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Ecological modernization — origins, dilemmas and

future directions
a b
Mikael Skou Andersen & Ilmo Massa
a
Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, Århus, Denmark
b
Department of Social Policy, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Published online: 18 Jun 2010.

To cite this article: Mikael Skou Andersen & Ilmo Massa (2000) Ecological modernization — origins, dilemmas and future
directions, Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, 2:4, 337-345, DOI: 10.1080/714852820

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 Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning
J. Environ. Policy Plann. 2: 337 – 345 (2000)

Ecological Modernization — Origins, Dilemmas and

Future Directions
MIKAEL SKOU ANDERSENa,* AND ILMO MASSAb
a
Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, Århus, Denmark
b
Department of Social Policy, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

ABSTRACT Several of the preceding contributions to this special issue have raised critical comments and questions on
the concept and research agenda of ecological modernization. It is our impression that these comments not only reflect
academic ingenuity, but also a broader and growing hesitation about the concept and its usefulness, as similar scepticism
was also expressed by participants at the international workshop on ecological modernization in Helsinki. As the term
ecological modernization has grown popular among leading politicians and policy-makers, so has the dilution of it. In this
paper, we make an attempt to move away from the purely heuristic use of ecological modernization, by clarifying both its
origins and meanings. For connoisseurs of the concept, our paper may be seen as a recapitulation, rather than as an
innovation; our mission is not to reinvent a concept, but to clarify its origins and connected dilemmas. In essence, ecological
modernization refers to a specific type of foresighted and preventive environmental policy, which is closely related to the
precautionary principle and, therefore, involves long-term structural change of the patterns of production and consumption.
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The agenda for ecological modernization, and for an associated ecological tax reform, was promoted by scientists outside
of the economics profession, but helped breathe new life into the dormant discipline of environmental economics. In recent
years, much of the debate on the opportunities of ecological modernization have been ‘captured’ by economists, who tend
to perceive it in the vein of conventional efficiency measures. In view of the serious environmental problems facing the global
community in the 21st century, ecological modernization as a concept, in our opinion, only makes sense if reserved for a
reference to more radical structural changes that promote ecological consistency rather than ordinary efficiency. Copyright
© 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Key words: ecological modernization; origins; economics; ecological tax reform

Introduction cal efficiency’ (Jänicke, 1988, p. 23, our emphasis).

The zero-sum game perception of environment
The concept of ecological modernization was versus economic growth was replaced by a per-
spective of the possible harmonization of indus-
developed during the ‘optimistic’ period of envi-
try with ecology.
ronmental policy-making in the 1980s, in re-
The concept of ecological modernization im-
sponse to the failures of the old pollution plies that it is possible, through the develop-
control policies of the 1960s and 1970s. It ment of new and integrated technologies, to
emerged from the German environmental de- reduce the consumption of raw materials, as
bate and was closely related to the classical well as the emissions of various pollutants, while
virtues there, such as Vorsorge (prevention rather at the same time creating innovative and com-
than cure) and Vorsprung durch Technik (advance- petitive products. Hence, it is an optimistic
ment through technology). The concept of eco- message; a message that has an impact on the
logical modernization managed to merge the existing institutions, and as such, should be
concerns for ecology and employment into a expected to bring about structural adjustments
powerful message about the assets of innovation and changes in production and consumption.
as ‘The strategy of ecological modernization aims at the Although the conceptual debate on ecological
same time for the improvement of ecological and economi- modernization has primarily been an academic
* Correspondence to: Department of Political Science, Aarhus
one, it has indeed had a number of policy
University, Universitetsparken bygn. 331, DK-8000 Århus C, ramifications, like environmental management
Denmark. Tel: +45 8942 1133; fax: + 45 8613 9839; e-mail: systems, green accounting and cleaner technol-
andersen@ps.au.dk ogy development.
Received 2 February 2000
Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Revised 3 October 2000
Accepted 4 October 2000
 338 M.S. Andersen and I. Massa

