Since his entry into Matignon, Michel Barnier has frequently referred to the concepts of “public debt” and “ecological debt.” While public debt of a state is a defined and quantifiable notion, reaching 3,230 billion euros for France at the end of June, ecological debt remains less clear.
Ecological debt appeared in the 1980s, initially to describe the moral obligation of Northern countries toward Southern ones, due to the past exploitation of natural resources. Alexandre Rambaud, a researcher and co-director of the Ecological Accounting chair at the AgroParisTech Foundation, emphasizes that this idea aimed to justify the partial cancellation of financial debts of Southern nations, although it had a limited impact.
Quantifying Ecological Debt
Clément Morlat, scientific coordinator of the Ecological Accounting chair, states that it is crucial to measure ecological debt. By assessing the health of ecosystems and their balance, it is possible to determine a “biophysical debt.” For example, the European Water Framework Directive uses various indicators to assess the health of water bodies in Europe, such as the number of certain fish species.
For soils, measuring chemical substances or compaction rates allows for evaluating ecological degradation. According to Morlat, if ecological insolvency is reached, corrective measures are needed to restore balance, such as allowing the soil to rest or establishing vegetation cover. These actions involve monetary costs, translating the biophysical debt.
Reducing Ecological Debt and Public Debt
Lucile Schmid from La Fabrique Écologique highlights the challenge of simultaneously reducing ecological debt and public debt. According to her, investing to transform economic systems makes it difficult to reduce both types of debt concurrently.
The report by economist Jean Pisani-Ferry and Selma Mahfouz, Inspector General of Finance, published in May 2023, estimates that an additional annual investment of 66 billion euros is needed until 2030 for ecological transition, encompassing climate and biodiversity. Pisani-Ferry considers this indebtedness “legitimate,” emphasizing that it is justified by the climate urgency, unlike other reasons for debt.
Social Justice Issues
The reduction of ecological debt must also incorporate social justice considerations. Lucile Schmid stresses the importance of targeted measures to ensure that efforts to reduce ecological debt benefit all layers of society, thus avoiding increased inequalities.
