Although 2020 has been an odd year for us all, it also marked a special anniversary for us at PERC—40 years of free market environmentalism.
For four decades now, we’ve been exploring ways to apply property rights and markets to address environmental problems. The idea of free market environmentalism, once viewed as an oxymoron, is now accepted as a powerful tool for conservation by policymakers and conservationists around the world. Examples abound of free market environmentalism working to end overfishing, increase stream flows, recover wildlife, and encourage better resource stewardship.
In addition to our gratitude for the successes these ideas have seen over the past 40 years, we are also thankful for the countless bright minds who helped make PERC what it is today. Without our tribe of researchers, scientists, conservationists, and many others, we would not have made such great strides in sharing and implementing the ideas of free market environmentalism.
Cheers to 40 years and 40 more!
