Paul Ekins

Paul Ekins (born 1950) is a prominent British academic in the field of sustainable economics. He is a former member of the Green Party.

Political career

Ekins was a prominent member of the UK Green Party (now the Green Party of England and Wales) in the 1970s and 80s. He left in 1986 after controversy over reforms he and others were promoting to streamline Green Party structures. This group, known as 'Maingreen', was seen as a forerunner of the moves to reform the party’s internal structures by a later group known as Green 2000.Wall, Derek, "Weaving a Bower Against Endless Night: An Illustrated History of the Green Party", 1994]

Career after politics

Ekins has been a prominent green academic in the field of sustainable economics. He has also worked as a consultant.

In 1996, he set up Forum for the Future with Sara Parkin and Jonathon Porritt. [http://www.forumforthefuture.org.uk/news/alistairmcgowan_page406.aspx Press Notice footnote from Forum for the Future] ] The Forum says: “When Paul Ekins set up the Sustainable Economy Unit as part of Forum for theFuture back in 1996, he argued that ‘many of today’s environmental problemsare really economic problems in disguise, and getting the economics right liesat the heart of any solutions agenda.’ He aimed ‘to show that radical movestowards environmental sustainability are compatible with prosperity’.This remains a central part of Forum’s mission.” [http://www.forumforthefuture.org.uk/docs/publications/403/Annual%20Report%2006.pdf Forum for the Future Annual Report 2006, p6] ]

He worked as head of the Environment group at the Policy Studies Institute. [http://www.psi.org.uk/people/person.asp?person_id=29 Policy Studies Institute Policy Studies Institute Biography] ]

He is also a specialist adviser to the Environmental Audit Select Committee of the British House of Commons. He is a Member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution. In 1994, Ekins received a UN Environment Programme Global 500 Award ”for outstanding environmental achievement”.

Academic career

Paul Ekins took a Ph.D. in economics at Birkbeck, University of London. He became Professor of Sustainable Development at the University of Westminster, in October 2002. His academic work is focused on the conditions and policies for achieving an environmentally sustainable economy.

His contributions include work on the conceptualisation and measurement of environmental sustainability, the adjustment of the national accounts to take account of environmental impacts, environmental taxes and ecological tax reform, and environment and trade.

He has written or edited six books. His most recent work is "Economic Growth and Environmental Sustainability: the Prospects for Green Growth" (Routledge, London, 2000).

ee also

*Green Party of England and Wales
*Forum for the Future
*Policy Studies Institute

External links

* [http://www.psi.org.uk/people/person.asp?person_id=29 Policy Studies Institute]
* [http://www.forumforthefuture.org.uk/ Forum for the Future]
*worldcat id|lccn-n85-373810

References