**2. Sustainable development in the economy**

Since some years concerns have been raised about the economic development, the current rate of which can no longer be maintained that, in turn, may result in the incapacity to meet the demands of modern societies. Particular concerns are associated with the predatory use of natural resources, rooted in the incessantly growing consumerism and the lack of constraints on resource use. It is hoped that sustainable reconstruction of industrial society [1] may provide a remedy to mitigate the effects of human pressures. Within this context, the 'economy of sustainable development' has found its place in shaping a new social, economic and economic order.

Traditional economics itself is a social science characterized by a comprehensive spectrum of research problems of varying importance, from fundamental to detailed ones, from theoretical considerations to application recommendations [1]. Until recently, the economy was mainly interested in the pursuit of solutions that will enable the economic and social development. However, the newly emerging and hitherto unknown problems, with which the traditional economy is unable to cope, have led to the advent of new research projects that helped to single out the new types of economics, including the economy of sustainable development. They are collectively defined as sustainable science.

One of the main questions that the modern economy is trying to answer, is how to manage natural resources to ensure that all human needs are met and, at the same time, the regeneration of the natural environment and biosphere functioning are not affected? The economy of sustainable development also seeks to define conditions that would ensure a high ecological (environmental), economic and sociocultural standards, for both the present and future generations, within the limits of tolerance and regeneration of the nature, thus implementing the principle of intra- and intergenerational justice.

Economists dealing with sustainable development can see very clearly the relationship between the condition of the natural environment and the intensity of using its resources, as well as between the economics and the economy. The following major relationships and problem areas referring to the sustainable development economy can be enumerated:


**15**

countries in the world are not yet ready for.

pay them.

*Life Cycle Assessment as a Tool to Implement Sustainable Development in the Bioeconomy…*

• Overexploitation of nonrenewable resources (mainly energy raw materials) → inflation, economic imbalance, dependence on raw material supply, economic development slowdown and increase in prices of goods and services

• Overpopulation → increase in prices of land and basic goods, insufficient

Numerous studies by environmental economists have proved the existence of socioeconomic factors that prevent the wise management of natural resources

3.Other socioeconomic factors, such as world population growth, continuous economic development, consumerism and, ultimately, psychological barriers

In order for the market self-steering mechanism to work, it is important that all costs associated with the production, use and disposal of a given good (including the costs of damage to the natural environment) are included in the final price of the product. If this is not the case, because part of the costs has been externalized or transferred to other entities (taxpayers, future generations or nature itself), then

Reasons underlying cost externalization are numerous. The key ones include, first of all, the fact that environmental resources are treated as open access goods implying that anyone can use them unrestrictedly and shifted the responsibility for resulting damage onto others, in this case, onto the future generations. People are not willing to incur the costs of environmental impacts, in the hope that others will

Natural resources are often regarded as public goods, which can be used without major restrictions. We do not handle common goods rationally, economically and with due care as we deal with private property. This is, naturally, based on an erroneous assumption that has become evident particularly at present, when we have to deal with the overuse of nonrenewable raw materials, and consequently, with growing competition over access to these resources. Natural resources are slowly becoming rare goods that are already reflected in their market price. This price will gradually increase, and it is the future generations that will be hurt with a highest burden, being additionally charged with the follow-up costs. We are capable of predicting and estimating these costs; however, the prospect of the future for the present generations is so remote that we are far from long-term thinking and preventing future costs right now. Thus, one of the fundamental principles of sustainable development regarding the intergenerational justice is being violated. In environmental economics, in addition to cost externalization and the problem of treating natural resources as public goods, there are the so-called other socioeconomic determinants, which include, among others, world population growth, continuous economic development, consumerism and, finally, psychological barriers. The steady population growth globally entails a number of problems resulting mainly from the rapidly increasing demand for food, drinking water, energy resources, habitable land and advancing deterioration of the natural environment. In the fight against the ongoing degradation of the ecosphere, limiting the population growth seems to be indispensable. However, these are the radical actions that

satisfaction of basic needs of people (mainly water and food)

2.Natural resources treated as public and openly accessible goods

they are misallocated, and the goods are sold below their real price.

[1–6]. The following groups of determinants can be identified [1]:

1.Environmental costs, subject to externalization

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84664*

*Life Cycle Assessment as a Tool to Implement Sustainable Development in the Bioeconomy… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84664*


Numerous studies by environmental economists have proved the existence of socioeconomic factors that prevent the wise management of natural resources [1–6]. The following groups of determinants can be identified [1]:


In order for the market self-steering mechanism to work, it is important that all costs associated with the production, use and disposal of a given good (including the costs of damage to the natural environment) are included in the final price of the product. If this is not the case, because part of the costs has been externalized or transferred to other entities (taxpayers, future generations or nature itself), then they are misallocated, and the goods are sold below their real price.

Reasons underlying cost externalization are numerous. The key ones include, first of all, the fact that environmental resources are treated as open access goods implying that anyone can use them unrestrictedly and shifted the responsibility for resulting damage onto others, in this case, onto the future generations. People are not willing to incur the costs of environmental impacts, in the hope that others will pay them.

