A Review of Basic Income for Nature and Climate

A basic income (BI) for outcomes associated with nature protection and climate change is a subject of increasing interest in theory and policy-making. In this paper, we present the first review of BI for nature and climate. We address three BI issues critical to nature and climate in terms of conditionality, decoupling, and financing. First, the conditionality on nature and climate outcomes appears to contradict the defining criterion of unconditionality of a BI, although this contradiction may be resolved in those cases where the expected outcomes are only implicit. Second, the ecological outcome of BI remains elusive about decoupling of emissions and biodiversity loss from economic growth. Third, financing a BI for “nature and climate” from sources that are carbon intensive and degrade the ecosystem may impose limits on ecological and financial sustainability and is critical in enabling a BI to achieve greater ecological benefits. The paper illustrates and provides insights into all three issues considered with selected theoretical and practical global cases of BI.