Debate on recent study on future green markets

The German Federal Environment Agency (UBA) and adelphi assessed the results of the "Future Green Markets" project at a concluding workshop on 7 May. Representatives from research institutes and associations discussed how an environmental and climate compatible economy can be promoted in Germany.

A green transformation of economy and society, the keyword being "Green Economy", is currently the subject of intense discussion. However, much of the time suitable analysis frameworks that enable the recommendation of sensible courses of action are lacking.

On behalf of the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA), the project partners, consisting of adelphi, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants and the Institute of Economic Structures Research (GWS), have analysed and contemplated the question of the environmental impact of green future technologies in the project "Future Green Markets". As a result, concrete suggestions were made for defining an operational framework as well as a politically and economically compatible instrumentation of "green transformation".

These operational recommendations were now the subject of a critical evaluation together with representatives of various research institutes and interest groups during the closing workshop. The participants were all in agreement that the project would make an important contribution to the identification of green future markets, as well as towards defining a suitable framework for analysis. Aside from this, they also pointed out that the intended technology assessment presented important stimulus for an extensive evaluation of future green markets. A particular focal point of the discussion was the friction caused by the intentional, as well as the inadvertent, effects of green technologies during assessment of their environmental impact.

The results of the project will, in the near future, be published as part of a final report that will also take the advice gathered at the workshop into consideration.