“Green growth”: From a growing eco-industry to economic sustainability

There are many questionable assumptions in the discussion of economic growth. One of them is the idea that governments are able to achieve sustained high growth. Another one is the believe that the solution to pressing financial and social problems centers on higher growth. It is also questionalble, however, to say that giving up on economic growth as a paradigm is the necessary condition to tackle the environmental crisis. In actuality, solving such problems is about radical growth in environmental and resource-saving technologies. It is also about radical “de-growth” in products and processes that undermine long-term living and production conditions. This paper describes some best practice cases of “green growth” and the conceptual generalisations given by the OECD and other established institutions in Europe and Asia. It traces the transformation of the concept of “green growth” and evaluates the strategy that accompanies it.