• Technology

• Health

• Environment

• Project Co-ordinator: Dr. rer. nat. Stephan Lingner, Dipl.-Geol.    

• Memorandum: U. Steger et al.: Nachhaltige Entwicklung und Innovation im Energiebereich., Springer 2002 (Ethics of Science and Technology Assessment, Vol. 18)
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• Duration: 9/00–12/03

• Funding: German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) 

• Further Information on  “Sustainability”

The concept of sustainable development is central to the development and implementation of policies concerning environmental issues. The concept of innovation plays the same role in both economic and scientific fields. The terminological specification of these concepts is intended to help those involved in the corresponding discussions to grasp these more precisely and to organize them specifically towards their particular ends. Furthermore, it is generally accepted that sustainable development – however defined – has to rely upon innovative technologies. To examine this relation more closely, the focus is on the energy sector: it shows paradigmatically the bias between an enormous resource consumption which makes this sector promising for reduction and the importance for all areas of life which limits the reduction potential dramatically.
The project group structured its work around the question of what can be done in terms of sustainable development with innovations alone. On a solid terminological basis, recommendations have been given for further research agendas as well as for the relevant policy areas.

Sustainability