Economists assume that people are fundamentally greedy, though not exclusively so. If environmental improvement is to be achieved, it will require policies that use selfishness rather than opposing it. Such policies are to be found in the basics of green economics in which market signals are modified by environmental taxes and tradeable pollution certificates to ‘decouple’ the economic growth process from its environmental impact. Green economic policies avoid the infringements of human liberties implied in ever stronger ‘command and control’ measures.
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