Environmental Governance In The Netherlands From The Perspective Of Ecological Modernization Theory

Since the first UN Conference on Human Environment held at Stockholm in 1972, the tides of environmental politics have experienced more than thirty years' ups and downs. From "environmental impact" to "sustainable development", great changes have taken place in the concepts, discourses and practices of environmental politics. In 1987, Our Common Future, the report by the World Commission on Environment and Development prepared by Mrs. Brundtland formally put forward the concept of sustainable development. The Agenda 21 passed at the 1992 UN World Summit on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro further strengthened this concept. And the UN Johannesburg Summit has pushed forward the progress of North-South cooperation.Ecological modernization theory, a theory about the coordinated relationship between ecology and economy, has been developed from the Western developed countries under the framework of sustainable development. According to ecological modernization theorists, the concept of ecological modernization theory has been developed on the basis of its close relationship with sustainable development. Right now, ecological modernization theory has been developed to a major eco-political theory, and many Western scholars have also started to investigate China's environmental governance from the perspective of ecological modernization.This dissertation intends to make a generalization and trimming of the connotations of ecological modernization theory and its guiding effect upon practice, aiming at solving the questions of what is ecological modernization theory, what is its instructive significance, and what kind of environmental governance best conforms to the design of ecological modernization theory. Therefore, the dissertation, taking the ecological modernization practice in the Netherlands as a sample, explores the effect of the concepts and connotations of ecological modernization theory on environmental governance, and in the mean time, appraises the contributions environmental governance practice has made to the development of ecological modernization theory. Through the evaluation of the analysis of the Dutch Environmental Governance from the perspective of ecological modernization theory, the present author attempts to demonstrate that ecological modernization theory has both analytical and prescriptive functions for environmental governance and various dimensions of environmental governance have been illustrated to showcase the application value of these functions. This is followed by a summary of and reflexions on the criticisms of ecological modernization theory, thus consummating the perception of this theory in a more complete way. And finally, attentative inquiry is made on the application value of ecological modernization theory as well as its modeling significance for China's environmental governance.The dissertation constitutes three major parts, namely the Introduction, the main body and the Conclusion.The Introduction delineates the research objects, research value, and methodology, defines the major concepts related, and presents a review of literature published at home and abroad.The main body consists of four chapters.The first chapter "Ecological Modernization Theory and Theoretical Framework of the Dissertation" analyses the background of and basis for the birth of ecological modernization theory. The theory was born to solve the relationship between modernity and environment faced by industrialized and developed Western European countries, reckoning that the best way out of ecological crises is through further industrialization, and the best solution to environmental problems is the development of advanced technology. The scenario for the birth of ecological modernization theory was the co-existence of advanced economic development in industrialized countries after the Second World War and the problems of resource depletion, energy shortage, pollution and ecological degradation. There existed various conflicts and contradictions between the government and environmental organizations, between the government and the industry, and between environmental organizations and the industry. While the development of the industrialized society and the advancement of science and technology provided an alternative for solving environmental problems, there was, at the same time, more and more concern from the public on environmental issues as well. This dissertation has generalized that the political basis for the birth of ecological modernization theory is the similar and pressing wish on the part of the government, environmental organizations and the industry to walk out of the dilemma of economy and environment; the economic basis for the theory is the industry's urgent need to find more effective ways to cope with the regulations of the government from the above, public supervision and environmental organizations' censure from outside and resource over-consumption from inside; and the cultural value basis is the transfer of value to dematerialization by middle classes. Against such a background and on such bases, the origins of ecological modernization theory derived its origin from reflexions on and response to the theoretical concepts of "crisis of human existence" and "treadmill of production", with its emphasis on the consistence of economic growth, social welfare and ecological maintenance and the necessary choice of ecological modernization as a stage of industrialized society. Ecological modernization theory also owed its origin to evolution of and echoing to the theoretical concepts of "post-modernism" and "technological determinism", with its emphasis on the transfer of industrial structure to the service sector and the role of technology in improving people's quality of life as the overall requirement for environmental governance. In the first chapter, ecological modernization theory is divided into three development stages with different representative figures, various views, distinctive features, diversified contents, and contributions and restrictions. By generalizing these, the theoretical framework of the dissertation has been extracted. The dissertation offers three progressive levels of the theoretical framework: application prerequisites application, core connotations, and practical mechanism. First, the prerequisite for the application of ecological modernization theory is that human society cannot go back to the stage before the industrialized society, that radical environmental movement makes insignificant achievements, that the development of science and technology has provided possibility for ecological restructuring, and that the public attaches great importance to environmental issues. The core connotations of ecological modernization theory include these ingredients: super-industrialization, technological innovation, strengthening of market actors, interaction between the government and other actors, coordination of ecology and economy, preventive strategy in production, integrated and comprehensive environmental governance, change of public consumption practice, decoupling of economic growth from environmental burden, and global governance. But due to the three different stages of the theory's development, the core connotations might have different emphasis in different stages, demonstrating