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- Acke, Filip, et al.
(författare)
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Study of the reduction and reoxidation of a CaO surface
- 1997
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Ingår i: J Phys Chem B. - 1520-5207 .- 1520-6106. ; 101:33, s. 6484-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The reduction of NO with CO and H2 is shown to comprise two basic reactions: a surface oxygen abstraction by the reducing agent and a reoxidation of the surface by NO. The former reaction step has been demonstrated by transient CO2 formation during CO exposure of oxidized CaO surfaces, while the latter was demonstrated by N2 and/or N2O transient formation during NO exposure of a prereduced CaO surface. It was shown that at low temperatures (between room temperature and 500 °C) both N2 and N2O were formed, but at temperatures above 500 °C only N2 was observed. The activation energies of the respective steps have been determined using temperature-programmed reaction experiments. The activation energy of the surface oxygen abstraction was determined to be 25 kcal/mol and is similar to the apparent activation energy of the overall reaction. The activation energy of the NO bond breakage was determined to be maximum 10 kcal/mol as measured by N2O formation. The importance of an N2O2- or N2O22- intermediate in the formation of N2O will be discussed, and the importance of N2O decomposition in forming N2 at temperatures above 500 °C will be compared with a N surface diffusion mechanism.
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- Ahlbäck, Anders, 1977, et al.
(författare)
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Electricity from Renewable Energy Sources - POPA CTDA : Policy pathways to promote the development and adoption of cleaner technologies
- 2006
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Executive summary Introduction In the strive towards a sustainable society, environmental technologies will play an increasingly important role. This has been acknowledged by the European Commission, and through the launching of the rather ambitious Environmental Technologies Action Plan (ETAP) the Commission has committed to the wide-spread of clean technologies in all the sectors of society. This programme encourage a numerous of actions designed to “remove barriers for the development and diffusion of environmental technologies”, to “ensure that the EU will take a leading role in developing and applying such technologies”, and to “mobilise all stakeholders in support of these objectives” (EU, 2004a). As a measure within the framework of ETAP, this project is designed to identify policy pathways to the promotion and development of clean technology development (POPA-CTDA) in the sectors of industry, transport, agriculture and energy. This case study deals with renewable energy technologies (RET) (bio-fuelled combined heat and power, wind power and solar power). Currently driven by all three pillars of sustainability in addition to the ‘traditional’ environmental one, RETs are increasingly looked upon as commercially competitive alternative to fossil based energy technologies. Use of renewable energy is growing on the global market - not only in niche applications as e.g. remote installations but on the broader energy/electricity markets as well. The share of renewable energy in the global primary energy supply (TPES) is about 11.3%, which of the vast majority is combustible bio resources (about 10.8%) and about 0.5% being wind, solar and geothermal (IEA, 2005). On the European energy market, RETs accounts for approximately 5% of TPES. This can be compared with the 12% penetration target by 2010 stated by the Commission in 1997. Methodological approach Starting point for the design of an integrated policy strategy supporting the development and adoption of RETs are the barriers and drivers responsible for the corresponding engagement of relevant actors in this field. Both barriers and drivers have been identified in a previous study, Work Package 2 (WP2), by the means of a behavioural approach developed by Montalvo (2001; 2002) on the basis of a survey conducted with actual and potential developers, manufacturers, operators and end-users of RETs from Austria, Germany, Netherlands, UK, Sweden and Hungary. In the survey actors in the energy UGOT POPA-CTDA: Work package 3 5 sector where asked about their opinions concerning development and adoption of RETs. Various aspects of their attitudes where addressed such as economic and environmental risk perception, relevant pressure arising from the social environment, the market and regulatory bodies and of their own technical and managing capabilities. The full analysis of the questionnaire is presented in the WP2 report. In the present study, Work Package 3, plausible policy instruments are identified to address those barriers found in WP2 and to encourage the diffusion of RETs. The insights presented in this report are based on literature study, interviews and the questionnaire study conducted in WP2. Main insights Economy Costs of producing electricity from RETs have been greatly reduced during latest decades but are generally still above the ones of fossil fuels; in particular PV technology that is, roughly, 10 times as expensive as average generation costs.1 The inability to include environmental damage costs of electricity generation (combustion of fossil fuels, nuclear power plants or even renewable technologies), the vast amount of direct or indirect subsidies, tax concessions etc. all distort competition on the energy market. Hence, some level of economic support is required for RETs to compete on the open market. In the case of both wind and solar power, the German feed-in law has proved very successful in lowering investment risk and encouraging new installations. Market On a local level, the job and economic growth opportunities derived from an establishment of local electricity production is becoming increasingly recognised. RETs compared with fossil based technologies are generally more labour intensive and, coupled with increasing recognition of RETs to fulfil national/local sustainability targets, provides an attractive option for politicians and entrepreneurs to promote local business. This is particularly a driver to establish biomass power and, if locally available, biomass resources via crop or forestry industry. 1 Average spot market price for electricity in the Eu-15 was in 2004 about 30-35 €/MWh, where average generation cost for PV is roughly 500 €/MWh electricity. UGOT POPA-CTDA: Work package 3 6 Technology and infrastructure Several interviewees pointed out performance, power output fluctuations (intermittency), actual power generation costs (factoring in costs of maintenance and service etc.) and lifetime as technological uncertainties and potential barriers to up-take. There is a need for further RD&D (research, development and demonstration) to develop both specific technology characteristic and systemic issues as grid compatibility. The varying power output of renewable generation and its consequences to power distribution is a source for controversy and may pose challenges in grid management. While it was earlier believed that even small fractions of intermittent capacity would cause instability on the power grid, new empirical data from practical examples2 shows that it is foremost a question of grid-management techniques. Institutional and regulative While wind power in general has gained in economic competitiveness, several interviewees mention regulative barriers as, perhaps, the main obstacle to a wide-spread diffusion. Issuing building permits is a complicated and time consuming process, where in Sweden, for example, several authorities at various levels are involved at different stages. A projector has to face the same process twice; first against the planning and building regulation, then the environmental legislation, in order to obtain building permits. Opposing groups may quite easily appeal and, thereby, delaying the process up to several years and risking the economy of a project. Especially small actors with no internal legal resources may face great challenges in the planning phase of a project. The coordination between the involved authorities is regarded as not very well-organised and there most definitely is a large potential to streamline the current processes. Recommendations Policy support on the EU level via communications, directives green/white papers etc. is a significant driver to policy implementation on the national level. It is of most importance to continuing to show this support by stating new targets for RET penetration (post-Kyoto objectives) and ensure compliance with e.g. national Kyoto-bindings. 2 E.g. in western Denmark, over 20% of the total load is covered by wind energy (IEA, 2005). UGOT POPA-CTDA: Work package 3 7 RETs in general • The European Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) has yet to prove its positive affects on RET diffusion. The potential is great however, but is to a large deal dependent on the size of the national allocation plans. If the acceptance and compliance of the scheme is not kept strong enough, the potential might very well get lost in a political barging between member states. • The formation of a single European electricity market have the potential of being the “hardware” necessary for implementing EU-wide supporting schemes. Particularly a common market for Tradable Green Certificates could be realised, where actors all over Europe would trade green electricity, ensuring a wide competition among producers and, thereby, keeping over all costs low. • RETs are in the need of continuing R&D support to increase product performance and lower manufacturing costs. Positive side-effects of R&D and demonstration programmes may be gained from actors forming networks and alliances for knowledge transfers and partnership. This is a necessity to counter powerful coalitions promoting fossil based technologies that for decades have influenced the institutional framework in favour of coal, oil and natural gas. • To minimise risk perception of investment, clear and long-term policy guidelines is needed to support RETs. Almost all interviewees expressed the short-term design of the current supporting schemes as a major barrier to investments. Some level of security is needed to induce investments, and that is foremost achieved by clearly stated rules and stable support. Biomass • Even though biomass is being close to commercially competitive, it is still in the need of economic support. The CHP technology in it self is well proven and developed; future technology developments will probably focus on the gasification of biomass resources, where there is extensive efficiency gains to be made in the production of electricity. UGOT POPA-CTDA: Work package 3 8 Wind Power • For wind power to be able to compete with old (often governmentally financed) installations, some level of economic support is still needed. Germany and Spain have primarily through the use of feed-in systems emerged as world leaders in the use of wind power in their national electricity systems. • Issuing building permit processes are often time consuming and perceived as unreasonably complicated. To counter this, there are needs to both streamline the permit process by coordinating involved governmental bodies and to pre-allocate land for wind power installations. • The intermittency of wind power generation might prove to have deteriorated affects on power quality in regions with relatively high shares of installations. This is mostly a matter of managing the power production/transfer with dedicated routines and technology, but will require R&D efforts to increase the knowledge of how
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- Gullbransson, Berit, et al.
(författare)
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Analys av hur Sverige ska genomföra EU:s miljöhandlingsplan ETAP fram till år 2010
- 2007
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Sammanfattning Här följer en kort sammanfattning av utredningen. Sammanfattningen följer rapportens kapitelindelning med avsikt att ge en överblick av innehållet. Kapitel 1: Uppdragets utformning Detta kapitel ger en kort presentation av uppdraget, dess genomförande samt en introduktion till rapporten. Kapitel 2: Mer europeisk miljöteknik på marknaden Tillsammans arbetar EU:s medlemsländer med att öka andelen miljöteknik på den europeiska marknaden. Målsättningen är att minska miljöbelastningen men till exempel också att minska beroendet av importerad energi. Ambitionen är att miljötekniklösningar ska levereras av europeiska företag, detta för att inte minska sysselsättningen i Europa och för att samtidigt stärka europeiska företags konkurrenskraft på marknader utanför Europa. För att samordna åtgärder på EU-nivå samt nationell nivå finns en gemensam handlingsplan för miljöteknik. Handlingsplanen för miljöteknik (Environmental Technologies Action Plan, ETAP) godkändes vid Europeiska rådets vårmöte 2004. Istället för bindande regler enades man om gemensamma mål där varje land strävar efter att uppnå målen på lämpligast sätt. Vilka framsteg länder har gjort samt hur strategin ser ut för de närmaste åren inrapporteras med nationella färdplaner. Vid den senaste utvärderingen av de nationella färdplanerna fick Sveriges färdplan omdömet att de svenska åtgärderna har en bra spridning över de områden som utpekats som viktiga för miljöteknik. En generell kommentar från EU-kommissionen rörande hela den europeiska omställningen var att den inte tagit fart ordentligt. Miljöbelastningen fortsätter att öka och den internationella konkurrensen på miljöteknikmarknaden ökar med risk att europeiska företag hamnar efter. EU-kommissionen uppmanar medlemsländerna att öka andelen åtgärder som stärker efterfrågan av miljöteknik på de nationella marknaderna. Åtgärder som stödjer svenska miljötekniksatsningar involverar en mängd olika myndigheter och aktörer. EU har till exempel olika stödprogram med koppling till företagsutveckling och miljöteknik, vilka fördelas både på nationell och på regional nivå. Det finns kommunala satsningar och det finns privata aktörer som specialiserat sig på att investera i miljöteknikbolag. I den här utredningen avgränsas analysen till att främst beröra svenska centrala myndigheter med utgångspunkten att utreda hur dessa kan samordna sina program med de andra initiativen för att skapa bästa möjliga synergier för miljöteknik. Följande myndigheter erbjöds att vara med i samrådsprocessen: Boverket, Energimyndigheten, Formas, Miljöstyrningsrådet, Naturvårdsverket, Nutek, Sida samt Vinnova. 4 Utredningen görs på uppdrag av näringsdepartementet som ett underlag i regeringskansliets praktiska arbete med att ta fram regleringsbrev och förordningar för myndigheterna. Representanter från närings- och miljödepartemenen deltog i samverkansmötet den 27 augusti. Kapitel 3: Miljöteknik i Sverige, Europa och globalt Detta kapitel presenterar ETAP och dess pågående aktiviteter och resultatet av den senaste utvärderingen. I kapitlet presenteras situationen på den svenska miljöteknikmarknaden samt vad som sker i andra länder, både i och utanför EU. Handlingsplanen för miljöteknik godkändes vid Europeiska rådets vårmöte 2004. Målet med handlingsplanen är att tillvarata alla de möjligheter som miljötekniken erbjuder för att minska belastningen på naturresurserna, förbättra EU-medborgarnas livskvalitet och främja ekonomisk tillväxt. Med tanke på hur viktig denna handlingsplan är anser EU-kommissionen att den ”öppna samordningsmetoden” är det lämpligaste sättet att gå vidare. Denna metod innebär att det inte finns några bindande regler utan det är upp till varje land att finna metoder för att nå de gemensamma målsättningarna. Länderna inrapporterar, ofta årligen, vilka framsteg de har gjort. Istället för möjligheten att ta ett land till EG-domstolen är det framförallt trycket från de andra ländernas förväntningar och oviljan att utpekas som eftersläntrare, som ska leda till en ökad reformtakt. EU-kommissionens senaste utvärdering, som kom under våren 2007, presenterade generellt en försiktigt positiv bild av arbetet, med många nya åtgärder på EU-nivå. Det betonades i utvärderingen att miljösituationen fortfarande är alarmerande och gapet mellan vad som görs och vad som behöver göras är mycket stort. EU-kommissionens analys av de nationella färdplanerna visar att FoU-åtgärder som avser miljöteknik systematiskt genomförs i nästan alla medlemsstater, medan åtgärder för att öka efterfrågan är betydligt ovanligare. EU- kommissionen anser att mer måste göras för att stärka efterfrågan av miljöteknik, även i Sverige, till exempel pekas grön upphandling ut som en viktig