Conference paper
GERMANY’S SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY IN THE CONTEXT OF THE UN GREEN ECONOMY APPROACH
Holger Schlör
; Forschungszentrum Jülich Institute of Energy and Climate Research, IEK-STE
Wolfgang Fischer
; Forschungszentrum Jülich Institute of Energy and Climate Research, IEK-STE
Jürgen-Friedrich Hake
; Forschungszentrum Jülich Institute of Energy and Climate Research, IEK-STE
Abstract
The United Nations declared at the Rio+20 Conference in 2012 that a “green economy in the context of sustainable development” is a chance for poverty eradication and economic development in the institutional framework of sustainable development (United Nations, 2012). The German Government supports the UN approach for a green economy (BMBF and BMU, 2012) and declared that on the basis of a comprehensive understanding of the connection between the economy, finance and politics, and recognizing ecological boundaries and limits, environment-friendly qualitative and therefore sustainable growth should be achieved (BMBF and BMU, 2012). A green economy is now regarded as a solution for present and future social problems, and alluding to Dennis Meadows (Meadows, 2008), we can define it accordingly: A green economy is not the place you are going to. It is how you make the journey to sustainable development. We are now looking for a measuring framework for this journey. The question of the measurability of sustainability is the key to the implementation of sustainable development because as Hamilton and Atkinson clearly put it: “If current systems of economic indicators do not clearly signal that the economy is on an unsustainable path, the policy errors will be made and perpetuated (Hamilton and Atkinson, 2006).” The Sustainability Gap Index (SGI), developed by the authors, calculates the degree to which sustainability is achieved in Germany. The index shows whether Germany is on a sustainable path according to the goals set by the German Government in its sustainability strategy (German Federal Government, 2012a, German Federal Government, 2012b). The index enables us to compare the normatively (politically) defined sustainability order of the German Government (goals) with the actual “behaviour” of German society and with the interpretation of science and policy. The index enables us to answer the question of whether Germany is “better off” in sustainable categories of the green economy. The calculations of the sustainable indicators help us to understand where political action is needed in the transition process of the green economy towards sustainable development of German society
Keywords
green economy; sustainable development; sustainability gap index
Hrčak ID:
161425
URI
Publication date:
27.9.2013.
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