The use of Emergy to assess sustainable development

• A major problem since long within science has been the gap between social and natural science (described for example by C.P. Snow, 1959: The Two Cultures. Cambridge University Press, London). From a qualitative point of view this problem has been met by creating interdisciplinary groups of specialists from both ‘cultures’. The quantitative outcomes has however stayed within the ‘cultures’ framework. Emergy is a relatively new measure that surprisingly has showed the ability to integrate at least economic flows and physical flows of kilograms andEmergy assessment (emergy analysis, emergy synthesis) produces quantitative results on a broad scale covering both ecological and socio-economic systems. In this paper is investigated how such results fits into different views on sustainability and sustainable development.Emergy is a measure based on systems science and thermodynamics. From its methodological foundations quantitative values of both ‘natural’ and socio-economic flows are delivered. These quantitative results form an interesting base to view sustainability or sustainable development. Different possible interpretations are discussed in the paper from different sustainability paradigms, as well as the limitations and possibilities of the Emergy method.Several authors have used an ‘Emergy Sustainability Index’ in their papers. Although an interesting index, it is considered too narrow to claim capturing sustainability, and it is suggested that this index is renamed.Resilient societies need inter- and trans-disciplinary methodological approaches. Quantitative methods covering both economic and ecological flows are rare in this context. Emergy as one of the few measures of this type is therefore interesting.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Naturresursteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Environmental Engineering (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

Keyword

systems

thermodynamic

socio-economic

Emergy Sustainability Index

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

kon (subject category)