Try On the Larger Shoes! What the world expects of Germany by Tanja Gönner

Author:Tanja Gönner
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783867743723
Publisher: Murmann Verlag, Hamburg
Published: 2014-03-05T00:00:00+00:00

Successful international cooperation depends on intelligently structured relationships between policymakers, global enterprises and local consumers. A decisive factor for managing the global commons sustainably will be the production standards and consumer patterns that become established around the world. Any earlier distinction between the 'doers' and the 'done to' loses its relevance because what now counts are reciprocal dependencies, shared responsibilities and jointly organized operations in the pre-competitive space.

A first step towards acknowledging this sharing of responsibility between politics, business and society could be a labeling system for product groups that would allow comparison of their resource consumption – similar to the existing system for the energy efficiency of household appliances. Compulsory labeling would not only eliminate competitive distortion and expose free riders, it would also shift greater responsibility onto consumers by giving them a role in influencing the product and resource cycles of multinational businesses. Sustainability would thus gradually become an accepted and necessary part of the precompetitive arena.

It may not be long before the overall scarcity of resources becomes so acute that companies can only gain consumer acceptance if they are able to prove that their production is based on circular principles. This shift in attitudes can be accelerated by introducing intelligent incentives such as tax advantages and subsidies, transparent product information and certification, and education and awareness-raising – targeted at both producers and consumers. There needs to be a general appreciation that consumer and behavioral patterns will have to change if natural resources are to be conserved. But before this can happen, the costs of managing natural resources sustainably and of the 'ecosystem services' supplied by nature must be factored into product pricing – for example, intact soil systems as water filters and reservoirs, forests as carbon sinks, or mangrove stands as coastal protection. Only then will there be any serious consideration of their true value. The technical term for this is the internalization of external costs.

If we intend to maintain our prosperity, our lifestyle and our consumer habits, we need to embrace a principle which is valid not only for water policy but also for resource conservation as a whole: At the end of the day, we all live downstream.

Germany has accumulated decades of experience in policymaking, management and technology in the water sector. We could make even more effective use of this internationally for the purpose of 'internalizing external costs.' Our extensive dependence on virtual water and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events due to climate change are just two good reasons for taking a closer look at the structures involved in global water management.

Exporting German experience: from a brown brew to blue gold

What, then, can Germany contribute to sustainable water management? If we go back to the beginnings of environmental policy in our country, we can use those early lessons in structuring a greener economy to gain an idea of the many demands Germany will have to fulfil if it wishes to play a pioneering role in international water policy.

The high environmental

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