Conditions for green growth

Green growth: A matter of strengthening the economic structure

At the request of the scientific council of the Dutch political party Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), PBL contributed this article on greening of the economy to a theme issue of the CDA’s journal ‘Christian Democratic Outlooks’ on sustainable development. In this article, PBL placed the greening task in the light of the reforms required to strengthen the economic structure.

The Netherlands has a more than average interest in greening its economy, as the Dutch economy is energy-intensive and the Netherlands is an important importer and exporter of raw materials. The main preconditions for greening the economy are:

• a stable government policy and vision;
• incorporating the cost of environmental use into prices;
• abolishing price incentives that harm the environment;
• dynamic regulation;
• sustainable innovation.

This article is a translation of the original Dutch text published earlier in 2012 in the journal ‘Christian Democratic Outlooks’ of the Dutch political party Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA).