Ecological Modernization Research Articles

INVESTMENT ACTIVITY AS A DIRECTION OF IMPLEMENTATION OF THE STATE POLICY OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Introduction. The article reveals the scientific vision of investment activity as a direction of implementation of the State policy of sustainable development. Goal of the article is to substantiate the consideration of investment activity and its activation not only as objects of investment policy, but also as a policy of sustainable development. Research methods: to prove the significance, determine the place and role of investment activity in the implementation of sustainable development policy, a systematic approach, statistical methods, analysis and synthesis methods were used. Results: the content of the concept of "investment activity" is revealed. It is clarified and substantiated that the purpose of investment activity, in addition to obtaining commercial and social benefits, should include the environmental effect. The content of the components of sustainable development of society is disclosed. They represent a triune concept of sustainable ecological, social and economic development, the implementation of which requires a clear policy and specific actions on the part of the State as a public institution, based on the principles of democracy, openness, public participation, economic, social and environmental efficiency. It is stated that the movement of our country along the path of sustainable development is laid down in the Sustainable Development Strategy "Ukraine - 2020". It is argued that the vectors of development, security, responsibility and pride defined by the Sustainable Development Strategy "Ukraine - 2020" require investment activity and its intensification. It is proved that the need for development of organizations of various types as elements of the Ukrainian economy, and their production of quality products and services makes organizations search for new management technologies, production methods, and new products. The instrument of such development is their investment policy and investment activity. It is emphasized that the investment policy of an organization should be implemented in accordance with other types of state policy (social, environmental, tax, local development policy, etc.), be documented, be information accessible to investors, and adapt to changes in the external environment (institutional, infrastructural, investment, etc.). It is noted that real investments are the way to implement investments in the fixed assets of organizations, and their form, for example, is the ecological modernization of production, the introduction of environmental technologies. The author summarizes that the main entity establishing the "rules of the game" for investment activity is the State. It develops and implements both investment and other types of policies (sustainable development to harmonize economic, social and environmental activities of various management and regulatory entities; financial and budgetary - to create a fair tax environment; regional - to stimulate regional development and create appropriate living conditions for the population; and entrepreneurship regulation - to create a favorable business environment, stimulate business growth, and technological development of production). Thus, investment activity and its intensification should be the result of the implementation of not only investment policy at various levels, but also a direction for the implementation of other policies, in particular, the policy of sustainable development.

Reviewing the influence of Ecological Modernization Theory on the National Sustainable Development Strategy of Bangladesh

Reviewing the influence of Ecological Modernization Theory on the National Sustainable Development Strategy of Bangladesh

НЕОБХІДНІСТЬ ТА ПЕРЕДУМОВИ ЕКОЛОГІЧНОЇ МОДЕРНІЗАЦІЇ ВИРОБНИЦТВА СУБ’ЄКТІВ ПІДПРИЄМНИЦТВА

Background. The purpose of this paper is to examine the main preconditions for the ecological modernization of production. The study considers some grouping approaches used in Europe. It is defined that scientific approaches to precondition analyses are diverse and depend mostly on research objectives, data quality, and chosen research method. The authors propose their method of preconditions systematization that allows one to take into account the basic stimulating factor and is based on the explored experience of ecological innovation implementation. According to this approach, it is divided into five groups of modernization factors: historical, legislative, stimulating, marketing, and technical. . Methods. It was used general scientific methods, in particular, analysis and synthesis; the comparative method was used to compare existing approaches to systematizing the prerequisites for the environmental modernization of production; the method of abstraction and generalization was used in the process of developing the author's approach to systematizing the prerequisites for environmental modernization of production by subjects of sub-industries. Results. The result of the study is the presentation of the author's approach to systematizing the prerequisites for ecological modernization of production by business entities Conclusions. The research has shown that there is no single methodology for systematizing the factors that trigger the mechanism of ecological modernization of manufacturing processes. Based on these conclusions, an attempt was made to develop an approach to systematization of the prerequisites for making a decision to initiate environmental modernization of production among business entities. As a result, it was proposed to assign six main categories that logically combine and structure all possible factors for stimulating the ecologization of production: historical, legislative, incentive, market, technical and progressive. The categories of influence are in a certain interdependence and subordination, characterizing the level of occurrence of the influence factor and the degree of autonomy of the business entity in the decision-making process.

