Table of Contents
Editor's Foreword ix
1 Introduction 1
An outline 1
Chapter contents 6
2 Where is the World Floating? 14
Economic growth and competition between industrialized countries and emerging developing countries 14
Continuous population growth 19
Increased raw material extractions and a continued rise in the emissions of pollutants 24
Tougher international competition for increasingly scarcer resources 30
The repercussions of ever increasing environmental damage 31
3 What are the Causes, and What Kind of Solutions do We Have? 38
The difference between the personal and social costs of using the environment 38
Economic instruments: tax, trading in licenses and subsidies 39
The necessary supplementary measures: communications and information policies, and cooperative solutions 47
Alternative regulatory policy instruments 50
Promoting intrinsic motivation 51
Ecological social market economy 52
4 The Sustainability Paradigm 56
The spirit of Rio 56
The three dimensions of sustainability 59
Why some ecologists and economists do not like this concept 66
From preventive environmentalism to sustainability strategies 67
Reconstructing the economy by increasing resource productivity 70
5 What Options Are There For Increasing Resource Productivity? 76
The Sufficiency Strategy: the role of the consumer 76
The Efficiency Strategy: Factor 10 innovations and investments to increase resource productivity 82
The importance of key technologies 90
6 What Precisely Needs to Change to Enable increased Resource Productivity in Europe? 97
Sustainability is indivisible 98
The role of economic instruments 100
Further developing emissions tradingallowances 101
The ecological tax reform 107
State-operated efficiency agencies 110
Subsidies for the use of innovative technologies 117
Research funding 120
The certification of consumer goods, durable goods, and buildings 122
The selection of technical standards for vehicles, buildings, and equipment 125
Education for sustainable development 128
Sustainability and business management 129
7 A Country in Focus: Germany What Changes Will Have to be Made to the Labor Market and to the Social Security System? 131
The labor market and demographic change - a status quo forecast 131
Mobilizing labor supply and education campaigns 137
Minimum income and the flexibilization of the labor market 140
Problems for the social security system? 142
8 Perspectives for More Sustainable Development in Europe 145
Estimating the potential of future developments using environmental economic models 145
The MOSUS Project - alternative scenarios for development in Europe 152
Can Europe's targets for sustainable development be met? 155
The global perspective 160
9 Creating an International Framework 166
The alternative: no international framework 166
The first attempt: the Kyoto Protocol 168
The problem with balancing the interests of the developing countries, the newly industrialized countries, and the industrial countries 175
10 Final Comments 179
Glossary 181
Bibliography 190
Picture References 195
