Marketisation of Climate Change: Applying Chrematistics Framework to Warmth Rationing Issue in New Zealand

Despite being assessed as a successful industry (and business) by stakeholders, the energy market systems in New Zealand fail to satisfy the population’s need for accessible, sustainable, and constant energy. Neither these market systems address problems related to warmth rationing. The government and stakeholders judge the industry based on the industry’s economic efficiency and its capacity for profit-generation. This market system appears to be market-efficient: it turns basic human needs into a steady stream (now simply an electronic record) of commonly accepted currency units valued by investors. However, the system is not well-being-efficient: it capitalises on problems such as warmth rationing, while failing to accomplish its macro-societal role.