åtgärd. Kommissionen föreslår också att fokus skulle kunna läggas på de sektorer där man har bedömt att de största vinsterna skulle kunna göras. De sektorer som lyfts fram är: byggnader, livsmedelssektorn, persontransporter och återvinningssektorn. De gemensamma åtgärderna inom EU rör flera områden: Tillämpad forskning bedrivs inom ramen för Framework Programme for reasearch (FP7) Life+, som i huvudsak ger ekonomiskt stöd till demonstrationsprojekt, Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP), som bland annat syftar till att öka europeiska miljöföretags konkurrenskraft, regionala strukturfonder, vilka delvis stödjer miljöteknik, Landsbygdsprogrammet, som bland annat vänder sig till miljöinriktad näringsverksamhet på landsbygden. 5 De gemensamma programmen har bidragit till att det i dag finns gott om goda nationella exempel på åtgärder som gynnat miljöteknik. Genom att dela med sig av goda exempel inom EU kan arbetet förhoppningsvis påskyndas. Högre takt är nödvändig för att säkerställa konkurrenskraften hos europeiska företag. Utveckling i andra delar av världen går också framåt och många nationer har höga ambitioner vad det gäller den internationella miljöteknikmarknaden. Internationellt är Sverige en liten aktör när det gäller marknad och miljökrav. Regleringar, styrmedel och marknadskrav formuleras i stor utsträckning av EU och av en global marknad samt genom internationellt samarbete. Sverige anses ändå vara en internationellt viktig miljöpolitisk nation. Sverige kan öka sina marknadsandelar genom framsynta statliga insatser, genom lagstiftning/regleringar, stimulanser, styrmedel, upphandlingar med hänsyn till miljöprestanda samt genom stöd till forskning och utveckling. Den totala omsättningen hos de svenska miljöteknikföretagen var år 2005 102 miljarder kronor. Exporten av miljöteknik var 24 miljarder kronor. Värt att notera är att exporten har ökat med 36 procent sedan 2003 men ändå bara står för knappt en fjärdedel av den totala omsättningen hos miljöteknikföretagen. Störst ökning av exporten sedan 2003 har skett inom undergrupperna energi & klimat, 80 procent, och avfall, 50 procent. Statistiken visar att trenden för miljöteknikbranschen är positiv – omsättningen och exporten har ökat. Kapitel 4: Svenska myndigheters ETAP-aktiviteter Detta kapitel redovisar vilka aktiviteter svenska myndigheter genomför. Dessutom presenteras resultatet av de intervjuer som genomfördes som en del av samverkansprocessen. Sverige har inga problem att, formellt sätt, uppfylla ETAP (se tabell nedan). Myndigheterna är generellt sett väl insatta och redovisar ett växande intresse för miljöteknikfrågor och ETAP. I summeringen av antalet aktiviteter syns det tydligt att Sverige, liksom många andra länder har en tonvikt på åtgärder för att förbättra innovationsprocessen och se till att uppfinningar hittar sin väg från laboratorierna till marknaden, det vill säga. Forskning och utveckling (åtgärd 1-2). Samt på medvetandehöjande åtgärder med inriktning på konsumenterna som kan stimulera efterfrågan på sådan teknik genom att främja produkter och tjänster med mindre miljöpåverkan, det vill säga. öka medvetenhet och riktad utbildning (åtgärd 22-23). 6 Tabell: En sammanställning över de ETAP-relaterade aktiviteter som genomförs av svenska myndigheter. För varje ansvarig myndighet har antalet aktiviteter listats utefter respektive ETAPområde. Notera att tabellen även innehåller aktiviteter från myndigheter/organisationer utöver de åtta som har identifierats som berörda myndigheter i denna utredning. Forsning och utveckling (åtgärd 1-2) Testning och standardisering (åtgärd 3) Prestandamål (åtgärd 5- 6) Mobilisering av finansiella instrument (åtgärd 7-15) Marknadsbaserade instrument och statligt stöd (åtgärd 16-18) Upphandling av miljöteknik (åtgärd 19-21) Öka medvetenhet och riktad utbildning (åtgärd 22-23) Agera globalt (åtgärd 24-25) Almi 1 Banverket 1 Boverket 1 Energimyndigheten 1 1 1 1 1 2 Exportrådet 1 Formas 4 1 Jordbruksverket 1 Miljöstyrningsrådet 2 2 Naturvårdsverket 1 1 2 1 NUTEK 2 1 Sida 2 3 Swedfund 1 1 Swentec 1 VINNOVA 10 Vägverket 1 Summa aktiviteter 19 1 0 6 3 3 11 4 Enligt EU-kommissionens rekommendationer bör också Sverige försöka få fram resurser för fler satsningar på åtgärderna 7-18. Intervjuerna med tillfrågade myndigheter var informativa och det framkom också intressanta problemformuleringar. Till exempel efterfrågas informationsspridning av ETAP-aktiviteter inom och utom Sverige, tydligare rollfördelning mellan myndigheter inom miljöteknikområdet, samordning av 7 ETAP-aktiviteter för ett starkare och effektivare miljöteknikstöd. Dessa formuleringar har lett till rekommendationer i följande kapitel. Kapitel 5: Sammanställning, analys och rekommendationer Detta kapitel presenterar analyser av Sveriges situation, rekommendationer för hur Sverige ska genomfö
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- Larsson, Allan, et al.
(författare)
