The Collision of Economics and Ecology

Speaker: Lord Robert May Recorded on 8 September 2014 in TW1 G.01, Tower 1. The two sciences of interactions – economics and ecology – don’t interact enough. How many useful ideas must there be in ecology that have yet to be applied in economics, and vice versa? How much more could we discover about the human and social systems, or natural systems, by combining insights from these two subjects? It is crucial that these two fields work together to address the most pressing global challenges facing humanity. If the above intrigues then come along to our symposium Eco**2: exploring the fundamental links between ecology and economics, which we’ll be running in collaboration with the British Ecological Society (BES) in London this September. It’s your chance to help create the new science that emerges when ecology and economics collide. Everything about the symposium is designed to foster as much interaction as possible between these two fascinating sciences and attendees will be an equal mix of ecologists and economists. Attendees will also be given the opportunity to submit questions and ideas for discussion at the symposium, and these can be conceptual, technical, or applied in nature, so long as they will spark a fruitful discussion between economists and ecologists. A specific aim of Eco**2 is to examine the fundamental, conceptual links between these two sciences. These links are much deeper than most ecologists or economists appreciate, and they must be explored if we are to apply these two sciences properly to address pressing global issues.