Climate Change and the Polanyian Counter-movement: Carbon Markets or Degrowth?

ABSTRACT

In the midst of a wave of market expansion, carbon markets have been proposed as the best way to address global climate change. While some argue that carbon markets represent a modern example of a Polanyian counter-movement to the environmental crisis, we adopt a structural interpretation of Polanyi to refute this claim. Carbon markets represent a further expansion of markets that fails to address the underlying contradictions related to the commodification of nature. In addition, they increase risks to society and the domination of economic elites. While carbon markets further subject social and ecological relations to market mechanisms, we examine degrowth as a possible response to climate change that prioritises social and environmental goals over economic growth. While degrowth continues to be dismissed as impractical or impossible, a growing number of scholars, scientists and activists argue it is the only way to address global climate change. In contrast to carbon markets, we argue degrowth could represent a genuine Polanyian counter-movement in response to climate change. In addition, degrowth could help all those disenfranchised by market fundamentalism by addressing the triple crises related to the commodification of land, labour and money.

KEYWORDS:

• Climate
• degrowth
• carbon markets
• Polanyi
• environment

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Diana Stuart is an Assistant Professor in the Sustainable Communities Program and in the School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Sustainability at Northern Arizona University. Drawing from critical theory, political economy, and animal studies, her research focuses on the social dimensions of climate change, agriculture, natural resources, and conservation.

Ryan Gunderson is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Social Justice Studies in the Department of Sociology and Gerontology at Miami University. His research interests include environmental sociology, social theory, political economy, animal studies, and the sociology of technology. Current research projects concern the potential effectiveness and political-economic dimensions of proposed solutions to environmental problems, especially responses to climate change; the social and environmental impacts of technology; and the renewal of classical and mid-twentieth century sociological theory.

Brian Petersen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography, Planning, and Recreation at Northern Arizona University. His research focuses on climate change, forest management, environmental policy, conservation, and political ecology.

Notes

1 It should be noted that reducing the environmental intensity of social and economic processes is not a sound measure for reducing total environmental pressure, and may even lead to increases in environmental pressure (e.g. York et al. 2009).

2 We would like to thank an anonymous reviewer for insights here.