A question raised concerns the fit between the ecological modernization in the recent literature
ecological modernization strategy and the serious (cf Hajer, 1995; Mol, 1995), but as they do not
environmental problems facing the 21st century. explain the origins of the concept, we will do so
Compared with global warming, overpopulation briefly.
and increased entropy, the concerns of the 1980s The term ökologische Modernisierung was coined in
with air pollution, sewage and waste management the 1980s by two political scientists, Huber
may seem rather trivial now. The ecological (1982, 1985) and Jänicke (1984, 1988), who used
modernization strategy was fostered in a period it to refer to a more foresighted and preventive
when the limits to growth perspective had been type of environmental policy, in line with
discarded, and long before the International what was seen as necessary in the 1980s post-
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) had warned Waldsterben debate. While Huber and Jänicke
against and substantiated the risks of global introduced the term around 1982–1983, there
warming. Therefore, the ecological moderniza- were also other propagators of the concept.
tion rhetoric has, unfortunately, at times devel- Brunowsky & Wicke (1984) outlined a compre-
oped into a joyful fairy tale of low-hanging £10 hensive O8 ko-plan, the philosophy of which was to
notes and, in terms of research, into an undue promote a new Wirtschaftswunder through a fore-
preoccupation with company innovations only at sighted and preventive environmental policy.
the margin of traditional production practices. Although they did not explicitly speak of ‘ecolog-
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While the concept of ecological moderniza- ical modernization’, the rationale for such a
tion was inspired, to some extent, by environ- policy can easily be detected in their book
mental economics (Wicke, 1982), its optimistic (Brunowsky & Wicke, 1984).1 Frequent refer-
message has also posed formidable challenges to ences were made in the German debate to the
economists in clarifying whether the implied spectacular Japanese experiences in air-pollution
double dividend of a more foresighted and pre- control, where taxes on SO2 had spurred not only
ventive environmental policy can be realized. In technological development of flue gas scrubbers,
other words, as the canary was out of the cage, but also far-reaching changes in energy consump-
the neoclassical economists were prompted to tion and supply, something that gave Japan a
capture it again. However, we argue here that the competitive lead in air-pollution control (Weid-
concept of ecological modernization in fact be- ner, 1986; Nishimura, 1989).2 The vision that
longs to a regulatory philosophy, which is at emerged was one of not only growth of
odds with the conventional paradigm of neoclas- a considerable environmental industry, but
sical environmental economics. In order to also far-reaching structural change in industrial
analyse the validity of the concept, we find it society.
more fruitful to move on to the results of more The concept of ecological modernization is
technology-oriented studies. We find it crucial to deeply rooted in the principles of a preventive
draw a distinction between simple neoclassical environmental policy and a social market econ-
efficiency measures and a more structure- omy. It seems to be significant that Jänicke
oriented modernization of industrial society on (1988) established ecological modernization as
an ecological basis. Ecological modernization is the operational component of the vorsorge Prinzip,
not about efficiency, but rather, as Joseph Huber also known as the precautionary principle.
has argued in this Special Issue, about ecological The principle of preventive and precautionary
consistency between material flows, resource use action (Vorsorge) was first enshrined in the
and consumption. 1971 FRG Environmental Action Programme,
and it is defined as an approach to environmen-
tal protection that is foresighted and long-term
The conceptual origins of ecological oriented, by steering the development away
modernization from production processes that are environ-
mentally problematic. The main tools in this
Both Langhelle and Seippel in this Special Issue process are science and technological innova-
have analysed the different interpretations of tion. While science is used to detect possible

Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Environ. Policy Plann. 2: 337–345 (2000)
 Origins, Dilemmas and Future Directions 339

