Greening economy as a key solution to the economic crisis

Abstract

Although the UN called for a "Global Green New Deal" as a response to the current financial and economic crisis and the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009" (ARRA) includes "green" stimulus incentives, there is unfortunately far from a consensus on whether such green incentives will serve as a solution to the current financial and economic crisis. To answer this fundamental question, we will analyze and identify one of the more deeply rooted structural problems of the U.S. economy, the wasteful depletion of finite fossil fuels, and its relationship with three of the major problems facing the U.S. economy - global financial crisis, skyrocketing energy prices, and climate change. We argue that the triple predicament of the existing carbon-based U.S. economy can be ultimately cured by the development and implementation of a comprehensive visionary "green" economic strategy to accelerate the transition to a greener economy. © Springer-Verlag London Limited 2009.