This brief analysis of the potential capitalist influence on climate change introduce economic principles, and applies them to the example of mitigating climate change. It was created for use in a student seminar.

1. To what extent can the negative
consequences of climate change be
mitigated within global capitalism?
Vanessa Schneider

2. Economic Principles
• externality
• capitalist societies
– private ownership of wealth
– pursuit of profit

3. Factors Increasing Successful
Mitigation of Negative Consequences
• strong civil society
• MBIs (market-based instruments)
– charges
– subsidies

4. Realities or Uncertainties?
• 50:50 on emissions
• 450ppm v 550ppm

5. Problem: solving
• sharing the cost
• allocation of emission rights
– future?

6. Bibliography
• Coase, R. (1960) ‘The Problem of Social Cost’, Journal
of Law and Economics 3: 1–44
• Markandya, A. (2009) ‘Can Climate Change be
Reversed under Capitalism?’, Development and Change
40(6): 1139-52
• Pagiola, S., A. Arcenas and G. Platais (2005) ‘Can
Payments for Environmental Services Help Reduce
Poverty? An Exploration of the Issues and the Evidence
to Date from Latin America’, World Development 33(2):
237–53
• Stern, N. (2006) The Economics of Climate Change: The
Stern Review. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.