dangers, technological innovation is the tool to tion and state subsidies for research and devel-
develop alternative paths of development. The opment. It is a kind of green Keynesianism
precautionary approach acknowledges that, (Boehmer-Christiansen, 1994).3 However, the
while scientific proof can be provided only with ecological modernization strategy also relies on
great difficulty and delay to justify regulations new strategies and initiatives from within busi-
against toxic or harmful emissions, reasonable nesses. The joint emphasis on new technologi-
doubts about the environmental effects of cer- cal paths, business responsibility and the
tain processes or products justify the search for abstention from narrow cost–benefit calculi is
alternative approaches to provision of the goods neatly captured in the following:
or services in question. This is where technolog-
However significant a narrow cost-management
ical innovation and the use of science—that is, may be, it is in itself not likely to be a successful
ecological modernization per se—becomes perti- strategy for the future. The key to the future is
nent. rather: innovation, technical progress and qualifi-
In 1984, the precautionary approach was de- cations. For that purpose we need humans, who
fined officially as one in which ‘damages done dare to do something new and who have visions
to the natural world (which surrounds us all) for the future . . . Researchers and inventors must
should be avoided in advance and in accordance obtain more influence on the top floors of busi-
with opportunity and possibility. The precau- ness. After the era of cost calculators and effi-
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tionary principle further means the early detec- ciency experts, we now again need a decade of
tion of dangers to health and environment by technicians and engineers’. (Lafontaine, 1996)
comprehensive, synchronised research, in par- To which extent this also corresponds with
ticular about cause and effect relation- political and economic realities is, of course,
ships . . . it also means acting when conclu- quite a different story, but that is very much
sively ascertained understanding by science is what ecological modernization should be about.
not yet available. Precaution means to develop,
in all sectors of the economy, technological
processes that significantly reduce environmen- The economic debate
tal burdens, especially those brought about
by the introduction of harmful substances’ The ecological modernization concept managed
(BMI, 1984; Boehmer-Christiansen, 1994). to put an imprint on the European Commission
Ecological modernization is the operational White Paper on economic growth, competitive-
component of the precautionary principle, but ness and employment, which gave support to
seems also to imply that this development can the thesis of a ‘double dividend’ (environment
take place in a way that is economically benefi- and employment) from strict and advanced en-
cial to society as a whole. However, the precau- vironmental policies, in particular by lowering
tionary principle is in many ways at odds with taxes on income and increasing them on envi-
the efficiency perspective of environmental eco- ronment and natural resources (CEC, 1993).
nomics, because reliance on scientific indica- From this point onwards, the ecological mod-
tions rather than scientific facts impairs the ernization strategy moved into the political
desired quantification of environmental risks realm and gradually influenced thinking about
and costings. The implication must, therefore, the relationship between economic develop-
be that the harmonization of economic and ment, employment issues and pollution control
ecological objectives is one that appears only in across Europe. A set of new keywords were
the longer term, when the precautionary ap- attached to the ecological modernization
proach has led to a new development path that paradigm; apart from ‘double dividend’ also
is less environmentally destructive. ‘win–win’ solutions and ‘no-regret’ measures.4
We may note that the promotion of ecologi- Ecological modernization gradually attained a
cal modernization relies on the well-known degree of societal consensus, at least in coun-
principles of the social market economy (cf. tries such as Sweden, Denmark and Germany
Ludwig Erhardt) on active government interven- (Lundqvist, 2000). Do we need an ecological

Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Environ. Policy Plann. 2: 337–345 (2000)
 340 M.S. Andersen and I. Massa

modernization of industrial society, asked, for no costs, or with positive effects to the econ-
example, the President of the German Associa- omy. Goulder contends that it is necessary to
tion of Engineers in an address to his members, estimate the size of the environmental benefits
and gave the answer: ‘There is hardly anyone too, in order to judge whether the overall tax
who doubts the necessity of this issue, the shift can be carried out with a positive effect for
question only is how’ (Burckhardt, 1996, p. 8). the economy. One cannot claim that the tax
Much of the political and economic debate shift itself is of positive value for the economy.
has tended to focus on the virtues of an ecolog- Hence, we are back to the usual cost–benefit
ical tax reform as a key instrument for eco- analysis of environmental policy.
logical modernization. Like the ecological However, the results that lead to a rejection
modernization concept, the notion of ecotax of the strong double-dividend stem, unsurpris-
reform was, in fact, also conceived by non- ingly, from economic models with extremely
economists (Springmann, 1986; Weizsäcker, simplified assumptions. General equilibrium
1990; Weizsäcker & Jesinghaus, 1992). It advo- models are, in principle, able to assess the
cated a tax shift from conventional income taxes dynamic effects on the economy, but the
on labour towards Pigouvian taxes on pollution parameters of the models are often rather crude.
and natural resources, such as fossil fuels, as part Ekins (1997) reviews a number of economic
of an overall ecological tax reform. As McCoy studies that have shown more positive effects. A
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(1997) has pointed out, economists were lag- report commissioned by the European Commis-
ging behind in the debate on these new ideas. sion showed a substantial employment effect
While policy-makers were quick to accept the from a European carbon tax, 1.1–2.2 million
idea of an ecotax shift after the White Paper jobs and a contribution to GDP of about 1%
(CEC, 1993), many neoclassical economists (CEC, 1994, p. 53). Much work has focused
were outright sceptical.5
on substituting distortionary taxes. Majocchi
The ecological modernization imperative is
(1994) suggests that the targeting of revenue
essentially macro-economic in nature, whereas
recycling to offset lower income groups could
conventional environmental economics is a
produce significant employment effects, in the
micro-economic discipline dealing with effi-
ciency. The utilitarian approach of environmen- magnitude of 2–3%. Barker has developed a
tal economics requires that natural resources and comprehensive macro-economic model that also
environmental externalities are properly priced, forecasts more positive effects (Barker & Köhler,
so that market actors will take account of their 1998). It should be added, though, that in
values in their transactions. However, before the countries such as Sweden and the Netherlands,
mid-1990s, little analytical work had actually where government-appointed commissions have
been done on the macro-economic implications been established to model the possible divi-
of ecotaxes on, for example, employment. dends from environmental taxation, the results
Goulder (1994) was among the first to ex- have generally not provided support for the
press profound scepticism about double divi- hypothesis. These results may have as much to
dend. Since the bulk of eco-tax-reform do with the limitations of economic models as
proposals rely on taxation of fossil energy, in with the potential results of ecological tax re-
particular of their carbon emissions, Goulder forms or processes of ecological modernization.
speculates as to whether the reason for the focus The problem with most of the models is that
on double dividend is the absence of a first they are hardly able to take account of techno-
dividend (he stipulates that unilateral carbon logical change. And technological change is
taxes will not bring domestic environmental exactly what ecological modernization is
benefits). Goulder (1994) rejects the notion of a about. Much of the research on the double
double dividend, except in a rather weak form. dividend from ecological modernization takes
According to the strong double-dividend hy- place on the premises that no technological
pothesis, an exchange of distortional labour change is induced, and that environmental taxes
taxes with Pigouvian taxes can be carried out at are added simply to existing prices, where, not

Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Environ. Policy Plann. 2: 337–345 (2000)
 Origins, Dilemmas and Future Directions 341

surprisingly, they affect demand and supply and presents quantitative evidence for a range of
impose a burden on the existing unsustainable industrial sectors for an entire country.
economy. One of the theoretical models that The study concerns the Danish government’s
Goulder refers to is so simple that not even subsidy programme to promote the develop-
capital is represented, it includes merely labour ment and application of cleaner technologies,
and three commodities. Depending on the so- which has been a central vehicle for Danish
phistication of the models, the mis-specification environmental policy for about a decade (An-
of the technological dimension may lead to a dersen, 1994; Andersen & Jørgensen, 1995). The
gross mis-specification of the potentials in- Danish Environmental Protection Act has the
volved. Despite efforts to improve economic development and application of cleaner tech-
modelling, the main problem with much of the nology as one of its general targets. The
economic analysis, as pointed out very early by Programme for Cleaner Technology was
Zimmermann (1990), is that it does not capture established in 1987, and allowed skilful engi-
the essential idea of ecological modernization neers and inventors to enter into intimate coop-
well, in that it assesses the costs and benefits eration with process engineers from a broad
only in the initial period, neglecting the long- range of companies in a systematic and reflec-
term qualitative changes in the economy that tive process to develop cleaner technologies.
could develop under the umbrella of an eco- Conceptually, cleaner technology refers to mea-
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modernization strategy in association with a tax sures for pollution control, which are oriented
shift. towards control at the source, rather than end-
An ecological tax reform can be translated of-pipe measures. The study of the programme
into economic models because it alters prices, was based on a review of more than 300
but ecological modernization is more than a tax projects conducted over a 5-year period, and it
shift — it comprises practices, know-how and
included an assessment of the diffusion of
routines in a wider human, social and technical
cleaner technology and the total environmental
space.
effects. The study was conducted with full ac-
cess to all documents and information, and by
an independent team of researchers.
Technological developments — The programme has especially tried to pro-
the limits of the neoclassical mote cleaner technologies in industrial sectors
efficiency perspective on ecological dominated by small and medium-sized firms,
modernization such as the fish processing industry, the wood
and furniture industry, the graphic industry and
Which other methodologies and types of evi- the electro-plating industry, but also farming
dence, other than the economic models, do we practices have become subject to cleaner tech-
have that explore the virtues of ecological mod- nologies. Projects have been financed by the
ernization? Much of the literature is case-study Danish government under the condition of a
oriented, depicting particular industries or com- substantial self-financing element. The pro-
panies, with primarily anecdotal and qualitative gramme is seen to have caused a partial change
evidence. There have been no reviews of this in the practice of the Environmental Protection
literature, and we are not in a position that Agency (EPA). Previously the EPA diverted
allows us to present one here. Rather, we will many resources into the handling of complaints
rely on one systematic and quantitatively-ori- over discharge permits granted by local authori-
ented study, which researched one of the more ties, and had a legalistic going-by-the-book atti-
comprehensive efforts towards promoting eco- tude to environmental protection. During this
logical modernization across a rather broad programme, the officials entered into a direct
horizon of production processes, firms and in- dialogue with companies, consultants and ex-
dustrial sectors. Contrary to much of the case- perts in various industrial branches on how to
study literature on eco-management, this study improve the environmental performance.

Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Environ. Policy Plann. 2: 337–345 (2000)
 342 M.S. Andersen and I. Massa

The cleaner projects ranged from good lution, in the neoclassical sense, falls short of
housekeeping practices to improved material the imperatives of ecological modernization. If
and energy efficiency to substitution of products improved environmental practices merely pro-
and processes with innovative and less adverse mote increased efficiency in the use of materi-
alternatives. The effects were tracked through als, and energy in order to diminish unwanted
an extensive survey of the diffusion of cleaner outputs and residuals, it is likely to become
technologies from the supported projects to the efficient only at the margins of already estab-
entire industrial sectors of relevance, based on a lished production process practices. Although
survey of more than 600 companies, or nearly some of the early publications on ecological
10% of Denmark’s industrial base. Six key in- modernization could lead one to equate it with
dustrial sectors were targeted in this process. such an efficiency revolution, these interpreta-
On the environmental side, the interesting tions underscore how intimately the concept is
finding was that most of the good housekeeping linked to approaches of prevention and precau-
and efficiency measures, despite impressive rates tion in environmental policy—that is, the long-
of diffusion, had been offset by increases in term oriented effort to promote other paths of
production. For example, despite substantial per development. The significance of structural
unit reductions in organic pollution in various change becomes perhaps even more clear when
food-processing industries, the end-result was we consider some of the more serious environ-
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that water consumption and organic pollution mental problems facing the world, such as the
was unchanged; only the fish-processing indus- enhanced greenhouse effect.
try had achieved a modest reduction in CO2
emissions, although it had been a major target
of the subsidy programme. From simple to serious problems
By contrast, more promising and lasting re-
sults were attained where more radical substitu-
The neoclassical efficiency perspective on natu-
tions and technology innovations had taken
ral and environmental resources tends to neglect
place. For example, in the wood and furniture
the wider systemic limits to economic growth.
industry, volatile organic compound (VOC)
Recent innovative contributions to environmen-
emissions were eliminated, thanks to the devel-
opment of complete substitutes to conventional tal economics, for instance, from ecological
production technology. The modernization of economists and of a more interdisciplinary na-
production that followed with the innovative ture, have served to highlight these limits. The
machinery also improved the work environ- concept of ecological utilization space, as devel-
ment. In addition, it provided an additional oped by Opschoor & Weterings (1994), under-
dividend to the manufacturers due to enhanced lines the delicate interplay between the present
labour productivity. The improved labour pro- use of the environment and the possible result-
ductivity was created through a revolution in ing decrease in future consumption and utility
the entire work process, based on a world opportunities. In particular, the use of non-
patent on lacquering that was soon to be renewable resources exhausts the resource base
adopted by the leading international manufac- and demands careful consideration over the pos-
turers in this sector. A similar, although less sible transformation into other and more lasting
spectacular, pattern was found in other indus- types of capital (Pearce et al., 1989). Population
tries, such as the graphic industry, where water- growth (from 6 to 11 billion in the 21st century
based inks replaced the conventional types. according to UN forecasts) is another crucial
There is some disagreement in the literature factor that affects the scarcity and pressure on
on ecological modernization as to whether it, environmental and natural resources.
by definition, involves structural changes. How- Consider, for example, the emissions of
ever, the results of the Danish programme lead greenhouse gases, particularly CO2. Present car-
us to suggest (along with other contributions to bon emissions are estimated to be in the mag-
this Special Issue) that a simple efficiency revo- nitude of 6–7 giga-tons per year, while the

Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Environ. Policy Plann. 2: 337–345 (2000)
 Origins, Dilemmas and Future Directions 343

assimilative capacity of the natural environment the Club of Rome had ended. We think that the
is in the magnitude of just 3 giga-tons per year time has come to rearticulate and clarify the
(Houghton, 1997). As a result, a build-up of meaning of ecological modernization. Several of
CO2 takes place in the atmosphere. Its concen- the contributions to this Special Issue venture
tration has increased from 270 ppm in pre- into such clarification. There has been an unfor-
industrial times to about 360 ppm at the tunate ambiguity in much of the existing litera-
present. According to the projections of the ture, which has made it commonplace to
World Energy Council, annual CO2 emissions consider ecological modernization simply as a
will, as a result of economic and population form of production rationalization. Although
growth and in a business-as-usual scenario, more the contributions here do not end the discus-
than double before the end of the 21st century, sion, we think that the emphasis on structural
corresponding to a CO2 concentration of about change and consistency is pertinent.
650 ppm. The IPCC warns that as a result of Once such an emphasis is accepted as the
such a concentration, the global mean tempera- proper starting point for ecological moderniza-
ture can be expected to increase by 1.2–4.5 tion, it becomes necessary to reflect more care-
degrees centigrade before the end of the cen- fully on the role of the state. Much of the
tury (ibid., p. 92). Although many uncertainties literature on ecological modernization seems to
still envelop the issue of climate change with suggest that there are win–win solutions and
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the speed of global warming and its specific low-hanging £10 notes, which will make busi-
consequences, the basics referred to here remain nesses and industries venture on an ecological
fairly well understood. modernization path of their own. Although sev-
The accumulation of CO2 is primarily a con- eral such examples have indeed been provided,
sequence of unprecedented burning of fossil we are reluctant to accept the premise that a
fuels. Even business-as-usual scenarios assume a far-reaching eco-modernization will come about
certain annual level of energy efficiency im- merely as a result of new insights in business
provement (Houghton, 1997, p. 193). Clearly, board rooms. One does not have to subscribe to
efficiency at an improved level is only a neces- neoclassical views to contend that the gains of
sary, but far from sufficient, measure to cut CO2 environmental management fall short of the
emissions to a sustainable level. The climate imperatives of the challenges of the more seri-
change problem is a particularly difficult prob- ous environmental problems.
lem, not only because of its global nature, but In this paper, we have tried to underline the
also owing to its intricate connection with the inherent conceptual linkage between ecological
dynamics of population growth and because of modernization and the precautionary principle,
the timelags involved. The inherent dynamics of and the latter principle suggests, in fact, that the
economic and population growth imply that state has a rather significant role to play for
most energy-efficiency gains are likely to be establishing the pathways towards ecological
offset by growth and population-breeding fac- modernization. A truly precautionary approach
tors. At the same time, there is time pressure requires the identification of different and inno-
owing to the gradual accumulation of excess vative technologies, that substitute materials and
emissions in the atmosphere as time passes with- processes in unprecedented ways. Unfortu-
out sufficient action being taken. nately, the role of the state so far has been more
or less neglected in the ecological moderniza-
tion literature, although, implicitly, the need for
intervention has long been recognized. For ex-
Outlook and future prospects for ample, the use of price signals—that is, by
ecological modernization means of ecotax reform—with the purpose of
promoting a new path of development, requires
The concept of ecological modernization was state intervention. Also, implementation of the
formed well before problems of climate change precautionary principle relies heavily on science
were conceptualized and well after the alert of and technological development; and even

Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Environ. Policy Plann. 2: 337–345 (2000)
 344 M.S. Andersen and I. Massa

though the state is not the only relevant actor, 4. Although the strategy indeed was derived from
it is hard to see how the necessary promotion several different sources (such as the Brundtland
and support can be established without a role report), Delors and members of his think-tank,
played by the public authorities. Cellule de Prospective, have, in interviews, quoted
certain German intellectuals as their main source
The acknowledgement that an eco-modernist of inspiration for the environmental chapter in
rationalization is unlikely to come about on its their White Paper (Klok, 1999).
own, but will follow only if nurtured through a 5. Neoclassical environmental economists refer to
deliberate and far-sighted intervention policy, ecological modernization as the Porter hypothesis,
seems to suggest the need to confront some of after an article by Porter and the Swiss economist
the neo-liberal rhetoric inherent in the ecologi- Van der Linde, who stipulated employment and
cal modernization literature. ‘Win–win solu- competition advantages from environmental regu-
tions’ and ‘getting the prices right’ do not follow lations (Porter & Van der Linde, 1995).
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