6.1.5 Ecological relationships and money

Every economic activity relies on Earth systems (Subtopic 1.2). When you buy a meal, energy is used to grow and transport the food. When you stream a video, servers consume electricity, often generated from fossil fuels. When you buy a phone, minerals were mined and water was used to cool equipment. Money enables these exchanges to happen. This is especially important in a world with limits.

This means that money is a claim on real resources. Whoever holds money can use it to take something from the Earth: oil, water, trees, land, metals, or energy. It doesn’t matter whether the money was obtained through wages, inheritance, or financial speculation. Holding money gives someone purchasing power with physical consequences for Earth systems. 

Because money is a claim on Earth’s resources, the distribution of money matters. Those with more wealth can command more food, land, fuel, and materials even if they already have more than enough.

The top 10% of the global population is responsible for more than half of global carbon dioxide emissions (Figure 2). Wealthy households tend to consume more of everything: energy, water, meat, metals, and manufactured goods. They fly more often, own more cars, live in larger homes, and waste more food.

At the same time, billions of people struggle to meet basic needs. Many live in regions where forests are cleared or rivers polluted to grow export crops or mine rare minerals often to serve the demands of wealthier countries. In this way, global money flows redistribute ecological harm from consumers to producers, from the rich to the poor, and from future generations to the present.

The current design of money systems allows excessive claims on nature by some, while denying others even the basics needed to live in dignity.

In theory, markets are supposed to help us make efficient decisions by reflecting the value of things through their prices (Section 3.1.1 and Section 3.1.2). But in practice, many costs are left out of the price tag. Some economists call these market externalities, the hidden environmental and social costs of producing or consuming something that are not paid for by the buyer or seller.

For example, when a company pollutes a river while producing cheap goods, that damage is usually not included in the final price. The product appears cheaper than it really is. Because of this, prices usually fail to reflect the true impact of economic activity. When harmful effects like greenhouse gas emissions, habitat loss, or toxic waste are invisible to consumers, it becomes difficult for people to make choices that respect ecological limits.

Modern money systems tend to direct financial flows toward activities that generate short-term profit, not long-term wellbeing. Extractive industries such as mining, logging, fossil fuels, and industrial agriculture attract large investments because they promise high profits, even if they cause ecological destruction.

This is partly because of how money is created and used. As explained in Section 6.1.3, most money today is created by private banks as loans. These loans must be repaid with interest, which means that borrowers must be able to generate profit during the (often) short period of the loan by expanding production and cutting costs. As a result, ecosystems are treated as resources to be extracted as cheaply as possible and sold, rather than cared for or replenished. A tree and a whale (Figure 4) are worth more dead than alive in money and market systems, even though both living organisms are critical to the biogeochemical cycles and complex ecosystems we need to survive.

This dynamic also shapes government policy. If economic success is measured mainly through GDP, then growth in production appears to be progress, even if it leads to pollution, species loss, or climate instability (Section 5.3.1 and Section 5.3.2). Money systems built on continuous growth push us to exceed planetary boundaries.

This section has shown how money systems are deeply entangled with Earth systems. Every monetary transaction sets off a chain of ecological effects. And the current design of money and market systems hides these links, rewards extraction, and allows wealth to concentrate claims on limited resources, worsening inequalities. Changing these degenerative relationships requires rethinking how money works in our economies, explored in Subtopic 6.3 (coming soon!)

Concept: Systems, power

Skills: Thinking skills (critical thinking), Research skills (information literacy)

Time: 30-40 minutes (each option)

Type: Individual, pairs, or small group

Option 1: Money as a claim on nature

This section explains that money is a claim on Earth’s resources. Holding money means being able to take something from nature like food, fuel, land, or materials.

• In your own words, explain what this means and why it matters for building regenerative economies. Share and compare your answers in a small group.

• Create a rough sketch or concept for a visual (diagram, comic, poster, or infographic) that helps explain this idea. Think about:

• What flows from nature when money is used?

• Who gets to make claims—and who doesn’t?

• What might be hidden in the money flow?

• Share your visual idea with the class. How does your visual help others see the relationship between money and nature?

Option 2: Who pollutes the most? Who suffers the most?

Look at Figure 2 from the section.

Individually or in a small group, study the graph carefully. Discuss:

• What is the relationship between income and emissions? How does the graph represent this relationship?

• Why might richer households have a bigger carbon footprint?

• How is this connected to what you read about money systems and claims on resources?

Now imagine you're explaining this graph to someone younger than you. In simple words, write a short explanation (2–3 sentences) of what the graph shows and why it matters.

Extension (optional): Think of one way this pattern could be changed. What would need to happen?

Ideas for longer activities and projects are listed in Subtopic 6.5

• The story of Stuff - a 20 minute film about our use of matter in the economy and what we can do about it. Difficulty level: easy

• Is this the most valuable thing in the ocean? - a Ted-ED video about the importance of whales, and their poop, to biogeochemical cycles. Difficulty level: easy

• Studio Drift MATERIALISM - a short video about an art project from Studio DRIFT about the materials in everyday objects. Can serve as some inspiration if students work on an exhibit highlighting the materials and energy behind the things we use (See Section 1.5 Taking Action). Difficulty level: easy.

• The Superorganism Explained - Key clip in the video is 2:49-12:42. Nate Hagens, economist and podcast host of The Great Simplification, explains how the 'carbon pulse' of surplus fossil fuel-based energy fuelled a complex superorganism of human economic activity, and how the end of that energy surplus will result in a simplification of human societies. Difficulty level: medium

Alestig, M., Dabi, N., Jeurkar, A., Maitland, A., Lawson, M., Horen Greenford, D., Lesk, C., & Khalfan, A. (2024, October 28). Carbon inequality kills: Why curbing the excessive emissions of an elite few can create a sustainable planet for all (Oxfam Briefing Paper). Oxfam International. https://doi.org/10.21201/2024.000039

Khalfan, A. (2023). Climate equality: A planet for the 99%. Oxfam International. https://policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/climate-equality-a-planet-for-the-99-621551/

Jackson, T. (2017). Prosperity Without Growth: Foundations for the Economy of Tomorrow. Routledge.

Raworth, K. (2017). Doughnut economics: seven ways to think like a 21st century economist. London: Penguin Random House.

Hagens, N. (Host). (2025). The superorganism explained in 7 minutes [Audio podcast episode]. The Great Simplification. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5VWZm7ESfk

coming soon!