Beyond Sustainable Development - Towards Ecological Modernization

1. Theme: Organizer: Venue: June 18, 2015 Beyond Sustainable Development - Towards Ecological Modernization June 18, 2015 Dai-Yeun Jeong Director, Asia Climate Change Education Center, Korea Emeritus Prof. of Environmental Sociology at Jeju National University, Korea

2. Ⅰ. What Happened to Nature after Industrial Revolution in the 18th Century? 1. The Structure of Ecosystem 2. The Mechanism of Nature Being Polluted/Destructed 3. The Implications of Industrialization Ⅱ. Emergence Process of Sustainable Development 1. Neoclassical Economy in the 19th Century 2. Social Science in the 1970s 3. International Organizations in the 1970s 4. WCED and Rio Environment Conference since the 1980s Ⅲ. Controversies on Sustainable Development in the 1990s 1. Uselessness 2. Weak vs. Strong Sustainability 3. Sustainable Society Ⅳ. Emergence of Ecological Modernization in the 2000s 1. Modernization in the 18th Century 2. Ecological Modernization towards the Future Ⅴ. What to Overcome for Ecological Modernization? (Capacity Building) 1. Internal Capacity Building 2. External Capacity Building Contents

3. 1. The Structure of Ecosystem o Mutual dependence (Symbiosis, Competition, Food-chain, etc.) → ecological process o Self-regulating system Ⅰ. What Happened to Nature afterIndustrial Revolution in 18th Century? Solar Energy Abiotic World Biotic World Water, Climate, Wind,Air, Temperature, Soil, etc. Interaction Producers (Plants,Photosynthesis) The First Consumers (Herbivore) Decomposers (Bacteria, etc.) The Second/Third Consumers (Carnivore/Omnivore) Land/Sea

4. 2. The Mechanism of Nature Being Polluted/Destructed Environmental Services (water, air, soil, landscape, etc.) • Nature • (Resour • -ces) Humans (Consum -ption) Contact Pollution Distribution Pollution Goods and Services Resource Extraction Production (Capital and Consumption Goods & Services) Indirect Pollution (leading production output and item, and production mode) Material-source Pollution Processing Pollution Reuse of Wastes Waste Pollution Wastes Waste Pollution Reuse of Wastes

5. 3. The Implications of Industrialization o Industrialization since the 18th century - improved material affluence and convenience in everyday life - but based on the sacrifice of nature → environmental problems (side-effect) → threatening human existence - crisis of environment → resource depletion, original quality of nature being polluted, destruction of self-regulating system → crisis of humans o humans - the beneficiaries and victims of industrialization - committed a self-contradiction o categories of environmental problems - local one: water/soil pollution, etc. - global one: climate change, ozone depletion, acid rain, etc. → globalization of environmental problems o Excess of appropriated carrying capacity (ACC) - limited capacity of resource supply & absorption of wastes - whole earth (2.50 times), South Korea (9.50 times), USA (1.78 times), etc. - not exceeded: Australia, Canada, Argentina, Philippines, etc. o It was the 1960s to recognize the seriousness of environmental problems

6. 1. Neoclassical Economy in the 19th Century o not used the concept, sustainable development o market price should include ecological cost for - saving resources through increase in market price - preventing the nature being polluted Ⅱ. Emergence Process of Sustainable Development

7. 2. Social Science in the 1970s (1) Pessimistic perspective on industrialization o if industrialization is advanced continuously - will be faced with unsustainability in terms of - population, energy, food, pollution, and both physical and psychological health, etc. o we should - be satisfied with current level of affluence and convenience - with no more advance of industrialization (2) Optimistic perspective on industrialization o industrialization should be advanced continuously o the limits of industrialization can be overcome by innovation in - technology - economic development based on re-investment of capital

8. 3. International Organizations in the 1970s (1) The reason for international organizations to have a concern with environmental problems o nature is in a motion on the basis of the Earth as a unit o environmental policy by country is not effective, but global environmental policy would be more effective (2) Basic perspective on industrialization o let's advance industrialization, but in different way o compromising pessimistic and optimistic perspective on industrialization o on the basis of cooperative activity among countries at global level o examples - in the 1970s: Only One Earth - in the early 1980s: Eco-development - but, no action plan

