Authors Iain Begg | Gabriel Glöckler | Anke Hassel ... - The Europaeum

level. It is reasonable to expect richer regions, such as the EU, to pay more,
but there will be tricky political compromises about sharing of technologies,
the extent to which consumers should pay, and what contributions to
expect from business. Burden-sharing also has an inter-generational
dimension that echoes many of the debates about future pension
arrangements.
There is often also a substantial self-interest in following policies that are
“sustainable”. Consider a low-carbon strategy. Europe is increasingly
dependent on imported hydrocarbons and, if only for this reason, is
vulnerable to the political instability and foreign policy machinations of
the major producer nations on which it relies. Also, it should not be
overlooked that many shorter-term means of reducing carbon emissions
can be implemented by acting on demand, bearing in mind that there are
expenditure cycles measured in months (replacement light bulbs – with
large savings in energy consumption) or years (more fuel-efficient cars),
as well as over longer time spans (carbon-neutral buildings). At the risk of
stating the obvious, energy saving potentially reduces expenditure. There
is, consequently, considerable scope for a double dividend from investment
that both achieves climate change objectives and reduces dependence on
unreliable producers or lowers consumption. Business opportunities arise
not only from the direct provision of investment goods that are needed to
replace energy intensive capital stock, but also by conferring first-mover
advantage in global markets on those companies (and countries) which
are quickest to develop the new products.
The quality, not just the rate of growth:
bringing “social” back in
It is worth looking more closely at how aims for the quality as distinct
from the rate of growth could be elaborated, especially in response to
emerging determinants of what European societies expect. Manifestly
environmental concerns constitute a key change in the policy context,
notably the imperative of countering climate change, with several
implications for the policy mix. Other facets of the quality of growth also
need to be considered, notably the link between the chosen strategy and
equity considerations. Income inequality has increased noticeably in
several (though not all) member states over the last two decades, while
poverty and social exclusion are prominent on the policy agenda in
connection with globalisation. 7
It is easy to portray social aims as being the sort of luxury that can only be
countenanced once sufficient competitiveness has been attained – to
Chapter 11 – Iain Begg 157