Ecological reparations

It is generally accepted that uneven and unequal development cannot be fully explained without acknowledging historical wrongs, present global injustices, and ongoing institutional practices that drains the Global South of its resources. The current ecological emergency is well known, too. Also widely appreciated is the fact that the ramifications of the crises are certain, but uneven. The question is how to develop an alternative political economy that simultaneously engages and addresses all these experiences for the future. In this chapter, the evidence for development and underdevelopment is revisited, with a special emphasis on the ecological question and how it is intertwined with the political economy of growth and change. It is argued that, without ecological reparations, no amount of alternative development, limits to growth, fair exchange, circular economy, or just transition will be sufficient to address ecological imperialism. We need change, but that change cannot be just a change, it must be a just change.