Aspects of ecological modernization of technological equipment to reduce the level of dust from mining and processing production

Aspects of ecological modernization of technological equipment to reduce the level of dust from mining and processing production

Development of air quality monitoring system in Kyiv on the way of modernization environmental safety of sustainable development

The processes of modernization of the environmental safety system in the context of achieving sustainable development are actualized by global problems that arise as a result of man-made load on the atmospheric air. Among the cities of Ukraine, the capital occupies one of the first places in terms of pollution. In the process of ecological modernization in order to improve air quality, it is necessary to have detailed information about the level of pollution, pollutants, sources of their formation, changes in time and space, etc. Traditionally, monitoring of air quality in the capital is carried out by different organizations, which assess air quality only by the content of particles with a size of 1-10 microns, which is not enough for a complete analysis and assessment of the state of pollution. The most acceptable direction for the further development of the air quality monitoring system in Kyiv is to increase the coverage of the territory of the capital with a modern network of monitoring points of the Kyiv City State Administration, which in the future will become an information basis for making the necessary management decisions to ensure the sustainable development of Kyiv.

The role of land management in the process of economic modernization in Ukraine

The cause-and-effect relationship between economic modernization and land management, the role of the latter in the process of modernization of Ukraine, as well as the transformation of the content and practices related to land management in the growth and post-war reconstruction of the country are studied. The key role of land management in economic modernization, with an emphasis on the importance of land management practices in overcoming the consequences of the armed conflict in Ukraine, is noted. The analysis of legislative and regulatory acts of Ukraine regarding economic modernization indicates a predominantly narrowed, albeit direct, application of its context: first of all, in relation to the modernization of infrastructure, material and technical base; ecological modernization of enterprises; updating technical and technological processes taking into account the impact on the environment; on social aspects and education, as well as systems of administration, such as public administration and public finance. Whereas in connection with land management, the context of economic modernization in the regulatory and legal acts of Ukraine (as of June 1, 2023) can only be indirectly highlighted in connection with projects and documents, some of which relate to agriculture. The structural and logical scheme reflecting the role of land management in the process of economic modernization of Ukraine is justified. It is noted that land management practices contribute, among other, to the solution of such urgent problems as ensuring food security, attracting investments in agriculture, in particular, in the context of its modernization and infrastructure development, as well as emphasizing the role of land management as an important component of the European integration process of Ukraine, which provides for the approximation of national land legislation to the EU acquis.

Ecological modernisation wanderings: ambivalent framing and unstable coalitions in the development of Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) in France

ABSTRACT Ecological modernisation tends to dominate institutional definitions of low-carbon transitions in industrialised countries. While most works study the market solutions and the technological innovation constraints of Eco-Modernist (EM) projects, this article analyses them at a micro level through the study of the development of an EM coalition supporting industrial Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) in France. Drawing on interpretive policy analysis and the sociology of innovation, and focusing on the building and erosion of a common frame within the coalition, we highlight the ambivalence of the framing of the solution and the instability of the coalition supporting it. First, we show that, like most EM innovations, almost all CCUS projects in France have been co-constructed between public and private actors. Second, we argue that the ambivalent frames developed by French promoters of CCUS initially legitimated the deployment of the CCUS technologies but led to a misalignment of actors in the long term. We conclude by encouraging scholars in more micro-observation of EM coalitions in order to gain a better understanding of their internal conflicts and of their heterogeneity, and to document the general, now dominant, discourse of EM in the field of environmental policies.

The making of sustainability: ideological strategies, the materiality of nature, and biomass use in the bioeconomy

The bioeconomy, a recent addition to the political project of ecological modernization, is largely premised on the widespread use of biomass. Biomass is presented by bioeconomy proponents as renewable and, therefore, sustainable. However, a large body of academic and non-academic literature questions this sustainability, citing the negative socio-ecological aspects of biomass use. Given this contradiction, we ask how the key institutions of the innovation system (government, science, and industry), construct and uphold the image of sustainability of biomass use in the bioeconomy. Through an analysis based on ideology critique, we look at the broad field of biomass policy in Germany, including official bioeconomy strategies and biomass potential calculations, expert portrayals of biomass use in the bioeconomy-themed Year of Science, and an iconic biomass-based commodity. We identify four central ideological strategies that uphold the image of sustainability and contribute to creating political consent for the political project of the German bioeconomy: seeking managerial solutions, relying on technological innovation, relegating solutions into the future, and obscuring the materiality of nature. We discuss how these strategies are upheld by the wider discourse and institutions of ecological modernization and argue that particular attention should be given to the biophysical materiality of living nature in this context. The materiality of nature represents both an obstacle to the ideological strategies identified, and a starting point for envisioning alternative society–nature relations.

