Ecological modernisation and institutional reflexivity: Environmental reform in the late modern age

Abstract

In contrast to the early 1970s, in the early 1990s the environment does not seem to wither away from public and political agendas and even seems to be entering the ‘economic agenda’. It can be hypothesised that the environment is on its way to becoming a crucial factor in the widely discussed transformation of modernity. To what extent do environmental considerations and interests contribute ‐ or may contribute in the future ‐ to the restructuring of production? Ecological modernisation theory is a valuable starting‐point for analysing the contemporary reflexive reorganisation and transformation of production along ecological criteria. The discretion on the basic tenets of this theory emphasises the major differences with competing theories on environment and modernity as well as some of the central points of criticism raised against it.