Global environmental accounting and the remaking of the economy-environment boundary

Christopher Holmes*, David Yarrow

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

This paper analyses the rise of environmental accounting in global governance via a case study of the UN System of Environmental-Economic Accounting. We draw on recent literature that highlights the boundary between ‘economy’ and ‘non-economy’ as an important site of politics, and which establishes the key role of accounting practices in constructing that boundary. We show how the conceptual framework underpinning emergent global environmental accounting standards attempts to distinguish economy from non-economy in a way consistent with mainstream macroeconomic thought. However, and in contrast to existing critical accounts, we demonstrate that attempts to draw a clear boundary between the ‘economic’ and ‘non-economic’ aspects of the environment sometimes end up de-stabilizing that very distinction, establishing heterogenous notions of economic value that are increasingly inconsistent with standard national accounting practices.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)449-474
JournalEconomy and Society
Volume52
Issue number3
Early online date5 Sept 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • environmental accounting
  • UN SEEA
  • measurement
  • national accounts
  • the market

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