Framing climate strategy of the oil industry of China: A tailored approach to ecological modernization

China has announced its ambitious targets of attaining a carbon peak before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. Although China is a developing country, its oil sector plays a key role in carbon emissions and thus has a responsibility toward climate change. It is very important to understand the role of the oil industry of China in climate governance. This raises the following question: how have oil companies in China framed and tailored their climate strategies? By employing the concept of ecological modernization as a theoretical framework, this study observes the driving forces of climate policies, low-carbon energy, advanced technologies, and market mechanisms by collecting and analyzing reports published by three oil companies. The main findings are that state-owned oil companies in China have adopted the ideas and institutions of national climate strategies, low-carbon energy systems, and emerging financial and market tools. The analysis of the reports reveals that the main motives for the climate strategies of the companies are China’s administrative system, international climate cooperation, the transformation of the energy mix, and emerging market mechanisms.

An Assessment of Eco-Efficiency and its Determinants: Evidence from Macroeconomic Data

The analysis of innovation, natural resource consumption, and eco-efficiency is widely discussed in firm-level studies. However, there is little literature on the assessment of eco-efficiency and its determinants in the macroeconomic framework. This study focuses on the empirical estimation of the eco-efficiency index with and without undesirable output at the aggregate level using a non-radial, non-oriented slack-based model (SBM) with the help of data envelopment analysis (DEA). SBM-DEA reveals that the level of eco-efficiency falls by incorporating undesirable output. The system generalised method of moments (GMM) applied to the panel data from 116 developed and developing countries for the period 2010–2019 to identify the determinants of eco-efficiency. The findings of system GMM show that innovation has a dynamic impact on eco-efficiency in developed and developing countries compared to natural resource consumption which adversely impacts it. The study also confirms exports and foreign direct investment (FDI) as an integral determinant of eco-efficiency. The findings confirm the ecological modernization theory which assures improvement in environmental quality due to innovation. The findings suggest that innovation and conservation of natural resources promote eco-efficiency in developed and developing countries.

Koomey's law forevermore? A document analysis of the production and circulation of the promise of ‘green 5G’

We conduct an analysis of a UK-focused corpus of documents that represent key sites through which the promise of green 5G is produced, circulated and challenged. By the promise of green 5G we refer to an emerging, overarching, dominant expectation that 5G will produce environmental sustainability benefits of various kinds. We employ an analytical approach informed by the sociology of expectations and the concept of technoscientific promises to identify: the various types of expectations and promises upon which the promise of green 5G is built, the ways that the legitimacy and credibility of this promise are boosted, the negative expectations that challenge it, the different ways in which 5G is positioned in relation to the problem of expected traffic growth and how such problematisations direct attention to different solutions, and, finally, a number of other performative effects of the promise of green 5G. The promise of green 5G directs attention towards technological options that aim to render traffic growth sustainable through energy efficiency improvements and away from alternative approaches. This dominant expectation that traffic growth can be rendered sustainable through technological innovation suggests strong commitments to the environmental discourses of ecological modernisation and Promethean environmentalism within this technological community.

Impact of transportation on climate change: An ecological modernization theoretical perspective

Among the various climate change causing agents, transportation alone is responsible for 19.2% of the carbon emissions. By proper implementation of various preventive measures, the impact of transportation on climate change can be drastically reduced. It is also necessary to determine the relationship between the transportation factors responsible for creating environmental degradation and causing climate change and to rank them based on the preventive measures impact to deal with them. In this paper, we have identified the transportation factors that affect climate change and the factors related to its preventive measures based on the ‘environment’, ‘sociology’ and ‘modernity’ elements of Ecological Modernization Theory (EMT). Given the context, this study focusses on development of an assessment framework that combines three techniques: Simple Additive Weighting (SAW), Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) and Interpretive Ranking Process (IRP).

