Ecological modernisation around the world: An introduction

Adapting ecological modernisation to the Australian context

“…EM is a label that has been attached to a broad school of thought that originally emerged from Europe (and Germany in particular) during the 1980s, most notably from the work of Martin Janicke and Joseph Huber, although some of its component ideas can be traced back as far as the late 1960s (Hajer 1995;Weale 1998;Mol and Sonnenfeld 2000;Mol and Spaargaren 2000;Huber 2000;Grant and Papadakis 2004;Janicke and Jacob 2004;Janicke 2008). Janicke (2008, p. 557) argues that EM was adopted by what he refers to as the 'Berlin School of environmental policy research' in the early 1980s.…”

“…It assumes that well designed interventions by government do not hinder economic growth but instead stimulate new and more efficient industries (Blowers 1997;Weale 1998;Mol and Sonnenfeld 2000;Janicke and Jacob 2004;Huber 2008;Janicke 2008). Industry reduces its costs from increased technological efficiency and both the environment and community benefit from less pollution.…”

“…The economic imperative of EM offers a vital role for markets and economic agents as conduits of ecological restructuring and reform (Gouldson and Murphy 1997;Mol 2000;Mol and Sonnenfeld 2000;Mol and Spaargaren 2000;Seippel 2000;Berger et al 2001;Huber 2008). Proponents consider that a healthy environment is necessary for economic gain, and entrepreneurial agents are important catalysts for ecological remediation (Seippel 2000;Fisher and Freudenberg 2001).…”

“…Although political institutions have contributed to poor environmental outcomes in the past, weak versions of EM argue that they can be readily reformed to better address ecological issues (Gouldson and Murphy 1997;Mol 2000;Mol and Sonnenfeld 2000;Mol and Spaargaren 2000;Janicke and Jacob 2004;Janicke 2008). Proponents hope that through marginal shifts in focus, political actors could be responsible for 'building new and different coalitions to make environmental protection politically feasible' (Fisher and Freudenberg 2001, 702 p.…”

“…EM concepts appear in a variety of guises, including international sustainable development policies such as Agenda 21 (Howes 2005), sub-national regional strategies such as the South East Queensland Regional Plan (OUM 2005) and municipal plans (Burton 2007). They also featured in industrial regulation and cleaner production programmes, particularly in continental Europe (Mol and Sonnenfeld 2000;Baker 2007).…”