Core tenets of the theory of ecologically unequal exchange

Abstract

In this article, core tenets and claims of the theory of ecologically unequal exchange (EUE) are synthesized. EUE theory postulates a net flow of natural resources from peripheral developing to core industrialized countries through international trade, a situation which undermines the development of the periphery while enhancing that of the core. The key claims and EUE mechanisms are categorized and discussed under three topics: 1) the structure of the capitalist world-economy, 2) monetary valuation, and 3) equity and justice. The treadmill logic of capitalism in which capital extracts ecological resources and release waste in an endless pursuit of profits creates an expansionary dynamic which draws peripheral countries into exploitative market relations. This peripheralization is supported by 'free trade' economic policies, while nation-states and other political-economic institutions such as the WTO and IMF provide the regulations which ensure proper functioning of the system. Monetary valuation caps it by obscuring the inverse relationship between thermodynamics and economics, in which low-entropy energy and materials indispensable in economic production processes are lowly priced while processed goods which have dissipated most of their matterenergy are highly priced, ensuring that biophysical resources and profits accumulates in the industrialized Northern countries. This EUE framework is applied to the EU's Raw Materials Initiative from the vantage point of policy as implicit theory. By challenging mainstream policies and their underlying theories, the EUE perspective demonstrates that alternatives to neoliberal policy prescriptions exist and policy can play a crucial role in bringing about the necessary structural changes. Key words: ecologically unequal exchange, environmental justice, EU, capitalism, free trade, policy RésuméDans cet article, les principes et les revendications de la théorie de l'échange inégal sur le plan écologique (EUE) de base sont synthétisés. La théorie soutient que naturellement il y a un flux de ressources à partir de la périphérie vers les pays centraux, par le commerce international. La périphérie souffre tandis que le centre est améliorée. Les principales revendications de l'article, ainsi que les mécanismes impliqués en EUE, sont classées sous trois thèmes et discutées: 1) la structure globale de l'économie capitaliste, 2) la valeur monétaire, et 3) l'équité et la justice. La logique de tapis roulant du capitalisme -dans une poursuite sans fin de profits -extrait les ressources écologiques et puis un des déversements de déchets. Il y a une expansion dynamique; certains groupes de pays périphériques sont attirés dans les relations de marché d'exploitation. Cette périphérisation est soutenue par des politiques économiques «libre-échange». Les états-nations et d'autres institutions politico-économiques, telles que l'OMC et le FMI, garantissent le bon fonctionnement du système par la réglementation. L'évaluation monétaire obscurcit la relation inverse entre la thermodyna...

Ecologically unequal exchange: A theory of global environmental injustice

“…Multiple studies explore whether there is evidence that various institutions and/or global civil society organizations can mediate the processes of EUE and resulting environmental load displacement. Some research finds that global governance institutions could perpetuate rather than remedy EUE dynamics of global environmental harms and inequalities (Gareau & Lucier, ; Jaria i Manzano, Cardesa‐Salzmann, Pigrau, & Borràs, ; Kill, ; Oulu, ; Roberts & Parks, ; Swamy, ). For example, Kill () finds voluntary certification programs for wood pulp—intended to encourage socially and environmentally sustainable forest management—have enabled further expansion of environmentally damaging forestry industries.…”

New extractivism in European rural areas: How twentieth first century mining returned to disturb the rural transition

“…At the same time, it is regarded as a crucial step to meet European critical needs for growth and jobs preservation because it contributes to three fundamental economic pillars: assuring the supply of raw materials from global markets, a sustainable supply within the EU, and promoting resource efficiency through recycling ( EC, 2008 ). As Oulu (2016, 456) has already highlighted, these pillars are firmly based on a free-market ideology, and include schemes to create and expand the raw materials’ global market. The strategy includes as well a list of Critical Raw Materials (CRMs), defined as ‘raw materials of a high importance to the economy of the EU and whose supply is associated with a high risk’ ( EU, 2017b , 7).…”

Ecologically unequal exchange and ecological debt

“…Martin Oulu (2016) summarizes some central tenets of EUE theory and relates the asymmetric global exchange of resources to the structure of the capitalist world-economy and its ideology of free trade. These international structures, he shows, are promoted by the policies of nation states and other powerful institutions.…”