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Technology and Policy for Sustainable Development
- 2002
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Executive Summary 1. The mandate given by the European Council (Chapter 1). At the European Council in Göteborg in June 2001 a strategy for sustainable development was agreed, completing the Union’s political commitment to economic and social renewal by adding a third, environmental dimension to the Lisbon strategy and establishing a new approach to policy making. The European Council stated that clear and stable objectives for sustainable development will present significant economic opportunities. This “has the potential to unleash a new wave of technological innovation and investment, generating growth and employment”. The European Council invited industry to take part in the development and wider use of new environmental technologies in sectors such as energy and transport and in this way decouple economic growth from pressure on natural resources. The Commission committed itself to present to the Spring European Council 2002 a report assessing how environment technology can promote growth and employment. This report, assessing how technology for sustainable development can promote growth and employment, is one contribution to the follow up by the Commission of the mandate from Göteborg European Council. 2. The role of technology for investment, growth and employment (Chapter 2). The report takes the broad view of Agenda 21 on technology as a starting point. The integration of environment policy into a strategy for sustainable development and the broadening of the measures from regulations to more of market based instruments, leads by necessity to a situation where more and more of the technologies will be regarded as mainstream technologies, rather than regulation-driven eco-technologies. As a consequence of this choice of a broad definition of technology the report has the title “Technology and Policy for Sustainable Development”. The report confirms and elaborates on the main message from the Göteborg European Council that new technology offers a strong growth dividend, through investment in which new technologies are embedded. To attain a GDP growth rate of 3 per cent per year – in line with the Lisbon strategy - a rate of investment growth of about 4 to 6 per cent over several years seems necessary, which represents a significant acceleration from the 2 per cent average over the 1990s in the euro area. A higher rate of investment will create room for a faster replacement of old technologies. In addition, a strategy for sustainable development – including policies “to get prices right” – will make the introduction of new technologies more profitable and contribute to stimulate investment. Consequently, the EU strategy for sustainable development can both build on the macroeconomic efforts to stimulate investment and give a strong contribution to such an investment strategy. 3. The potential of new technologies for sustainable development (Chapter 3). Technology is a double-edged sword. It is both a cause of many environmental problems and a key to solving them. It is a matter of fact that the technologies of the past, still dominating in transport, energy, industry and agriculture, are undermining our basic life supporting systems – clean water, fresh air and fertile soil. However, in each of these sectors there are new technologies available or emerging, that may, if widely used, essentially solve the 4 environmental problems. Thus, new technologies have the potential to contribute to a decoupling of economic growth from pressure on natural resources. The fact is that we face a choice between technological change at historically unprecedented rates or a change in atmospheric composition unlike any experienced since the dawn of humanity. During the 1990s we have seen a substantial diffusion of renewable energy and transport technologies and further progress in industry and agriculture technology, not least biotechnology. The most promising for immediate investment is energy saving technologies in housing and the tertiary sector. A systematic introduction of best available technology could reduce the use of energy with 20-50 per cent. New technologies for waste management offers a great potential; the most recent investment in this sector shows a utilisation of more than 90 per cent of the energy content of waste. Even more fundamental are new technologies for “up-stream” resource management in industry, offering strong synergies for productivity in production, quality in goods and services and efficiency in the use of natural resources. In this way a dematerialisation can be brought about in a larger scale. In agriculture organic farming is increasing with 20 per cent a year, in spite of subsidies to traditional, nonsustainable farming methods. Yet, in other cases the growth is not self-sustained. There are still significant obstacles to be overcome to reach the stage where the diffusion of renewable energy technologies is independent of government interventions and where these technologies have made a major inroad into the energy market. The extent to which more efficient technologies will be adopted by the market depends largely on the relative future price relations between different sources of energy, government policies to benchmark or to set standards for eco efficiency and voluntary commitments by industries. It is also of vital importance to consider consumer’s preferences for eco efficient products as well as consumer protection. 