Natural resources are often regarded as public goods, which can be used without major restrictions. We do not handle common goods rationally, economically and with due care as we deal with private property. This is, naturally, based on an erroneous assumption that has become evident particularly at present, when we have to deal with the overuse of nonrenewable raw materials, and consequently, with growing competition over access to these resources. Natural resources are slowly becoming rare goods that are already reflected in their market price. This price will gradually increase, and it is the future generations that will be hurt with a highest burden, being additionally charged with the follow-up costs. We are capable of predicting and estimating these costs; however, the prospect of the future for the present generations is so remote that we are far from long-term thinking and preventing future costs right now. Thus, one of the fundamental principles of sustainable development regarding the intergenerational justice is being violated.

In environmental economics, in addition to cost externalization and the problem of treating natural resources as public goods, there are the so-called other socioeconomic determinants, which include, among others, world population growth, continuous economic development, consumerism and, finally, psychological barriers.

The steady population growth globally entails a number of problems resulting mainly from the rapidly increasing demand for food, drinking water, energy resources, habitable land and advancing deterioration of the natural environment. In the fight against the ongoing degradation of the ecosphere, limiting the population growth seems to be indispensable. However, these are the radical actions that countries in the world are not yet ready for.

*Elements of Bioeconomy*

the environment but also to the economy.

presented as an example of the LCA method application.

**2. Sustainable development in the economy**

are collectively defined as sustainable science.

of intra- and intergenerational justice.

• Climate warming → lack of economic stability

economy can be enumerated:

increase in prices of goods

boosting the level of recycling and waste reuse will be highly beneficial, not only to

Taking into account the dynamically developing economies of the European Union Member Countries, and thus increased demand for raw materials and energy, the European Commission has adopted a new ambitious circular economy package. It is intended to help European businesses and consumers move to a stronger economy, where waste will be a valuable resource base for production processes. The proposals cover the whole life cycle of products: from production and consumption to waste management and the secondary market of raw materials. Implementation of the above strategies will allow for maximizing the use of all raw materials, products and waste and will be conducive to energy savings and reduction of greenhouse gas emission. In this chapter, the results of the life cycle analysis of a large-scale waste recycling, conducted as part of the URBANREC project, are

Since some years concerns have been raised about the economic development, the current rate of which can no longer be maintained that, in turn, may result in the incapacity to meet the demands of modern societies. Particular concerns are associated with the predatory use of natural resources, rooted in the incessantly growing consumerism and the lack of constraints on resource use. It is hoped that sustainable reconstruction of industrial society [1] may provide a remedy to mitigate the effects of human pressures. Within this context, the 'economy of sustainable development'

Traditional economics itself is a social science characterized by a comprehensive spectrum of research problems of varying importance, from fundamental to detailed ones, from theoretical considerations to application recommendations [1]. Until recently, the economy was mainly interested in the pursuit of solutions that will enable the economic and social development. However, the newly emerging and hitherto unknown problems, with which the traditional economy is unable to cope, have led to the advent of new research projects that helped to single out the new types of economics, including the economy of sustainable development. They

One of the main questions that the modern economy is trying to answer, is how to manage natural resources to ensure that all human needs are met and, at the same time, the regeneration of the natural environment and biosphere functioning are not affected? The economy of sustainable development also seeks to define conditions that would ensure a high ecological (environmental), economic and sociocultural standards, for both the present and future generations, within the limits of tolerance and regeneration of the nature, thus implementing the principle

Economists dealing with sustainable development can see very clearly the relationship between the condition of the natural environment and the intensity of using its resources, as well as between the economics and the economy. The following major relationships and problem areas referring to the sustainable development

• Destruction of ecosystems → insufficient satisfaction of basic people's needs,

has found its place in shaping a new social, economic and economic order.

**14**

Another important determinant is the exponential increase rate of economic development and of related consumerism. Continual growth of needs of modern society translates into unimaginable resource exploitation and environmental burden. Developed countries are at the cutting edge of certain styles and trends that strongly affect developing countries. However, the desire to possess seems overwhelming at the moment, while demand and supply will continue to grow.

The so-called psychological barriers [1] constitute an interesting social phenomenon. This is a relatively new aspect, since the interest in the environment and its condition has also a short ancestry. People are reluctant to change their routines and habits, and fear of the unknown is often a limiting factor when introducing changes. Only a small percentage of people are willing to engage in new activities. A good example is entrepreneurs who, under the Environmental Protection Act, are obliged to incur the so-called fees for economic use of the environment (introduction of dust and gases into the air, water intake, waste generation, etc.).

In most cases, the entrepreneurs consider this obligation to be another legislator's invention, which was created to make their life more complicated. They are unaware that they are obliged by the statutory 'polluter pays' principle [7], while the environment is a public good, which does not mean that it is no one's good.

It should be clearly emphasized that the damage to the environment in the twenty-first century consists primarily in the predatory economy of fossil raw materials. This is due to the socioeconomic and economic factors mentioned above. One of the goals of the economics of sustainable development is to identify the most important economic and economic problems, define their causes and propose socially acceptable or necessary solutions. It is also important to undertake attempts at monetary evaluation of the environment and its resources as well as the goods produced. Thanks to the introduction of economic aspects into the idea of sustainable development, it is possible to lay new foundations of economic thinking, and to define economic conditions that will ensure appropriate economic, social and environmental standards.
