Efficiency, sufficiency and consistency in sustainable development: Reassessing strategies for reaching overarching goals

IF 6.6 2区经济学 Q1 ECOLOGY

Ecological Economics Pub Date : 2024-10-21 DOI:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108426

Marco Rudolf, Mario Schmidt

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Abstract

Humanity faces a dilemma: The satisfaction of human needs gravely endangers the natural basis of life. As potential strategies for resolving this dilemma, we revisit the discourse on efficiency, sufficiency and consistency. Although there has been much discussion about the three strategies in recent decades, there is a lack of a clear distinction between the strategies and little understanding regarding their respective impact on both the environment and human needs satisfaction. This leads to persistent disagreement about which strategies are best suited to pursue in the short, medium and long term. In this article, we resolve this problem on a conceptual level through a graphical classification of the three strategies according to their effects on consumption levels and environmental impact. This framework contributes to the literature on energy transition and the circular economy as key paths to sustainability by showing the limited effects of efficiency and sufficiency strategies over the long run in contrast to the promise of the consistency strategy as a systemic change.

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可持续发展的效率、充足性和一致性：重新评估实现总体目标的战略

人类面临着两难境地：满足人类的需求严重危及生命的自然基础。作为解决这一困境的潜在策略，我们重温了关于效率、充足性和一致性的论述。尽管近几十年来关于这三种战略的讨论不绝于耳，但这三种战略之间缺乏明确的区别，人们对它们各自对环境和满足人类需求的影响也知之甚少。这导致人们对短期、中期和长期最适合采取哪种战略始终存在分歧。在本文中，我们根据三种战略对消费水平和环境影响的影响，以图表形式对其进行了分类，从而在概念层面上解决了这一问题。这一框架表明，效率和充足战略的长期效果有限，而一致性战略则有望带来系统性变革，从而为有关能源转型和循环经济的文献做出了贡献。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Ecological Economics 环境科学-环境科学

CiteScore

12.00

自引率

5.70%

发文量

313

审稿时长

6 months

期刊介绍： Ecological Economics is concerned with extending and integrating the understanding of the interfaces and interplay between "nature''s household" (ecosystems) and "humanity''s household" (the economy). Ecological economics is an interdisciplinary field defined by a set of concrete problems or challenges related to governing economic activity in a way that promotes human well-being, sustainability, and justice. The journal thus emphasizes critical work that draws on and integrates elements of ecological science, economics, and the analysis of values, behaviors, cultural practices, institutional structures, and societal dynamics. The journal is transdisciplinary in spirit and methodologically open, drawing on the insights offered by a variety of intellectual traditions, and appealing to a diverse readership. Specific research areas covered include: valuation of natural resources, sustainable agriculture and development, ecologically integrated technology, integrated ecologic-economic modelling at scales from local to regional to global, implications of thermodynamics for economics and ecology, renewable resource management and conservation, critical assessments of the basic assumptions underlying current economic and ecological paradigms and the implications of alternative assumptions, economic and ecological consequences of genetically engineered organisms, and gene pool inventory and management, alternative principles for valuing natural wealth, integrating natural resources and environmental services into national income and wealth accounts, methods of implementing efficient environmental policies, case studies of economic-ecologic conflict or harmony, etc. New issues in this area are rapidly emerging and will find a ready forum in Ecological Economics.