Since the dawning of the industrial age, one key element of modern economy is the enormous extent of energy consumption and the equally enormous quantity of natural resources that are employed and used up for industry. The smokestack has been rightly used as a symbolic icon for industrial strength and economic abundance. In the global comparison, the “western” approach has been far more successful in the past 200 years than any other economic model. This is one of the reasons why the rest of the world is copying our “proven” strategy now. But there are other reasons, too. Emulation of the western industrial paradigm appears to be the swiftest and surest road out of poverty and dependence for non-western countries, and many developing countries face the choice between rapid industrialisation along “traditional” western parameters or the looming collapse of their societies. The global food crisis in spring 2008 illustrates the vulnerability of poor countries – and particularly their poorer inhabitants – to global market shifts.

At least since 20 years the EU has become aware of the fact that resource shortages may eventually turn out to be a major risk for continuing to build economic welfare by abundantly using natural resources. In other words, this core element of “traditional” industrialism may turn out to be its stumbling block. European stakeholders have become aware of two major factors that indicate a need for change. First, a reliable and cheap flow of natural resources from non-industrialised countries can no longer be taken for granted. Second, the negative impact “traditional” western industry and its complementary lifestyle have on the environment bring about serious global threats. Climate change is the most eminent among them. Although climate change, like global economic phenomena, is and will be most devastating in the poorest regions of the globe, both its direct and the indirect impacts on Europe will be serious. How serious they will be depends on the degree of success of the struggle against climate change.

There are several compelling economic and political reasons why a future-oriented policy could hardly over-emphasize the importance of increasing resource productivity:

Rising raw material and energy prices are the fastest growing cost factor in the production sector today. As exemplified by mineral oil, continuing vast consumption leads to alarming economic and political consequences. The degree of dependence on a given natural resource determines the vulnerability of an economy to shortage and depletion. There is one notable exception: renewable energy which cannot be exhausted.

Globalising western lifestyles with a business as usual approach would require at least two planets as resource basis. Developing countries do not consent to remain poor in order to support ongoing prosperity in industrialised countries based on vast consumption of natural resources. Thus, increasingly dangerous conflicts about access to resources threaten the economy of industrialised countries.

So the global region which will invent and implement alternatives without losing quality of life will be the most successful region in the global economic competition. Furthermore, it will be able to contribute significantly to the struggle against poverty in other regions of the globe without sacrificing its own abundance. Thus, it can de-escalate global conflicts, establish stability and safeguard its own ongoing prosperity.

Climate change is a global threat and must be tackled on a global scale. Obviously, the growing impetus of eco-innovation in Europe cannot stem the tide alone if the major part of the world does not provide significant contributions to the struggle of climate change. Emission reduction and mitigation measures in Europe, for example, do have an impact on the speed of climate change. But compared to the steadily growing quantities of greenhouse gases emitted by newly industrialized countries (NICs), emission reduction in Europe, important as it is, loses significance within a global scenario. It has the be kept in mind, however, that it is neither feasible nor recommendable to try to deny the desire for development brought forward by developing countries and NICs.

The combined endeavours which are necessary to get a decisive grip on climate change and resource shortages can be summed up as a new industrial revolution. This revolution has to dwarf its precursor in two respects: it has to happen thrice as fast and it has to take place on a global scale. (1)

Eco-innovation is both the keyword and the key of this new industrial revolution. From a European perspective, this means employing a bundle of already proven policies, lessons learned and best practices on the global scale. It means accelerating European eco-innovation – and, thus, supporting Europe's competitive edge - by a continuous stream of knowledge dividends resulting from the implementation of European sustainable technologies in NICs and developing countries. It also means safeguarding the future of Europe both from the impacts of climate change and the turmoil of global economic and political disruptions.

"The EU Innovation panel (2) has defined eco-innovation as follows:
'Eco-Innovation aims at the creation of novel and competitively priced goods, processes, systems, services, and procedures that can satisfy human needs and bring quality of life at life-cycle-wide minimal use of natural resources (material including energy, water and surface area) per unit output, and a minimal release of toxic substances'.
1.The concept of eco-innovation should be supported as a cross-cutting issue with an adequate focus on knowledge / learning gaps, good practices and opportunities in each sector.
2.The logic of public support for eco-innovation should be different, to include different calculations of the cost of innovation. Hence, public policies should support eco-innovation taking into account its integrated costs, which implies that even if innovation is not cost effective under the current market price regime, it will become profitable under a global competition aspect.
3.The European Commission is asked to support actions on awareness raising, capacity building, demonstration projects identifying and disseminating existing good practices in the field of eco-innovative products and services.“(3)

As the McKinsey-Report states:

"Productivity growth, such as occurred in the Industrial Revolution, is largely a microeconomic phenomenon. New technologies are developed and deployed, new investments made, new infrastructure put in place, and changes occur in the decisions, practices, and behaviours of millions of business managers, workers, and consumers“(McKinsey 2008: 12f).

This is what will happen in Europe both as a result of the new industrial revolution and as its core characteristic. Thus, European business will transcend the satiated markets of the industrialised countries. Instead of stagnating, European business will grow and multiply in order to satisfy both new customer demands at home and those of the emerging markets which will appear in countries whose populations currently cannot afford European products. There, Europe-based global eco-innovation will provide sustainable energy and sustainable, reliable logistics, the core elements of stable, growing economies of the future.