ABSTRACT
Chapter 13 takes up the disturbing polarization of environmentalists and economists. Overcoming their differences would harmonize their visions, concepts, measures and policies. Hybrid – physical–monetary – accounts might support hybrid policies, but their indicators and variables are difficult to combine. Typically, environmentalists use soft policy instruments, where they can play a supportive role; harder instruments are usually out of their reach. Environmental economists advocate the use of market instruments, which require less of a change in economic policies. International consensus on development goals might look like a way of addressing the polarization. However, such consensus is built upon an obscure paradigm and is bound to fall apart under contradicting national priorities. The integrated environmental–economic accounts might be more realistic in grounding environmental and economic policies on a common system of physical and economic data. It remains to be seen what they will achieve.
