Innovation and complex governance at times of scarcity of resources—A lesson from history (original) (raw)

Knowledge Collaboration & Learning for Sustainable Innovation Innovation and complex governance at times of scarcity of resources – a lesson from history

Historians understand the important role that access to critical raw materials has played in the development of civilizations, however access to materials has regularly led to distrust and conflict. Near future material scarcity scenarios appear to be severe and could include a mix of price volatility, supply disruptions and geopolitical tensions. Materials scarcity would affect the supply side of a range of materials upon which high-tech and renewable energy industries rely. Historically, materials restrictions were placed by societies, onto themselves and were generally short term or limited in nature. The current materials scarcity challenge, whilst being self imposed, will be long term and global in nature. One fundamental challenge will be to explore historical case studies that give us a reference point to explore potential responses. There are numerous case studies over the 20th century – mainly driven by conflicts and sanctions. This paper examines one case in particular – t...

The Resilient Economy: A Historical Investigation of Governance on Material Constraint in Britain During the Second World War: Creating Resilience to Critical Materials Problems in the Netherlands

2018

The Netherlands is vulnerable to supply restrictions because of the importance of materials for economic development: materials are at the basis of the society. The materials that are particularly vulnerable to supply disruptions and are of high importance to the economy are called critical raw materials. The Dutch government has adopted the goal of having an entirely circular economy by 2050 to reduce the vulnerability of the economy to critical materials problems. However, the literature indicates that adopting a new economic model is not sufficient and that a sustainability transformation is essential. According to literature, both a sustainability transformation and economic degrowth are essential to reach a situation of sustainable material use and therefore resilience to supply disruptions. Moreover, the literature emphasises that governance, and especially political leadership, is indispensable in achieving a successful transformation. This research shows how governance can b...

Product policy and material scarcity challenges : The essential role of government in the past and lessons for today

2017

Materials are important in economies, business, innovation activity and products, and they have quickly become essential to maintain and improve our quality of life. The world faces problems concerning material supply, but these concerns are not translated into product design activity, even though history shows that product design policy can play an important role in finding solutions to materials problems. This paper has a focus on the role of governmental policy in ensuring material availability to the state. The case of British WWII Utility Furniture scheme is one where consumer products were designed and developed as a response to severe material shortages. This action is set in the context of wartime conditions where the products were designed, manufactured, used and often reused over a long lifetime, under very stringent governmental control. The control came from the government ministries but was designed and manufactured by the private sector. The furniture scheme was brough...

Materials Democracy: An action plan for realising a redistributed materials economy

2018

Human activities within the industrial economy are now the main and most significant drivers of change to the Earth System. These changes, driven by both the scale of human population and the magnifying effects of human technologies “are multiple, complex, interacting, often exponential in rate and globally significant in magnitude” (Steffen et al. 2004: 81). The years since the 1950s “have without doubt seen the most rapid transformation of the human relationship with the natural world in the history of humankind” (Steffen et al. 2004: 131). Over approximately the same period, the use of manufactured materials has increased by 4 to 15 times (Allwood et al. 2012: 7) and correlates with a rapid rise in global GDP. The expansion of the global economy is directly linked to the rise in land, sea and atmospheric pollution, natural habitat loss and the extraction and consumption of resources. Creating a future free of these destructive patterns will require the abandonment of the ‘take, m...

Scarcity in the Modern World : History, Politics, Society and Sustainability 1800-2075

Scarcity in the Modern World : History, Politics, Society and Sustainability 1800-2075, 2019

Scarcity in the Modern World brings together world-renowned scholars to examine how concerns about the scarcity of environmental resources such as water, food, energy and materials have developed, and subsequently been managed, from the 18th to the 21st century. These multi-disciplinary contributions situate contemporary concerns about scarcity within their longer history, and address recent forecasts and debates surrounding the future scarcity of fossil fuels, renewable energy and water up to 2075. This book offers a fresh way of tackling the current challenge of meeting global needs in an increasingly resource-stressed environment. By bringing together scholars from a variety of academic disciplines, this volume provides an innovative multi-disciplinary perspective that corrects previous scholarship which has discussed scientific and cultural issues separately. In doing so, it recognizes that this challenge is complex and cannot be addressed by a single discipline, but requires a concerted effort to think about its political and social, as well as technical and economic dimensions. This volume is essential for all students and scholars of environmental and economic history.

Compound Histories: Materials, Governance and Production

Compound Histories: Materials, Governance and Production, 1760-1840 offers a new view of the period during which Europe took on its modern character and globally dominant position. By exploring the intertwined realms of production, governance and materials, it places chemists and chemistry at the center of processes most closely identified with the construction of the modern world. This includes the interactive intensification of material and knowledge production; the growth and management of consumption; environmental changes, regulation of materials, markets, landscapes and societies; and practices embodied in political economy. Rather than emphasize revolutionary breaks and the primacy of innovation-driven change, the volume highlights the continuities and accumulation of incremental changes that framed historical development.

International Policy Response Towards Potential Supply and Demand Distor-tions of Scarce Metals

This paper takes account of international policies that relate to potential supply and demand distortions of geochemically scarce metals, using indium and tellurium, which are found in thin film photovoltaics, as examples. The findings of a search among major global institutions for such policies, including initiatives and other actions that may lead to policy shifts, are presented and discussed with regard to how supply risks of the selected metals may be affected by policy, as well as in terms of intergenerational equity. This exploratory study concludes that there is a lack of international policy aimed at affecting change relating to the supply and demand patterns of these metals. Recommendations to change this unsatisfactory situation are offered that highlight the importance of international resource data, the need for academic foundation and relevance to resource efficiency in general. Solving the E-Waste Problem (StEP) Initiative Green Paper Worldwide Impacts of Substance Restrictions of ICT Equipment International policy supply and demand distortions of scarce metals