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European Forum for Science and Technology, Prague. May 22th, 2008. Panel Discussion on Economic Environmental Questions, Some General Remarks on Economic Environmental Policy. Statement by Bernd Meyer.
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European Forum for Science and Technology, Prague. May 22th, 2008 Panel Discussion on Economic Environmental Questions,Some General Remarks on Economic Environmental Policy.Statement by Bernd Meyer 1 Gesellschaft für Wirtschaftliche Strukturforschung mbH Heinrichstr. 30, D – 49080 Osnabrück Tel.: + 49 (541) 40933-0, Fax: + 49 (541) 40933-11 Email: lutz@gws-os.de, meyer@gws-os.de, jungnitz@gws-os.de Internet: www.gws-os.de 2 Universität Osnabrück Fachbereich Wirtschaftswissenschaften Rolandstr. 8, D - 49069 Osnabrück bernd.meyer@uni-osnabrueck.de Internet: www.makro.uni-osnabrück.de
1. Targets • Environmental problems are so strong that environmental targets have to dominate economic targets • We need not only targets for the next thirty years, but concrete time paths. • Macro- indicators have to measure year by year the performance of policy.
2. Strategies • The environmental protection policies of the past with filters and other end of pipe technologies can not solve the problems. • We need to reduce the extraction of resources by rising resource productivity. • This has to happen on all stages of production. • We need a technology revolution which changes the direction of technical progress from labour saving to resource saving.
3. Instruments • All types of instruments • economic instruments, • information and communication instruments, • technical standards come into consideration • Choose that instrument or instrument mix that minimizes costs.
4. Expectations • We can not wait. • The change of the capital stock takes time, • To install new technology paradigms takes time, • No firm will invest money in new technologies without a change in the economic framework that gives a chance for profits. • There is hope because of the concentration of the problems in some sectors and technologies • Example climate change: 30 % reduction target for CO2 in Europe in the year 2030: Model simulations show results between a win- win situation and economic costs not higher than a fraction of one years growth.