The Environment, Markets and Christian Stewardship

Few Christians deny that we have an obligation to care for the environment: the concept of the “stewardship” of creation is often invoked. But do free markets help or hinder us when it comes to caring for God’s creation? Are environmental outcomes improving, or are things getting worse as environmental complainers like to suggest? Politicians like to persuade us that we can have a “free lunch” and that government intervention, central planning, industrial strategy and the subsidisation of green technologies will provide "green growth" at no cost. However, economists know that this is not true: if we are to do more to promote better environmental outcomes, there will be a cost. This lecture will look at how markets and good institutions can lead to better environmental outcomes. We will also consider the situations where Christians might support government intervention to protect the environment and the upsides and downsides of such intervention.