IB Environmental systems and societies HL Lenses Key Definitions

When an economy grows while its environmental impact, such as resource use or CO₂ emissions, falls in absolute terms at the same time.

Biocapacity is the capacity of a biologically productive area to continuously provide renewable resources and assimilate the waste generated by human activities.

Biodiversity refers to the variety of life in an ecosystem, encompassing different levels of biological organization.

The circular economy is an economic model that decouples economic growth from resource consumption by keeping materials, products, and resources in use for as long as possible.

Consequentialist ethics is a moral theory that judges the morality of an action based solely on its consequences.

A planned reduction in production and consumption, especially in high-income countries, that lowers a society's demand on the environment while protecting human well-being.

The Doughnut Economics model, proposed by economist Kate Raworth, offers a framework to address these challenges by balancing human needs with planetary boundaries.

Eco-economic decoupling refers to the process of separating economic growth from environmental degradation.

Ecological economics is an interdisciplinary field that studies the relationship between economic systems and the environment, recognizing that the economy operates within the Earth's ecological limits.

An ecological footprint is the measure of the amount of land and water area required to provide all resources a population consumes and absorb waste and emissions (e.g., CO₂ absorption by forests)

Economic growth refers to the increase in the total market value of goods and services produced in a country over time.

Economics is the study of how humans produce, distribute, and consume goods and services, both at an individual and collective level.

Environmental accounting (also called green accounting) is the process of assigning economic value to natural resources, environmental degradation, and ecosystem services.

Environmental constitutionalism refers to the integration of environmental rights, responsibilities, and protections into a nation's constitution.

Environmental ethics is a branch of ethical philosophy that deals with the moral relationship between humans and the environment.

Ethics is a branch of philosophy that examines moral principles and determines what behaviors are right or wrong.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a common indicator of economic development that measures the monetary value of all final goods and services produced within a country over a specific period.

Greenwashing (or "green sheen") refers to misleading marketing strategies used by companies to appear more environmentally friendly than they actually are.

Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given time period (usually a year).

Intrinsic value refers to the worth of something independent of its usefulness to humans.

Instrumental value refers to the usefulness of an entity for humans. This value is based on how nature benefits humans directly or indirectly.

Laws are rules that govern human behavior and are enforced by social or governmental authority.

Legal personhood refers to the capacity to have legal rights, to sue, and to be sued in a court of law.

Moral standing refers to the idea that an entity (whether living or non-living) has moral significance and should be considered when making decisions about how we interact with it.