Reciprocal impacts of climate change and socio-economic structures with implication for poverty and an analysis of comparative economic paradigms for sustainable policy solutions. A case study of Pakistan

Abstract

This study investigates two interrelated research questions: what are the reciprocal impacts of climate change and socio-economic structures with implications for poverty and how does neo-classical economic paradigm address climate change and these underlying socio-economic imperatives as opposed to competing economic paradigms, towards sustainable solutions. Climate change is changing the development debate and the changing development debate is, in turn, changing the very definition of sustainability. This research argues that the current debate on climate change is predominantly framed in terms of the effects of increasing greenhouse gas emissions on earth’s radiation balance. Consequently, it fails to incorporate the socio-economic structures which drive these emissions. The failure to see the reciprocal link between climate change and the structural imperatives in which it is embedded gives a partial view of climate change, with implications for poverty. The research methodological approach adopted under this research study is that of critical realism. Critical realism is a kind of realism which argues that in order to understand what is going on in the social world, it is important to study the underlying social structures which have given rise to the phenomena under consideration. The guiding metaphors of realists are structures and mechanisms. Critical realism is adopted as the research philosophy under this research study because it provides an approach which evaluates the emergent properties of social structures. These emergent properties act as ‘generative mechanisms’ that shape, constrain and enable socio-economic action and therefore reflect the historicity of these social structures. Important aspects of the research methods are in-depth policy level interviews and focus groups conducted under a critical realist case study. Through this in-depth case study, of Pakistan, this research shows a reciprocal link between climate change and the socio-economic structures, with implications for poverty. By bringing forward an analysis of comparative economic paradigms, it develops a holistic perspective on the approach towards sustainability. The comparison between the two competing schools of thought leads to some key findings proposing policy recommendations based on a mix of reformatory and radical sustainability solutions, with potential to reasonably avoid a major environmental crisis in the form of climate change tipping over 750ppm CO2e or beyond