The effect of the financial crisis and global recession on environmental policy and implementation

Abstract

This paper sets out a research agenda that examines the potential impacts on environmental policy and implementation caused by the global financial crisis and the resulting recession. This financial crisis provides a real world opportunity to test several aspects of ecopolitical theory for two reasons: the recession is the most severe since the 1930s depression; and, modern environmentalism has only been a political force since the 1960s. The paper argues that the global financial crisis provides an opportunity to examine the veracity of three schools of thought - post-materialism, consumer pressure versus citizen preferences, and ecological modernisation.