The Administrative transformation of the Urban Authority and the Emerging Quarantined Rural Satellite Towns (ERSTs) in Urban Authorities. The Case of Dodoma National Capital City, Tanzania

This study explores how the evolutionary changes in urban administrative status from lowest (Town) to highest (City) ranks resulted in the Re-Emergence of Un – Ecological Quarantined Rural Satellite Towns and Rural Operations in Dodoma Tanzanian National Capital City. Under such circumstances, Un – ecological Rural operations and urbanisms become more prevalent in 28 newly emerged Quarantined Rural Satellite Towns in the City locality which enhances the disappearance and reappearance of Un - Ecological urban environment and land use land cover changes, land degradation in the City locality. The empirical evidence for this study was drawn from interviewing 443 respondents in 13 wards and 53 sub wards and through analyzing Landsat satellite images of 1998, 2008, 2018 and 2022 years by GIS. The study findings revealed that Local people are not relocated out of the city but instead urbanite at a rural scale into the City locality. Objectively, Un -Ecological Rural Operations in 28 Rural Satellite Towns in Dodoma City localities have contributed more to the Urban Ecological Environment degradation to a point that built-up land in the period of 24 years from 1998 to 2022 increased by 2221 ha, bare land by 15,737 ha and vegetation declined by 17,958 ha. If Dodoma City persists in the same way up to 2030 without Green Building Concepts and Design, New Urbanism and Ecological Modernization theories interventions it will lose the potential of being a resilient and habitable City. Sustainable development principles are recommended to be utilized in all the major development projects to be carried out in the city advert the situation.

Eco-cities as urban laboratories of Chinese ecological modernization: eco-experimentation and the modernization of urban governance

ABSTRACT Eco-cities have emerged as important sites for urban experiments on ecological modernization (EM). China has fully embraced this approach by building hundreds of high-profile eco-cities. This study investigated how the modernization of urban governance affects eco-cities and eco-experimentation, focusing on the relationship between the government and businesses. Our in-depth case study revealed the following: (1) the modernization of hierarchical governance to enhance financial prudence conflicts with the resource-demanding nature of eco-city projects; (2) building international collaborations through modernized network governance is crucial for Chinese EM; however, sustaining these collaborations remains a challenge; and (3) the modernization of urban governance, both vertically and horizontally, remains firmly situated within an authoritarian political framework. The pressure to pursue socioeconomic priorities as dictated by the central government forces local agencies to adopt conflicting strategies that undermine the quality and authenticity of the pursuit of EM via urban eco-experimentation.

Innovations for the sustainability transformation: Conceptual cornerstones of the saguf working group INSIST

How can we understand, analyze and design innovations for the sustainability transformation? The newly formed saguf working group INSIST explores the links between sustainability, innovation and transformation in theoretical, empirical and practical respects. The focus is to move away from a technicist framework of ecological modernization to a more reflexive and inclusive concept of transformative innovation.

The Case for Ecosocialism in the Face of the Worsening Climate Crisis

A fierce intellectual battle continues over the ideological character of green politics. The overall conflict that emerged in past decades between environmental justice advocates on the one hand, and on the other, a coalition of states, corporations and their academic, NGO and media allies will now revive in earnest, given the Biden Administration's January 2021 pledge to take climate change seriously. After the Trump regime's climate denialism, a longstanding challenge to environmental justice now returns in the form of supposedly-pragmatic “ecological modernization” strategies, i.e., regulatory, technicist, market-based, or some combination. These characterized the pre-Trump era but had no discernable impact on emissions. In contrast, David Harvey has long advocated “radicalization of the theses of ecological modernization.” The temptation to avoid in this process is deradicalization through cooptation. But even as technical questions reemerge, the radicalization Harvey calls for becomes ever more relevant.