4. EU policies of importance for new technology for sustainability (Chapter 4). The European policy initiatives in the main policy areas are discussed in Chapter 4. Such policies can – if forcefully implemented by the Member States – have a strong effect on the demand for new technology in general and could give a strong push for investment. Of fundamental importance is the recommendation in the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines on a gradual but steady and credible change in the level and structure of tax rates until external costs are fully reflected in prices, to cope with the most fundamental structural problem in all developed countries, the unsustainable patters of production and consumption. There is a substantial scope for a rebalancing of prices, particularly on energy markets in favour of renewable energy sources and technologies by using both taxes and other market instruments. The implementation of the European Climate Change Programme (ECCP) and the directive establishing an EU framework for emissions trading will act as a strong driving force towards more sustainable price relations. The setting of good environment standards to prevent the worst cases and measures to stimulate best practice, Integrated Product Policy (IPP), for the whole EU area will have a similar stimulating effect on investment in new technology. The European Single Market is the biggest market in the world for technology, and will become even more important through enlargement. The practices developed in this market will become global standards for all enterprises that wish to compete on this market. Thus, the integration of sustainable development in all policies, not least in research and development, can make the EU the 5 leading global actor in the renewal of products and processes, unleashing a new wave of technological innovation and investment, generating growth and employment. This makes the Member States’ sustainable development strategies, and a decisive implementation of these strategies, a matter of fundamental importance for growth and employment in the whole Community. 5. Enlargement and technology for sustainable development (Chapter 5). The review of the situation in the candidate countries highlights the role of technology and investment as key to the EU strategy for sustainable development. Enlargement of the EU will create strong incentives for the candidate countries to speed up the modernisation process, phasing out old investment and technologies from the command and control period and phasing in the most recent technologies. The energy sector is the most prominent example, where the candidate countries need to increase their capacity substantially and, at the same time, replace old outdated plants with new eco-efficient technologies. 6. Policy conclusions (Chapter 6) The integration of environment in the Lisbon strategy and the emphasis on new technology for sustainable development, agreed by the Göteborg European Council, will make the policies of each of the three pillars of the strategy mutually supportive: • To attain a GDP growth rate of 3 per cent a year and to bring about a decoupling of economic growth from pressure on natural resources, a rate of investment growth of about 4 to 6 per cent seems necessary, increasing the investment share of GDP from around 20 per cent to 24-25 per cent. • This higher rate of investment should be utilised to phase out old technology and phase in new technology, contributing to productivity, quality and eco-efficiency for health, prosperity and environment; to achieve these objective a forceful implementation of a strategy to “get prices right” is necessary to make the value of natural resources and eco-systems visible to the agents in the economy • Economic growth and investment should be utilised to create more and better jobs and be made sustainable by policies, that facilitate participation in working life (see Guidelines for Member States Employment Policy 2002); in this way the EU should reach the employment rate of 70 per cent, agreed in the Lisbon strategy, making Member States’ social protection systems, in particular their pension systems, more sustainable.
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