Greening the New Industrial Revolution

SOCIETY is presented with a dilemma by manufacturing industries. A healthy manufacturing sector helps an economy to grow, thereby raising living standards — an especially important goal for developing countries. However, as factories try to meet ever-growing consumer demand, they deplete the world’s natural resources and pollute the environment.

For some, the world now faces a stark choice between rising prosperity and a cleaner, more sustainable environment. In fact, with new technology and fresh thinking, policymakers can strike a durable balance between these competing interests.

In developed countries, consumers are increasingly recognising that, while their material well-being may be higher than ever, their quality of life suffers if the environment is damaged. For poorer countries, such concerns are dismissed as a rich-world luxury. Industrial expansion is the best way to eradicate poverty, and must surely trump environmental concerns.