Simon Mair is an ecological economist based at the University of York, UK. He is an ecological economist, working to understand the current economy in order to build a better one. Simon’s research interests include the post-growth and degrowth economics, post-capitalism, and alternative economies. Simon is programme lead for the MSc in Corporate Sustainability and Environmental Management and module leader for Corporate Sustainability, and Business and Environment.
'SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS wp_posts.ID
FROM wp_posts INNER JOIN wp_postmeta ON ( wp_posts.ID = wp_postmeta.post_id )
WHERE 1=1 AND (
wp_posts.ID NOT IN (
SELECT object_id
FROM wp_term_relationships
WHERE term_taxonomy_id IN (47485,47486)
)
) AND (
(
( wp_postmeta.meta_key = \'the_author\' AND wp_postmeta.meta_value = \'3477686\' )
OR
( wp_postmeta.meta_key = \'secondary_author\' AND wp_postmeta.meta_value LIKE \'{7883a3af01501ab8b1aa6b803b67734390b2baeec624f05e535dca32fdd58ec9}\\"3477686\\"{7883a3af01501ab8b1aa6b803b67734390b2baeec624f05e535dca32fdd58ec9}\' )
)
) AND wp_posts.post_type = \'post\' AND ((wp_posts.post_status = \'publish\'))
GROUP BY wp_posts.ID
ORDER BY wp_posts.post_date DESC
LIMIT 0, 6'
What Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations can teach us about today’s failed energy transitions
Despite three decades of COP climate talks and a boom in renewables, global emissions continue to rise, rooted in capitalism’s relentless drive to expand energy use. Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations helps explain why renewable energy has grown without pushing fossil fuels out.
May 22, 2026
Productivity, Energy and Climate Change—a View on the Links
Radical changes are needed if we are to avoid catastrophic climate change: 2 trillion dollars of fossil fuel related capital investment has to go. Without a better understanding of the basic relationships between energy and production it is hard to say how such changes will play out in the wider economy, and almost impossible to prepare to face them.
February 24, 2020
How Getting Rid of ‘Shit Jobs’ and the Metric of Productivity can Combat Climate change
Work can be “shit” or it can be good. Sociologists and psychologists have developed various frameworks to explain what makes a job good or bad. And we’ve identified a few common factors. A good job is socially useful, it provides material security, it is varied and creative, and it offers us a degree of autonomy. A shit job does nothing for society, fails to help us meet our material needs, is repetitive, and offers little autonomy.
January 10, 2020
Techno-Fix Futures will only Accelerate Climate Chaos – Don’t Believe the Hype
But nothing other than dramatic societal transformation will be sufficient to avoid catastrophic climate change for the vast majority of the world’s population – and eventually, everyone. It may sound daunting, but rejecting the ecologically harmful assumptions on which our culture is currently built offers us a unique chance to build a healthier and fairer world.
October 31, 2019
Growing Pain: The Delusion of Boundless Economic Growth
Degrowth’ is a good bet. There is sound empirical and theoretical evidence that our economies are dependent on material and energy resources and embedded in the delicate balance of the Earth’s life systems. And if we pull it off, the payout is huge.
September 26, 2019
In the Age of Extinction, Who is Extreme? A Response to Policy Exchange
We must do all we can to protect the basic environmental conditions that allow humanity to flourish. In this context, Extinction Rebellion’s economic and political program is on the side of reason, and well supported by academic research.
July 24, 2019