9. 4. WCED and Rio Environment Conferencesince the 1980s (1) WCED (1987) o concept: development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs o added poverty as a component to the two main components - economic development and the natural environment o conceptual framework Economic Development Environmental Deterioration Poverty

10. (2) Rio Environment Conference (1992) o the concept was strengthened as “environmentally sound and sustainable development” o adopted global action plan (Agenda 21) - role by organization (government, civil organization, business enterprise, citizen) - top-down and bottom-up approach - adopting institutional base of international conventions/ domestic policies/international collaborative activities, etc o review and evaluation of achievement - Rio+10, Rio+20 - other activities: global conference on specific issues such as population, food security, disaster, etc.

11. 1. Uselessness o important, but not a concept with any objective and scientific utility o sacrifice of nature is an inevitable part of the process of economic development o so, merely a concept implying different form of industrialized economic development o desirable for economic survival and utility or for a successful economy o there is no such thing as sustainable development, which is a rhetorical and ideological term for those who wish to continue destructive growth o ecological sustainability has more clarity as a concept than sustainable development Ⅲ. Controversies on Sustainable Development in the 1990s

12. 2. Weak vs. Strong Sustainability o categories of resources - human-made capital - natural resource - human capital - social capital o different perspectives on how to use resources - weak sustainability: exchangeable relationship - strong sustainability: supplementary relationship o perspective on sustainable development - strong sustainability: focusing more on economy - weak sustainability: focusing more on nature

13. 3. Sustainable Society o sustainable development - a uni-dimensional concept - considering two factors (economy, environment) o other social-related factors impacting on the sustainability of economy and environment - population growth - technology - human behavior as a cultural ethos - social form, etc. o sustainability of society as a whole - an extended one from sustainable development - a multi-dimensional concept - is the sustainable development of each sector of society within the carrying capacity of nature

14. (1) Modernization in the 18th century o components - politically: democratization - economically: industrialization - socially: urbanization - culturally: individualism o having been advanced with indirect relationship among the components Ⅳ. Emergence of Ecological Modernization in the 2000s

15. (2) Ecological Modernization toward the Future o a new modernization in relation to environment o a multi-dimensional perspective on sustainable development - focusing on ‘what to be sustained’ - including environment, life support, community, people, economy, and society, etc. o criticism on sustainable society - a horizontal perspective on the relationship among environment, economy, and society - no idea for solving the conflict arising from different goal of environmental, economic, and social sectors o towards: “Environmentally sound, humanly desirable”

16. o hierarchic perspective - placing the environment at top as the most crucial value for the society as a whole to be sustainable - for absorbing the goals of economy and society into environment - ecologicalization of all environmental, economic and social sectors - termed super-industrialization

17. o agents and their basic directions for advancing ecological modernization - government: ecologicalization of • government structure • decision-making process • formation of policy - commercial enterprise: green management • saving resource and energy • improving the efficiency of resource and energy use - civil organization: environmental movement • pressure group to government/enterprise • educator to citizens - citizen: environmentally friendly behavior • high environmentalism • with low consumerism

18. 1. Internal Capacity Building o increase in financial capacity o increase opportunity approaching technology o construction of cooperative network with - commercial enterprises: green management - civil organizations: environmental movement - mass media: public advertisement - citizens: environmentally friendly behavior o internal governance system in the process of decision-making o change in current socio-economic system to a new one - economy: production/distribution/market system - citizens: lifestyle (purchase/consumption behavior) - cultural ethos: consumerism → environmentalism1 Ⅴ. What to Overcome for Ecological Modernization? (Capacity Building)

19. 2. External Capacity Building o establishment of cooperative network with other domestic local/central governments and/or overseas countries o sharing mutual understanding on - seriousness of environmental problems - necessity of collaborative response - effectiveness of collaborative response, etc o information exchange - the state of environmental problems - data related to environmental problems - data/information/education program necessary for advancing ecological modernization, etc o collaborative activities - mutual personnel exchange of administrative/professional staffs - collaborative research - holding professional academic conferences on a joint base, etc

20. Many Thanks for Your Listening