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p. 22 of 57 BACK | NEXT I. The Changing Environment II. Driving Forces of Change III. Options and Opportunities Adoption of Proven Policy Alternatives Development Investment Opportunities New Urban-Industrial Investment Opportunities Development and Deployment of New Technologies Advances in Energy Use and Supply Strengthening the Societal Drivers of Improved Environmental Performance IV. Toward Policy Integration V. Call to Action

Asian Environment Outlook 2001 : III. Options and Opportunities

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Development and Deployment of New Technologies

Research on technology change has demonstrated that the capacity of a country to adopt, use, and modify technologies is a critical determinant of the rate of overall technology upgrade. Taipei,China and a few other countries have demonstrated how investments in science and technology infrastructure and the development of public-private partnerships in research and technology can substantially accelerate the process of technology upgrade within industrial economies and yield both environmental and economic benefits (Rock 1995) (see Box 3-2).

Three broad categories of technology need to be assessed. First is the increased use of end-of-pipe pollution control equipment by industry, ranging from air-filters on smoke stacks to catalytic converters on cars. Even though the preference is pollution prevention, end-of-pipe pollution control equipment remains an economically feasible response to some air and water pollution concerns. Second is the development and use of so-called “environmental technologies” such as renewable energy systems and electric cars. These technologies were developed directly in response to environmental goals such as reduced energy use and GHG emissions. Third are product and process improvements that yield environmental benefits from increased overall operations efficiency. Examples of such improvements include materials substitution, increased use of more sensitive monitoring technology, and substitution of communication for travel (Hawken, Lovins, and Lovins 1999). Other examples include super efficient cooling coils, switched-reluctance motors (that can continuously adjust their software for peak efficiency under all operating conditions), “smart” materials, sophisticated sensors, rapid prototyping and ultraprecise fabrication, improved power-switching semi-conductors, atomic-scale manipulation, microfluids, and micromachines.

In addition, it is recognized that pollution prevention and the use of clean technologies are cost-effective solutions to environmental protection and often more cost-effective than end-of-pipe waste treatment. This recognition has broadened the concept of what is now referred to as “cleaner production.” This more encompassing and more sustainable approach to environmental performance extends far upstream and downstream of the actual production process to include consideration of the environmental consequences of the design of the product; selection, extraction, and processing of production inputs; and distribution, use, and ultimate disposal of the product. The consideration of these concerns is referred to as “life-cycle analysis.” Cleaner production considers the sum of the life-cycle impacts of producing and using a product or service and engages a strategy and management approach to minimize aggregate environmental costs.

Perhaps the most significant cleaner production issue is the concept of “natural capitalism”. Natural capitalism assigns a monetary value for natural capital and human resources, in addition to traditional capital. Product production costs are accounted for in terms of natural resources and ecological services that are consumed or damaged per unit of production. As the first step toward a solution to environmental loss, it advocates resource productivity—doing more with less, wringing up to a hundred times as much benefit from each unit of energy or material consumed. Natural capitalism also redesigns industry on biological models that result in zero wastes (Hawken, Lovins, and Lovins 1999). Effectively applied, this approach can result in different design and production process decisions by firms. Despite genuine concern of some firms, it is difficult for most firms to even guess the accumulated natural resource impacts of their actions. Therefore, governments can play a critical role by creating a framework within which such long-term assessments of environmental impact take place.

Some multinational corporations operating in developing countries have taken steps to require their local suppliers to also integrate principles of cleaner production (see Box 3-3) in their operations or otherwise demonstrate that they are environmentally responsible, sometimes called “greening the supply chain”. Some multinational corporations offer assistance to their suppliers to adopt cleaner production technologies. This trend offers great promise as a dissemination mechanism. New large enterprises will tend to be cleaner and use fewer resources if newer, more efficient technologies are used and multinational investment partners promote cleaner production. However, clear public policies are still needed to influence which resources are consumed, to reinforce the trend toward greater efficiency and minimal environmental impact.

For cleaner production to significantly impact environmental quality, a fundamental shift must occur in how governments and the stakeholders set policies, plan strategically, establish and enforce regulations, develop incentives and disincentives, implement these incentives and disincentives, provide access to financing, build human resources, build partnerships between government and the private sector, disseminate information, and promote industrial growth.

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