**5. References**

Awerbach S., 2003. Does renewables cost more? Shifting the grounds of debate. *Presentation at the Sonderborg on Renewable Energy – Renewable Energy in the market: New Opportunities*, Sondenborg, Denmark, September 2003

Barrett S., 1994. Self-Enforcing International Environmental Agreements. *Oxford Economic Papers, Special Issue on Environmental Economics*, Vol.46, pp.878-894

the emission reduction target hardly could be achieved. As Nordhaus says: "..there are lowhanging fruits all around the world, but a regimen that limits participation to the high-

We think that European Member States must then take coordinated actions to reach the 20-

The European Union (EU) has undoubtedly made a big effort in developing a progressive environmental policy, but many of its own policies are still far from making a difference to climate change. The policy into action to "green" Europe is the so-called 20-20-20 climate and energy package. The 20-20-20 Package, introduced in 2008 through the Communication (COM(2008)30), answers to the call made by the European Parliament about real measures for the transition toward a sustainable development. The Package includes a number of important policy proposals closely interlinked, that are: a revised directive on the EU Emission Trading System (EU ETS); a proposal on the allocation of efforts by member states in order to reduce GHG emissions in sectors not covered by the EU ETS (as transport, building, services, small industrial plants, agriculture and food sectors); a directive on the

promotion of renewable energy to achieve the goals of GHG emission reductions.

formidable problems of opportunistic behavior and inefficient outcomes.

*Opportunities*, Sondenborg, Denmark, September 2003

So far, a large strand of literature on climate change states that we need several economic policy instruments to correct for existing types of market failures, for instance, an environmental tax on the carbon emissions and a research subsidy for research and development (R&D) spillovers in the renewable energy sector (Cremer and Gahvari, 2002). Policy instruments implemented to these aims are generally classified as price-oriented or quantity-oriented. Some of them are claimed to be more market friendly than others, while other schemes are claimed to be more efficient in promoting the development of renewable energy (Meyer, 2003). Currently, there is no general agreement on the effectiveness of each scheme. Evidently, every region would want to spur new activities, new investment, more employment in its own territory, by using an appropriate mix of local taxation and subsidies, in conjunction with other command and control instruments. However, EU regions have the incentive to free-ride, or to impose as few costs as possible on their home economy while enjoying the benefits created at the other countries' cost. So, there are

To conclude, the 20-20-20 Climate and Energy Package requires simultaneous and coordinated action. Both politically and institutionally the EU Member States are quite heterogeneous. Unless cooperation is sustained by institutions which can punish free-riding, every region will earn even higher profits by free-riding on the virtuous behavior of the

Awerbach S., 2003. Does renewables cost more? Shifting the grounds of debate. *Presentation* 

Barrett S., 1994. Self-Enforcing International Environmental Agreements. *Oxford Economic* 

*Papers, Special Issue on Environmental Economics*, Vol.46, pp.878-894

*at the Sonderborg on Renewable Energy – Renewable Energy in the market: New* 

income countries passes up the low-hanging fruit in the developing world".

20-20 goals by implementing national policies at national level.

**4. Conclusion** 

remaining cooperators.

**5. References** 


**2** 

Tobias A. Knoch1,2

*1The Netherlands,* 

*2Germany* 

**Sustained Renewability: Approached by** 

*1Biophysical Genomics, Dept. Cell Biology & Genetics, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam,* 

With the growth of the world population and the ever-new technologies emerging from R&D – both creating ever higher needs and expectations – also the energy amount to be acquired, stored, transformed, and finally used is exponentially growing and thus believed to be always at the limit. Actually this capability to use energy, has since the origin of our universe been the central drive of nature: first in its physical evolution, then in the evolution of biological life and finally in the emergence of human societies and cultures. In our modern industrialized life from primary food to industrial good production, via transport and information processing, to every form of cultural activity, everything is depending on this agent allowing the change of the physical state of matter or organisms. This is underlined by the fact that mass and energy are two sides of the same medal as shown by E=mc2 (Einstein, 1905) and always conserved (Noether, 1918a, 1918b). Without energy no work, no process, no change, and no time would exist and consequently the thirst for energy, surpasses the currently accessible resources by far. Interestingly, there is only one other basic resource, which might be equally important as matter and energy: information – the way of how energy is used for change. Also the information amount to be stored and processed is growing exponentially and believed to be always at the limit. Without doubt information technologies have become the key to success in nearly all sectors of modern live: R&D is meanwhile mostly based on the storage and analysis of huge data amounts. In health care, diagnosis and treatment rely on imaging facilities, their sophisticated analysis and treatment planning. In logistics, the shipment of goods, water, electricity and fuels is driven by distribution management systems. The financial and insurance sectors are unthinkable without modelling. Finally, the IT sector itself is inevitably carried by the creation and manipulation of data streams. Thus, also here the demands outweigh the useable resources and especially the public

Limits showing e.g. syntropic/entropic materialistic, energetic or other barriers as those of the energy or IT sectors, are well known (Egger, 1975; Faber & Manstetten, 2003). They have constrained first nature and later life since their beginnings and are one of the evolutionary drivers by the "survival of the fittest". Exponential demand growth until reaching a limit seems

**1. Introduction** 

sector struggles to increase their capabilities.

**Systems Theory and Human Ecology** 

*2BioQuant & German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), Heidelberg* 

