_{Peer-reviewed academic papers}

July 2007 at the NATO Science Programme Advanced Research Workshop on Modelling of Sustainable Consumption of Energy and Environmental Costing. This paper is being published in 2008 by Springer in the NATO 'Peace and Security' series. The intention of the paper is to deal with global problems at a sufficient scale and speed. The two economic instruments proposed are designed to overcome many long-standing obstacles to progress, in particular with climate instability and international security. The citation is Greyson J. Systemic Economic Instruments for Energy, Climate and Global Security, in F. Barbir and S. Ulgiati (Eds.), Sustainable Energy Production and Consumption, Springer Verlag, NATO Science for Peace Series (in press 2008).

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Systemic Economic Instruments for Energy, Climate and Global Security
James Greyson

Abstract
Energy security, climate stability, sustainable development, economic growth and national security are codependent goals; either all will be achieved or none. This global security goal-set will remain elusive with prevailing ‘patchwork’ policy-making. Irreversible failure with one or more of the goals may be avoidable with a non-reductionist approach to global complexity, using systems thinking and systemic interventions at leverage points, of which two are proposed. 1. Weapons spending can be deducted from Gross Domestic Product to define a ‘Gross Peaceful Product’ with which nations could align goals for growth and security. 2. Other global security goals can be approached by a preventive insurance scheme. Significant producers would pay an obligatory premium on all products (including fuels) according to the risk that they become waste in the air, land or water. Premiums would be invested in the capacity of nature, industry and society to reduce that risk. This market-based ‘precycling insurance’ would make many prescriptive instruments redundant. In particular, emissions capping debates need no longer delay international climate agreements.

Keywords: codependence; climate; economic growth; energy security; systems thinking; leverage points; market-based instrument; patchwork; policy; Gross Peaceful Product; precycling; precycling insurance; global security; sustainable development; circular economics; conflict.

May 2007 in the peer-reviewed Journal of Cleaner Production (publisher Elsevier) special issue on zero emissions. The citation for the paper is Greyson J, An economic instrument for zero waste, economic growth and sustainability, Journal of Cleaner Production (2006), doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2006.07.019. Elsevier's copyrighted published version of this paper is available on their site where the abstract is free and the paper is chargeable.

An updated working paper, with the same title, is available free of charge on this site for teaching purposes. Download full text in pdf format If you wish to circulate this version please do not place it on any other website; please link to the homepage www.blindspot.org.uk.

An economic instrument for zero waste, economic growth and sustainability
A working paper by James Greyson

Abstract
If global problems such as climate change and waste remain unresolved, society can choose either to continue attempting to incrementally reduce wastes and lessen impacts, or to consider a more ambitious approach that paradoxically may be easier to implement. This paper suggests how an approach designed to prevent waste and other global impacts could be based upon the established practices of precycling, circular economic policy and recycling insurance. A new economic instrument called ‘precycling insurance’ is proposed, so that decision-making can be led by the market rather than by prescriptive regulation or educational campaigns. The approach gains relevance now that China is developing a national ‘Law on the Promotion of the Development of Circular Economy’.

Keywords: Sustainable; Economic growth; Zero waste; Prevention; Precycling; Insurance; Systems thinking

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