Appreciating Or Deteriorating Systems Amidst Paradigm Shifts: Achieving an Integrated Natural and Social-Economic Capital System For Sustainable Development

Abstract

Drawing from the systems theory perspective articulated by economist and social thinker Kenneth Boulding (1970/1971/1978) and the paradigm-shifting thesis of Thomas Kuhn (1962), the author (building upon previously published works outlining Vadineanu’s 2001 contribution on how Natural Capital [NC] and the Socio-Economic Systems [SES] interact) posits a multi-level framework to undergird specific policies to encourage the creation of energy systems that can foster sustainable development in OACPS. This goal needs to be achieved while mindful that the Asia-Pacific region is most affected by effects of unpredictable climate change and heavy fossil fuel energy resource depletion. As organizers of the 2018 SERI conference had stated, the “energy crisis ‘worldwide’ should be approached in a holistic manner. It is not enough that energy be clean, renewable, safe[,] and sustainable. It must be affordable and available to every consumer throughout their lifetime” in line with the Sustainable Development Goal number 7 (that articulates that people the world over have a right to “affordable and clean energy”).