Governing Innovation for Sustainable Development
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Governing Innovation for Sustainable Development: Integration of environmental and innovation policies in Norway Olav Mosvold Larsen Cand. polit Thesis Department of Political Science UNIVERSITY OF OSLO March 7, 2005 2 3 Preface Finally completing this thesis marks the end of a long and winding journey. During fall 2001 I started writing a thesis on policy instruments promoting environmental disclosure in companies’ financial annual reports as a means for achieving sustainable development. One year later I got “an offer I could not refuse”: I was asked to take a full time position as research assistant on ProSus’ CondEcol project (Exploring the Conditions for Adapting Existing Techno-industrial Processes to Ecological Premises). The downside was that I had to scrap my half finished thesis on environmental disclosure and study issues related to innovation and sustainable development instead. The thesis has been written under the research programme ProSus (Programme for Research and Documentation for a Sustainable Society) at Centre for Environment and Development (SUM) and is based on and influenced by work I did as a research assistant for the Norwegian contribution to the OECD-sponsored research project “Monitoring and Implementing Horizontal Innovation Policy” (MONIT). Besides providing me with excellent office facilities, ProSus has offered enthusiastic and supportive colleagues. My supervisor Audun Ruud has shoved remarkable and enduring enthusiasm and patience throughout the process. Together with ProSus’ director, William M. Lafferty, he has given constructive feedback and sound scientific advice and inspired me to get going when the going got tough. Quite frankly I believe that without their support this thesis would not have been completed. Last but not least my adorable wife Cathrine and my daughter Maria deserves gratitude for their support in the process and a home to return to. Thanks also to the rest of my family for life long support, baby-sitting and Sunday dinners. Oslo, March 2005 4 Content PREFACE............................................................................................................................................................ 3 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS .......................................................................................... 6 LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES.................................................................................................................. 8 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................... 9 1.1 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ......................................................................................................................... 10 1.2 INITIAL DEFINITIONS AND ANALYTICAL CLARIFICATIONS ..................................................................... 14 1.3 OUTLINE OF THE THESIS ....................................................................................................................... 16 2. METHOD AND DATA.......................................................................................................................... 18 2.1 PUBLIC POLICY AND PROGRAM EVALUATION........................................................................................ 18 2.2 METHOD: CASE STUDY ......................................................................................................................... 22 2.3 SOURCES .............................................................................................................................................. 23 2.4 VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY ................................................................................................................. 25 3. THEORETICAL APPROACH............................................................................................................. 27 3.1 THE MANDATE FOR EPI FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT .................................................................. 28 3.1.1 The policy mandate of EPI within the UN................................................................................. 29 3.1.2 The policy mandate of EPI within the EU................................................................................. 30 3.1.3 The policy mandate of EPI in Norway ...................................................................................... 32 3.2 CONCEPTUALIZING EPI ........................................................................................................................ 33 3.3 EPI BENCHMARKS ................................................................................................................................35 3.4 TRADE OFFS BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL AND “OTHER” CONCERNS IN THE EPI DEBATE ...................... 39 3.5 INTEGRATING WHAT INTO WHAT? – A CLARIFICATION.......................................................................... 44 4. CONCEPTUALIZING INNOVATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT......................... 47 4.1 INNOVATION......................................................................................................................................... 47 4.2 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND THE ROLE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ...................................... 50 4.3 DECOUPLING – AN OECD APPROACH................................................................................................... 51 4.4 ECO-EFFICIENCY – THE WBCSD APPROACH ........................................................................................ 53 4.5 HOW CAN INNOVATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT BE CONZEPTUALIZED?................................ 55 4.5.1 Environmental innovation......................................................................................................... 56 4.5.2 Ecological communalism ..........................................................................................................58 4.5.3 Ecological modernization ......................................................................................................... 58 4.5.4 Innovation for sustainable development ................................................................................... 59 4.6 CONCLUDING REMARKS ....................................................................................................................... 60 5 5. INTEGRATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND INNOVATION POLICIES IN NORWAY – EMPIRICAL BACKGROUND....................................................................................................................... 62 5.1 A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO NORWEGIAN ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS................................................... 63 5.2 ENVIRONMENTAL AND INNOVATION POLICY INTEGRATION: THE HORIZONTAL DIMENSION .................. 65 5.2.1 The National Strategy and Action Plan for Sustainable Development..................................... 66 5.2.2 MoTI: Innovation policy and environment ............................................................................... 68 5.2.3 MoPE: Petroleum and energy policy and the role of green innovation ................................... 71 5.2.4 MoE: Environmental policy and innovation............................................................................. 75 5.2.5 Cross-sectoral initiatives .......................................................................................................... 78 5.2.6 Concluding remarks on horizontal policy integration for green innovation ............................ 84 5.3 ENVIRONMENTAL AND INNOVATION POLICY INTEGRATION: THE VERTICAL DIMENSION....................... 85 5.3.1 Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI)..................................................................................... 86 5.3.2 Ministry of Petroleum and Energy (MoPE).............................................................................. 92 5.3.3 Ministry of Environment (MoE).............................................................................................. 100 5.3.4 Concluding remarks on vertical policy integration for green innovation .............................. 104 6. HOW AND TO WHAT EXTENT ARE NORWEGIAN ENVIRONMENTAL AND INNOVATION POLICIES INTEGRATED? .............................................................................................. 105 6.1 HEPI.................................................................................................................................................. 106 6.2 VEPI.................................................................................................................................................. 108 6.3 DISCUSSION ....................................................................................................................................... 112 6.4 CONCLUDING REMARKS ..................................................................................................................... 115 7. TO WHAT EXTENT DO NORWEGIAN INNOVATION POLICIES CONTRIBUTE TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT?............................................................................................................ 117 8. HOW CAN INNOVATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT BE CONCEPTUALIZED AND GOVERNED? ....................................................................................................................................... 122 8.1 MY FINDINGS ..................................................................................................................................... 122 8.2 AN INNOVATION POLICY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ..............................................................