Abstract
This paper considers the challenge of decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation; in contrast to several large-scale cross-country analyses that focus on limited indicators of environmental degradation, we analyze in some depth the experience of a single small-scale island state setting (Malta). We use available statistical data to derive decoupling factors, in order to consider the extent to which decoupling has been achieved in four sectors: (i) energy intensity, climate change, and air quality; (ii) water; (iii) waste; and (iv) land. Results indicate relative decoupling between economic growth and several indicators considered, and to a lesser extent, relative decoupling between population growth and the same indicators of environmental pressure. Absolute decoupling has been achieved in at least one instance but there has been no decoupling of land development from either economic or population growth. Land use and population thus appear to be notable sources of pressure. The results suggest that decoupling analyses that present environmental degradation in terms of single variables (e.g., carbon emissions) may misrepresent somewhat the state of the environment at local level. Furthermore, the study highlights the need for methodologies that factor in the “embedding” of small-scale settings within much larger trade networks, for a more accurate estimation of environmental impact, and points to some limitations of solely quantitative analyses of environment-ecology relationships.
Highlights
An important aspect of the environmental management literature considers the strength and nature of the relationship between economic development and environmental degradation, whether the former can feasibly be achieved without the latter
The results obtained are indicative of a country that has made progress towards remedying environmental degradation, but that the pace of progress has varied across EPs
It should be noted that the analysis of decoupling is reflective of relative rather than absolute change; the absolute decoupling recorded for SO2 emissions, for example, does not take into account the fact that, notwithstanding positive progress, Malta is still some way from achieving its GP 2020 targets for this pollutant [77]
Summary
An important aspect of the environmental management literature considers the strength and nature of the relationship between economic development and environmental degradation, whether the former can feasibly be achieved without the latter. Scholars and activists have argued for the need to separate economic and social well-being from the use of biophysical resources, through eco-economic decoupling or dematerialization [15,16,17,18]. Two separate decoupling strands are recognized–resource decoupling and impact decoupling The former refers to reducing the rate of use of (primary) resources per unit of economic activity, while impact decoupling requires increasing economic output while decreasing corresponding environmental impacts [19]. Haberl et al [20] identify three distinct decoupling patterns: (i) no decoupling, i.e., material throughput increasing faster or as fast as Gross Domestic Product (GDP); (ii) relative decoupling, where an increase in resource demand/environmental impact persists, but where the proportion of this resource demand/environmental impact per unit of GDP declines; and (iii) absolute decoupling, where resource demand/impact decreases even as GDP continues to grow
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