Online Course Available: Arketa Institute Partners with ED4S to Offer Free Course on Ecological Economics
Arketa Institute Co-Founder Matt Orsagh leads a free course on Ecological Economics and Degrowth on the ED4S platform.
Recently, Arketa Institute Co-Founder, Matt Orsagh recorded a free course for the sustainability education provider ED4S. The course is based on our first report: By Disaster or Design.
The course Matt leads discusses how the Neoclassical Economics that underlies finance as we know it today does not adequately account for the energy needed for and the waste produced by our economic activities. Ecological Economics more adequately communicates the limits to growth of a system with finite resources. Ecological Economics also attempts to ensure our economies operate withing planetary boundaries. Unfortunately, we have already breached most of these planetary boundaries, threatening the ecological systems that serve as our life support system. Operating within the limits to growth that nature places upon us will require taking a degrowth path to a post-growth economy where human wellbeing and not economic growth is our goal.
The course teaches students to:
Understand the limitations of Neoclassical Economics in addressing environmental and ecological realities.
Explore how Ecological Economics provides a more accurate framework by accounting for energy inputs, waste outputs, and natural limits.
Learn about planetary boundaries and how current economic activity has exceeded many of them
Examine the consequences of overshooting ecological limits and the risks to our life support systems.
Discover the concept of degrowth and why shifting away from economic growth as a primary goal is essential.
Analyze what a post-growth economy could look like—one centered on human well-being rather than GDP.
Consider the economic disruptions of transitioning to a sustainable system and the dangers of not doing so.
Gain tools and perspectives to engage in sustainability conversations grounded in ecological and economic realities.
Part of Arketa Institute’s Continuing Educational Efforts
The ED4S course is another piece in the suite of educational offerings that Arketa Institute has to offer financial professionals. These already include our research, articles, and speaking engagements and will be expanded in the future.
Please let us know if you would like us to connect with your organization.