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Economics · Class 12 Commerce

Ch 10Environmental Economics — Class 12 Economics, concept-first.

Traditional economics studies how a society allocates scarce resources — land, labour, capital — among competing uses. Environmental Economics extends this same question to a resource every other branch of economics used to take for granted: the natural environment itself — clean air, fresh water, forests, minerals, fe…

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Key concepts

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Environment as an Economic Resource

The environment functions as both a SOURCE of raw materials for production and a SINK that absorbs waste from production and consumption — both roles have natural limits, which is what makes the environment a genuine eco…

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Chapter contents

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1

Meaning and Scope of Environmental Economics

Traditional economics studies how a society allocates scarce resources — land, labour, capital — among competing uses.

2

Environment and Economic Development — The Two-Way Link

Environment and economic development are linked in both directions, not just one.

3

Environmental Degradation — Meaning, Types and Causes

Environmental degradation means the deterioration of the natural environment through the depletion of resources (such as forests, groundwater or soil fertility) and/or the accumulation of pollutants b…

4

Market Failure and the Environment — Externalities

Ordinary markets work well when the private cost a producer pays equals the full cost that production imposes on society.

5

Sustainable Development

Sustainable Development is most widely defined, per the Brundtland Commission's report, as: "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to m…

6

Green GDP and Green Accounting

Conventional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the total value of goods and services produced in an economy, but it does not net out the environmental cost of producing them.

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Environmental Policy Measures

In India, the principal legal framework for environmental protection includes the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 — an umbrella law enacted in the aftermath of the Bhopal gas tragedy, giving the ce…

Exercises

+Show 12 questions12 questions
  1. Q1Explain the two economic roles the environment plays, and why both roles have a natural limit.Free
  2. Q2"Environment and economic development are linked in both directions." Explain this statement.Free
  3. Q3List and briefly explain the four main types of pollution studied under environmental degradation.Free
  4. Q4Explain any three genuine economic causes of environmental degradation.Preview
  5. Q5What is meant by 'market failure' in the context of the environment? Explain with the help of the concept of a negative externality.Preview
  6. Q6What is the 'Tragedy of the Commons'? Why are common-pool resources especially prone to environmental degradation?Preview
  7. Q7Define Sustainable Development as per the Brundtland Commission. Explain the two ideas embedded in this definition.Preview
  8. Q8State any three core principles associated with sustainable development.Preview
  9. Q9What is Green GDP? Why does conventional GDP fail to capture the true state of an economy's environmental health?Preview
  10. Q10Why, despite being considered a superior measure, is Green GDP not yet used as the primary official income measure by most economies, includ…Preview
  11. Q11Name India's principal domestic legal framework for environmental protection, and one specialised judicial body established to enforce it.Preview
  12. Q12Name two international agreements associated with global efforts to address climate change.Preview

Sample & Board Papers

Sample papers and previous-year board questions for this subject.

+Show 15 questions15 questions
  1. Q1Which one of the following causes global warming ? (a) Increasing temperature (b) Earth gravitational force (c) Oxygen (d) Centripetal forcePreview
  2. Q2Write a note on : (a) Climate change (b) Acid rainPreview
  3. Q3Acid rain is one of the consequences of ________. (a) Land pollution (b) Air pollution (c) Noise pollution (d) Water pollutionPreview
  4. Q4Define Global Warming.Preview
  5. Q5Write a note on : (a) Climate change (b) Acid rainPreview
  6. Q6Environmental goods are ________. (a) Market goods (b) Non-market goods (c) Both (a) and (b) (d) None of the abovePreview
  7. Q7Hearing loss is the effect of __________ pollution. (a) water (b) noise (c) land (d) airPreview
  8. Q8Specify the meaning of Seed ball.Preview
  9. Q9State the meaning of e-Wastes.Preview
  10. Q10(a) Explain the importance of Sustainable development and its goals. OR (b) Briefly explain the objective factors of Consumption function.Preview
  11. Q11“Protection of the Environment Operations Act” was set up in __________. (a) 1999 (b) 1997 (c) 1996 (d) 1998Preview
  12. Q12Alkali Soils are predominantly located in the __________ plains. (a) North-Indian (b) Gangetic (c) Indus-Ganga (d) All the abovePreview
  13. Q13Explain the different types of air pollution.Preview
  14. Q14Acid rain is one of the consequences of ______. (a) Land Pollution (b) Air Pollution (c) Noise Pollution (d) Water PollutionPreview
  15. Q15Write a short note on 'Alkali soil'.Preview