a progressive, intensive and inclusive tendency. Finally, the practical mechanism of ecological modernization theory is embodied by the inter-action and roles of the five actors: the government, economic sectors, NGOs, civil society and technology. The first chapter concludes by integrating Huber's thoughts, Mol's five hypotheses and Janicke's models into a preliminary dynamic model set about the relationship of the five actors.The second chapter "Environmental Governance in the Netherlands from the perspective of Ecological Modernization Theory" first generalizes and sorts out the process of environmental governance change in the Netherlands. Before ecological modernization, the Dutch environmental governance was a top-down command-and-control. Though various actors realized the seriousness of environmental problems, yet the environmental governance was characterized by a singular regulation targeted at certain problems, by a limited role of industrial and commercial circles as target groups in the policy making, and by low-level participation of the public in environmental decision making and implementation due to top-down policy instruments used by the government. Since the change to ecological modernization, the environmental governance in the Netherlands has been featured by a paralleled consultative mode. In the course of policy making, the government, the industry, the public, and environmental organizations have made consensus through consultation, and the commonly drafted policy has been implemented commonly. Through several environmental documents and some policy instruments such as voluntary agreements, ecological tax and Stichting Milieukeur (eco-label), great achievements have been made in the ecological-modernization-oriented environmental governance in the Netherlands. The country has changed from a highly polluted country to a environmentally sound and economically advanced one, achieving decoupling of economic growth from environmental degradation, and ranking among the top ten in the world in terms of ecological modernization indices. The Dutch ecological-modernization-oriented environmental governance contains many distinctive features, such as having long-term strategic objectives, innovative and scientific measures, flexible and cooperative relationship between the government and other actors with a clear division of respective responsibilities, and financial support for the implementation of the policies and the attainment of the objectives. The Dutch ecological-modernization-oriented environmental governance has created a multi-dimensional win-win situation for the government, the industry and the NGOs, and has set an example for other countries.The third chapter "Dutch National Environmental Policy Plans: A Case Study" first makes a generalization of the contents of the Dutch National Environmental Policy Plan series and their distinctive features, and examines the Dutch National Environmental Policy Plans from the perspective of ecological modernization theory. By using the three levels of the theoretical framework, the chapter deals with the Dutch National Environmental Policy Plans by stages, and discusses the roles of various actors in the policy making and implementation. Before the promulgation of the first Dutch National Environmental Policy Plan, the environmental governance in the Netherlands was already equipped with the application prerequisites of ecological modernization theory, namely, highly developed industry, advanced technology, environmental consciousness of the public, and the need for coordination between the government, the industry and environmental organizations. During this period of time, the emphasized core connotations of ecological modernization theory at the first stage can also find expression in super-industrialization and the strengthening of market and technological actors. The first Dutch National Environmental Policy Plan, Dutch National Environmental Policy Plan Plus, and the Second Dutch National Environmental Policy Plan demonstrate the emphasized core connotations of ecological modernization theory at the second stage, namely co-consideration of economy and ecology, integrated and comprehensive environmental governance, preventive principle, coordinated relationship between various actors, and public participation. The Third Dutch National Environmental Policy Plan and the Fourth Dutch National Environmental Policy Plan demonstrate the emphasized core connotations of ecological modernization theory at the third stage, namely mutual benefit between economic development and environmental protection, decoupling of the two factors, interaction between the various actors, global environmental governance, and global environmental market. Through the analysis of the practical mechanism of various Dutch National Environmental Policy Plans, the dissertation generalizes that Mol's five hypotheses have under-estimated the role of the government. No matter whether a nation-state or at the global level, the role of national government in environmental governance is essential. And Janicke's models of the interplay of the various actors prove to be a little bit insufficient in describing the change to ecological modernization, and thus require revision and supplementation. After an evaluation of the analysis on the Dutch National Environmental Policy Plans from the perspective of ecological modernization theory, the dissertation offers a new model set of practical mechanism, or a new model set of the roles of actors. Factors other than those related to ecological modernization theory have been also dealt with for their influence upon the Dutch environmental governance.The fourth chapter "Retrospection upon Ecological Modernization Theory and Environmental Governance," based on the discussion, generalization, analysis and evaluation of the previous three chapters, makes an analysis and generalization of the application significance of ecological modernization theory at different levels. The dissertation reckons that apart from the descriptive, analytical and interpretative functions of ecological modernization theory as put forward by some theorists, attention should be focused on the prescriptive and formulating functions of the theory. Ecological modernization theory is an analytical and prescriptive instrument for environmental governance. Following that, the author discusses the analytical and prescriptive significance of ecological modernization theory at six levels: global environmental governance, regional environmental governance, national environmental governance, cross-national environmental cooperation, cross-sub-national environmental cooperation, and sectoral or industrial environmental governance. This chapter also responds the criticisms of ecological modernization theory by other theories, both positive and negative, on which reflexions and observations are made. The author considers ecological modernization theory, though with certain imperfections that incur attacks and criticisms, as an fairly effective way out of the ecological dilemma, and as a rational choice for the well-being of the present-day world. The Conclusion summarizes the research results, with a tentative analysis of the modeling significance of ecological modernization theory to China's environmental governance, and a preliminary outlook for prospective application of ecological modernization theory.