An Institutional Framework for a Sustainable Eco-Transition and Financial Regulation

Abstract

This article argues that a consistent ecologic/economic transition (eco-transition) must be embedded into a process of institutional evolution. The institutional framework is the overarching organizational structure aiming for the viability of the mode of reproduction over a given period. Capitalism is a social organization that makes continuous intensive use of resources for large-scale economic accumulation. Such an organization, notwithstanding its advances in technology, innovation, and creativity, and the accumulation of material and cultural wealth, often evolves with systemic instabilities and crises that result in high social and economic costs. The latest example of this evolution is the accumulation of tensions and crises in recent decades that have led, with widespread financialization, to an unstable and uncertain environment, both ecologically and economically. This situation calls into question the sustainability of the current accumulation regime. This evolution also requires institutional change and collective action for sustainable transition solutions by reframing the behavior of markets in a socially consistent way. This article places the emphasis on financial regulation regarding the financial needs of the transition process. Financial regulation should aim at allowing markets to conceive and implement stable financing possibilities for long-term transformation that respects environmental, economic and social sustainability constraints.