, and the public, granting to citizens the rights and responsibilities to organize the self-sufficiency and sustainability of their own regional habitats.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 122343 |
| Journal | Global Perspectives |
| Volume | 5 |
| Issue | 1 |
| ISSN | 2575-7350 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 14 Aug 2024 |
Keywords
- biophysical metabolism
- carrying capacity
- ecological economics
- net energy
- planetary
- sustainable yield