MECHANISMS FOR ENSURING ESTONIA'S PERMANENT DEVELOPMENT: THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECT

The latest trends in global development actualize the problem of ecological modernization in order to ensure the sustainability of socio-economic and political functioning of modern states, creating additional opportunities for an appropriate response to possible threats. The issues of ecological modernization are key on the agenda of the EU, which seeks to demonstrate leadership in addressing it. Ecological modernization and the subsequent digitalization of the economic sphere are considered one of the most important components of sustainable development of the EU and each member state. These processes and mechanisms for their practical implementation are approved in the program The European Green Deal. The European Commission created the Recovery and Resilience Facility, which provides for the coordination of efforts of EU member states to ensure resilience and sustainability of development. The subject of the study is the content and characteristics of sustainable development in Estonia. The purpose of the scientific exploration is to identify environmental aspects and to specify mechanisms for sustainable development in Estonia. Research methodology: systematic approach, methods of analysis and generalization. Estonia has developed a long-term strategy "Estonia 2035", which defines the basic principles of sustainability and sustainable development of the state. The tools for implementing the set sustainable development goals are legislative, managerial, educational and awareness-raising. In this strategy, the priorities of sustainable development of the state are innovation and sustainability of the economy, its competitiveness in world markets, energy efficiency, digitalization of management processes, safe environment for citizens, stimulating their activity in different spheres of society. Environmental issues are a key aspect of the "Estonia 2035" strategy, which meets such sustainable development goals as rational consumption, sustainable cities and communities, combating climate change, and preserving the ecosystem. A recovery and sustainability plan, correlated with the "Estonia 2035" strategy, was presented to enhance the ability to implement the basic principles of sustainable development and obtain additional sources of funding. Estonian officials are actively engaging financial and political mechanisms to implement sustainable development. According to the plan approved by the European Commission, Estonia will receive 969.3 million euros in funding from the Recovery and Resilience Facility. They will be distributed along the following lines: ecological modernization, digitalization, economic and social sustainability. In addition, political mechanisms, in particular public diplomacy, are actively used. They are aimed at positioning environmental initiatives according to the state branding strategy and intensifying cooperation with stakeholders in the implementation of international environmental projects. Research results: sustainability and resilience of Estonia's development correlate with the need to implement environmental modernization of the economy and digitalization of management processes; implementation of the "Estonia 2035" strategy, national recovery and sustainability plan is facilitated by economic and political decision-making mechanisms at the supranational and national levels of government.

The role of Swedish forests in climate change mitigation – A frame analysis of conflicting interests

Forests are assumed to play a significant role in relation to climate change mitigation. However, previous studies show that actor groups' perspectives vary regarding how to best utilize forests. This paper focuses on exploring frames in recent Swedish forest- and climate politics and to what extent they may form the basis for conflict resolution or contribute to perpetuate conflicts among actors. The analysis of recent forest- and climate policies, and actor groups' positioning on the issues, builds upon the pathways to sustainability approach in combination with frame analysis. The results showed that ideas based on “Ecological Modernisation” dominated within the forest-climate nexus, but also a clear presence of alternative frames promoting “Sustainable Development”. As a result, conflicting frames were identified within the policies on how to reach policy targets - stressing both the importance of consensus and neutral dialogue with actors, while concurrently prioritizing an economic perspective.

The influence of green manufacturing practices on the corporate sustainable performance of SMEs under the effect of green organizational culture: A moderated mediation analysis

Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm and the ecological modernization theory (EMT), the current study examines the mediating effect of green innovation (GI) between green manufacturing practices (GMP) and corporate sustainable performance (CSP). In addition, it investigates the moderating effect of green organizational culture (GOC) on the relationship between GMP and GI. To test the hypothesized model, the data was collected from 328 Saudi manufacturing SMEs and analyzed using the hierarchical regression analysis in SPSS. The empirical results confirmed the effect of GMP on GI, which in turn, has an effect on CSP. The results also confirmed the positive effect of GMP on CSP through GI, which is enhanced by the presence of GOC. Thus, this study expands our understanding of the GMP-CSP relationship, its potential mechanism, and its conditional effect. This study has valuable contributions to the sustainability and green literature, and it has managerial implications for firms seeking to develop effective sustainable performance.

Testing non-linear effect of urbanization on environmental degradation: Cross-country evidence

The contribution of structural transformation and urban development is considered crucial for the long run socio-economic growth but has adversely affected environmental sustainability over last few decades. This empirical research makes an innovative and holistic addition to the prior literature by examining the non-linear effect of economic growth and urban dynamics on environmental degradation in a comprehensive panel data of 66 countries and across respective income groups for the period 1990–2016. For empirical analysis, the robust econometric methods of two-way fixed effects (2W-FE), panel fully modified ordinary least squares (PFMOLS), and Driscoll-Kraay regressions have been applied to account for all econometric issues. The study unveils the bell-shaped effect of economic growth on environmental degradation which confirms the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) and structural change hypotheses. The results of this study signifies the inverted U influence of urbanization and urban agglomerations on CO2 emissions and hence supports Ecological Modernization Theory (EMT). Our empirical findings also unfold the heterogeneous non-linear effects of urban dynamics across various income categories of selected economies. By employing the heterogeneous Dumitrescu and Hurlin (D-H) (Granger non-causality tests), the findings of this study confirm the prior estimations and establish significant unilateral and bilateral causal nexus of structural change and urban dynamics with environmental degradation. By verifying the existence of Environmental Kuznets Curve phenomenon in Low and Lower Middle Income (LLMI) and Upper Middle Income (UMI) group countries, this study necessitates for the policy makers to adopt the eco-friendly industrial and energy policies for the long run social, economic and environmental sustainability.