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Economists for Future is mobilising economists and their influence to help arrest the planetary emergency.
E4F is envisioning a world in which the economics community provides intellectual and analytical insights to be able to help avert the worst of the climate and ecological crisis; and becomes a powerful force in accelerating the urgent transformation to a just and equitable, post-carbon world.
We actively call upon the economics profession to mobilise more of its resources behind this task and show a greater commitment to the evolution of the subject by embracing new economic thinking fit for the planetary emergency.
We actively call upon the economics profession to mobilise more of its resources behind this task and show a greater commitment to the evolution of the subject by embracing new economic thinking fit for the planetary emergency.
Our strategy and approach
At E4F, we believe, economics — how it is taught, theorised and talked about — is an important determinant in the formation of policy-making and public understanding. Both of which are critical to transforming the economy to bring it within the planetary boundaries.
E4F is trying to achieve the following goals through research and advocacy -
- Economists (across universities, think tanks, civil society organisations. etc.) urgently make the implications of the planetary emergency a core component of their research agenda.
- Economists move beyond the orthodox canon of studying interactions between economy and nature; and must embrace critical pluralism and make use of analytical tools developed within heterodox traditions.
- Economists must recognize - and incorporate as a key methodological component of their work - the political and ethical implications of their research.
- Economics departments must design their curricula to include the biophysical dependencies of economic activity as a key component.
- Economics profession should address the structural barriers to access in the professions facing people with respect to their gender, ethnicity, caste, class, and geographic location.
- Economists should engage actively in shaping public discourses on environmental change and provide maps for political action.
Our approach is centred around the following principles
DISRUPTION
Inertia within the discipline is high—some disruption is necessary
CREDIBILITY
For disruption to be effective and persuasive, it must be credible. We aspire to combine academic rigour with the urgency and outrage of climate activists
COLLABORATION
We believe change can only come about by teaming up with others
URGENCY
Paradigm shifts in disciplines can take a generation, but we do not have time for generational change — the remaining carbon budget is rapidly running out
EQUITY
Addressing the planetary emergency cannot be a computational game, new frameworks need to have equity and justice embedded in them, it has to be treated as an opportunity to build a more prosperous and just world
Our work is supported by Rethinking Economics International! And much of what we do is inspired by the work of a myriad of brilliant organisations, movements, and individuals.
