Thermodynamic, Environmental, and Socio-Political Determinants of the Development of Ecological Economics

Dear Colleagues,

Unlike traditional economics, ecological economics views the economy as an integral part of a larger ecological system, rather than an isolated entity. This represents a fundamental shift in perspective. This transdisciplinary field analyzes the interdependencies between thermodynamic, ecological, and social processes in order to promote sustainable development. Ecological economics emerged from a critique of neoclassical economic growth models that intensified in the second half of the 20th century as awareness of natural resource limitations and environmental degradation increased. In the face of global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and resource depletion, ecological economics is essential. It provides tools and conceptual frameworks to build an economy that ensures human well-being while respecting energetic and material boundaries.

Ecological economics faces urgent research challenges in the Anthropocene, grappling with formidable challenges as it strives to address the deepening global environmental crisis. The field is fundamentally questioning the mainstream economic paradigm of unlimited growth and is under pressure to provide robust, actionable frameworks for a sustainable and equitable future. Key research imperatives include developing alternative economic models, accurately valuing nature, and navigating the complex interplay between thermodynamic, ecological, and sociopolitical limits and human well-being.

Original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research topics may include (but not limited to) the following:

• The development of coherent and practical post-growth and degrowth models;
• Valuation of natural capital and ecosystem services;
• Integrating biophysical realities into economic modelling;
• Identifying critical points that could lead to rapid and irreversible environmental changes;
• Integrating economic models with the laws of thermodynamics;
• Creating and verifying realistic alternatives for an economic world limited by physical and ecological barriers;
• Critical assessment of the current unsustainable economic paradigms;
• The social and political transformations required for a transition to a sustainable economy;
• Research firmly grounded in the laws of thermodynamics and taking environmental constraints into account;
• Conflict-free cooperation between the global economy and natural systems;
• The limits to growth and resource use;
• The conflict between economic growth and planetary boundaries;
• The depletion of non-renewable resources;
• The management of renewable resources (the Tragedy of the Commons);
• Energy economics and the energy transition;
• Pollution and environmental degradation;
• Climate change and biodiversity loss;
• Air, water, and soil pollution;
• The problem of waste and the Circular Economy;
• Valuation of natural capital and ecosystem services;
• Externalities: identifying and internalizing the negative effects of economic activity;
• Intergenerational justice and intragenerational justice;
• Development of alternative well-being indicators such as the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) or the Gross National Happiness (GNH) Index;
• Degrowth and the steady-state economy;
• Macroeconomic models that incorporate energy and material flows, ecological constraints, and goals related to sustainable development and climate stability;
• Socio-environmental conflicts;
• Consumerism and its environmental impact;
• Designing environmental policy instruments;
• Uncertainty and the precautionary principle;
• Nuclear fusion as a Promethean energy technology of the third kind;
• The use of EMERGY in environmental accounting.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Aleksander Jakimowicz
Dr. Daniel Rzeczkowski
Guest Editors

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• natural capital
• ecosystem services
• throughput
• embedded economy
• degrowth
• weak and strong sustainability
• laws of thermodynamics
• limits to growth
• circular economy
• energy versus
• EMERGY