Dr. Megan Evans is a distinguished researcher and Senior Lecturer in Public Sector Management at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Canberra. I interviewed Dr Evans after attending The Inhuman Condition which was presented at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas 2024. As a social scientist, Dr Evans’ expertise lies in the evaluation of environmental policies and laws, particularly in how these frameworks influence biodiversity conservation. Her research often focuses on the challenges within environmental markets, such as carbon trading and conservation finance, where she critically examines the impact of these mechanisms on achieving tangible environmental outcomes.
Dr. Evans is particularly known for her insights into carbon markets, which are systems where companies, governments, or individuals can buy and sell carbon credits to offset pollution, incentivizing reductions in overall emissions. These markets often fail to produce the intended results in reducing carbon emissions. Her work explores why such market-based solutions frequently fall short and what systemic changes are necessary to align economic incentives with environmental sustainability.
In addition to her academic work, Dr. Evans is an influential voice in policy discussions, advocating for more robust regulations, better allocation of resources, and innovative approaches to preserving biodiversity. She emphasises the importance of balancing ecological needs with human development, particularly addressing the disparities between the industrialised Global North and the underdeveloped Global South. In this interview, Megan Evans shares her thoughts about the environmental markets, discussing its flaws and challenges, and elaborates on how we can achieve sustainability in the future.
How do you think that environmental markets and laws are flawed?
It is difficult to pin down specific factors that contribute to the failure of environmental markets. One main reason is that carbon markets produce low quality carbon credits that are then supplied to firms and industries. There is a low amount of regulations and quality checks happening, and these low quality carbon credits are not being used effectively since the actual reality of carbon emissions being produced does not correspond with carbon credits being purchased by firms.
With growth in industrialisation and urbanisation, it is difficult to maintain sustainability. How do you think we can achieve a balance?
I think it is important to understand our ecological limits to growth and consumption. Currently, the Western communities are overconsuming and overproducing. However, the Global South is underdeveloped and is not benefiting from industrialisation as much as the Global North is. It is important to equally distribute resources so that carbon emissions can be reduced and people can still benefit from industrialisation. The Global South has more right to grow than the Global North so that our ecological limits in the Global North are not exhausted further.
Do you think that we are making the necessary changes towards a better environment when it comes to preserving endangered animals and habitats?
I think that we are not making enough of a difference due to the lack of funding for preservation of species and habitats. This is because, currently, cutting trees is more profitable than saving trees. Cutting trees for the purpose of production, industrialisation, and urbanisation remains to be more economically efficient than plantation of trees and preservation of forests. Since the government focuses on economic growth, they tend to not invest enough in projects when it yields a lower profit. We will not be able to make any major difference unless preserving the environment becomes more profitable than destroying it for the purpose of production.
What is the most interesting thing that you have discovered in your field?
I think the most interesting thing about environmental markets is that the idea of carbon markets and carbon credits is so attractive that we keep investing in this idea. While the idea of carbon markets is not successful, it is economically profitable, and the government keeps encouraging this idea and preventing other ideas from coming through. So, essentially, the politics involved in these markets prevents us from seeing flaws in the markets so that the money keeps flowing through these markets without any result in a reduction in carbon emissions, and no other alternative ideas are encouraged or implemented.
Dr. Megan Evans sheds light on the complexities of environmental markets, emphasising that while they are economically and politically profitable, they are not reducing carbon emissions. She argues that without proper regulation, effective use of carbon credits, and better investment in environmental preservation, progress toward sustainability will remain stunted. Her insights highlight the need for a fundamental shift in how governments and industries approach environmental policies—prioritising ecological balance over short-term economic gains and encouraging innovative solutions that can make a real impact on conservation efforts and climate change.
The Festival of Dangerous Ideas was presented by The Ethics Centre in August 2024, supported by Principal Partner UNSW Sydney. Catch up on talks from over 12 years’ of FODI at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas podcast: festivalofdangerousideas.com.