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Summary Report
Arne Jernelöv
The seminar was conceptually divided into four parts. Part one dealt with the current development of consumption and production. What are the current trends? Which are the driving forces?
Mika Panzar descnbed the development of consumption pattems m terms if domestication of every day little things and technologies, where driving forces change from preference, calculation and passion desiring, in initial phases to fashion imitation and to lifestyle adapting.
Lars Bern analysed the behaviour of producers based on the concept of "economy of scale" as the predominant driving force. Large scale production and under priced transportation schemes were in his analysis the key factor behind unsustainable production p atterns. Global free-trade, as recently agreed im the GATT Uruguay round, is an environmentally damaing adoption to the requirements of the "economy of scale" ideology ofthe large corporanons.
Arne Jernelöv discussed the concept of sustainable development and sustainable consumption and concluded that currently available technology can not support a global equity material consumption at the current level of OECD countries. Through historic anal yses he also pointed out the difference between sustainable technologies and sustainable development, where the latter may occur also in the absence of the former, provided that new resource bases can be found. With regard to consumption, an environmental load ranking list was presented from a Swedish perspepective with a "bad top five" with regard to individual lifestyles:
- Distant travelling with car or aeroplane.
- Household heating.
- Meat Consumption
- Warm water usage.
- Consumption of clothes and shoes.
The second part of the seminar was devoted to instruments to influence trends.
Staffan Westerlund presented the case of laws and regulations. Against the "jet-stream" of freedom which is the fundamental concept of law in western style democracies, he found it non surprising that most of our environmental problems are the result of perfectly legal actions. As another jet-stream he saw the GATT-treaties with the overriding freedom of trade. These dominating tendencies, he claimed, had in the past and would in the future impose considerable limitations on what national laws and regula tions could do to avoid environmental damage.
Stein Hansen analysed economic instruments and concluded that although they in economic theory were the most cost-effective, they had many of the same difficulties as laws and regulations with regard to appropriateness and timeliness. So far the use of economic instruments in environmental politics is rather limited and the trend during the last years has only been slightly positive.
Michael Skou Andersen presented for the seminar a study on the use of economic imstruments in environmental policy, and concluded that it was a half-hearted affair. He used the “Wilson perceived cost and benefit of regulation" approach to describe why eco nomic instruments tend to be of fiscal benefits rather than environmental. The reason being that in most environmental cases the cost of measures will be concentrated to a few wlile the benefits will be spread to many. The damage functions on the other hand are the reverse. These facts will profoundly effect the behaviour of the involved players. Informative instruments to facilitate for consumers to express their environmental preferences were also discussed in introductor y lectures.
Anders Wigkman talked about the disciplinary blindness promoted by the organisation of education and research as a fundamental problem for solving environmental questions. These can by their nature often transcend disciplines in science and sectors in soc iety.
Ulrika Rasmusen descnbed the work in Sweden with eco-labelling and consumer boycott of products. Her conclusion was optimishc with regard to results obtained and future potential.
Matti Wouri gave a strategic overview of how an action oriented international environmental N.G.O. could work. He identified trans-national corporations and the Bretton Wood institutions as the prime targets to influence, and the mass-media as the pathway for pressure. National governments and institutions were viewed as less significant actors.
The third conceptual part of the seminar dealt wih the practical experience of environmental instruments from the Nordic countries.
Erik Lindegaard concluded from the Danish experience that a combination of different instruments was the key to the solution of many complicated problems where one method alone could not suffice or be politically possible to introduce.
Gustav Teir gave an example from Finland where national determination had made it possible to take an avant-garde position and break the ice for others to follow despite intemational political requests for harmonisation as well as strong commercial pressure.
Atle Fretheim from Norway concluded that administrative instruments - laws and regulations - had resulted in considerable reductions in industrial emissions and the elimination of many environmentally problematic chemicals. From slower progress in areas wthere emissions are diffuse and the sources numerous and different in nature he saw economic instruments as becoming more important in the future.
Stefan Nystrom reviewed the Swedish experience of economic instruments and summmised a rather positve impression so far of the potential of an instrument with a limited use up to now.
Håkan Hydén presented a study made for the seminar on how the Nordic countries had taclkled the problems of spill-oil and nitrogen-oxides and how they succeeded. He came to the conclusion that success in controlling these kinds of pollutants were limited and relative. The approaches used seemed to be only weakly correlated to the outcome. In his recommendation he stressed the need for clearly formulated goals and time targets.
The fourth part, the discussions following, demonstrated a common view on many fundamental issues such as:
- Substantial progress has been made uith regard to emissions from production units through the use of administrative instruments (laws and regulations).
- Energy use patterns and transportation pattems are top priorities for efforts to reach sustainable development.
- Consumption patterns show trends of development and have underlying driving forces that make them difficult to influence through administrative instruments.
- Economic instruments are difficult to get in place and to render environmentally effective due to the distribution of costs (concentrated) and benefits (spread).
- Once in place economic instruments are frequently, very effective.
- Informative instruments, like eco-labelling, have been successful and have an interesting potential. In these matters, as with propaganda aiming, at changing value systems, the commercial sector with it's formidable economic resources and marketing s kills may turn out to be an unbeatable opponent - if it can not be converted into an allie.
- A combination of instruments may both from a principle and from a pragmatic point of view, be more useful than any single one of them.
However, there were also several fundamental differences expressed in the discussions:
- The very need for a change in consumption patterns was put in question uith the ar gurnent that more resource economic production methods (with a factor often or more) were already available or close at hand, and that the "environmental space" thus wo
uld suffice for the global population to share the material wealth ofthe OECD countries.
- GATT and the concept of global free trade was seen both as an environmental curse and blessing.
- The force and determination of legislation for protection of the environment was argued to be far better than it was descnbed to be in the introductory lectures.
- International dependence - specially in an EU context - was viewed both as hand ning for avant-garde initiatives and as a prerequisite for effective action.
- The role and importance of national governments vis-a-vis international corporations and institutions to promote environmental goals was debated with clear differences in emphases.
- The role of science and scientists in relation to practical enforcement and legal implementation was discussed with different emphasis on helpful provider of knowledge vis-a-vi critical teller of truth.