New report: Greening the economy: Nordic experiences and challenges

The Nordic Council of Ministers for the Environment, the working group on environment and economy (MEG) has commissioned Vista Analyse to prepare a synthesis report on Nordic experiences with environmental policy since the 1970s and until today. The report describes the Nordic countries’ approaches, results and experiences, focusing on the use of economic instruments and how this policy has contributed to the integration of environmental concerns into economic growth and development policies.

The report demonstrates that the Nordic countries have been successful in achieving substantial reductions in several major pollutants and clear improvements in local and regional environmental quality, while maintaining an internationally respectable rate of economic growth. This decoupling of economic development from growth in emissions has been achieved through a range of policy instruments, with a strong and increasing element of economic instruments. The challenge, and the opportunity, for the Nordic countries is to strengthen and deepen such policies, with even more effective design of and combination of policy instruments, to deal with new and remaining threats to the local, national and international environment.

Download the report here.

The report is published through the Nordic Council of Minister’s TemaNord series (Report 2011:532), and could be downloaded here.