DYNAMIX

DYNAmic policy MIXes for absolute decoupling of environmental impact of EU resource use from economic growth

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'DYNAMIX will propose dynamic and robust policy mixes to shift the EU onto a pathway to absolute decoupling of long-term economic growth from resource use and environmental impacts. DYNAMIX assumes that the tremendous task of reaching absolute decoupling will require paradigm shifts in the way production and consumption is organised and regulated. It will therefore assess how existing and emerging paradigms affecting absolute decoupling can inform concrete policy-making. Combined with an ex-post analysis of existing inefficiencies in resource use and inadequacy of current resource policies, this will allow identifying promising policy mixes for progressing towards decoupling. These policy mixes will then be tested in qualitative and quantitative ex-ante assessments for effectiveness (benchmarked against absolute resource and impact decoupling), efficiency, sustainability and contribution to eco-innovation, using innovative environmental and economic modelling. Although being powerful tools for assessing economic and environmental impacts in the EU and globally, models have limitations in representing various social, political and legal aspects, including factors influencing human behaviour. DYNAMIX will thus systematically integrate quantitative with qualitative assessments to fully assess the real-world performance of the proposed policy mixes. The primary target group for the project are EU- and national-level policy-makers directly involved in designing and implementing resource use policies. The project aims at strengthening their capacity to implement effective resource efficiency policy options in a ‘real-world context’. To this purpose the policy-makers, together with other key stakeholders, will be involved in a systemic participatory learning process accompanying the whole project. Policy-makers will be able to shape the project’s design based on their needs, thus ensuring that DYNAMIX provides tangible support to EU policy-making for resource efficiency.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

An EU research project investigates support options for absolute decoupling as an essential component of future resource policy. The study proposes that existing policies will at best achieve relative decoupling, and that only radical social changes will achieve true decoupling.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Several major European policy strategies help to shape a future resource-efficient Europe. Considering global carrying capacities and planetary boundaries this goal will depend on absolutely decoupling economic growth from resource use and environmental impact.

The EU is far from achieving absolute decoupling. Hence, the EU-funded http://dynamix-project.eu (DYNAMIX) project aims to identify and assess policy mixes that would support achieving this objective. Between September 2012 and the end of 2015, the nine-member consortium will address the topic with four main sets of research questions. The questions cover reasons for resource inefficiencies, and case studies of past policies supporting decoupling. On this basis, promising policy mixes are identified and assessed ex-ante against benchmark targets for absolute decoupling towards a mid-term (2030) and the long-term (2050).

DYNAMIX research findings show most inefficiencies to be driven by a complex and interdependent web of behavioural, informational, institutional, infrastructural, socioeconomic and political drivers. As inefficient resource usage unfolds in diverse contexts due to a variety of factors, designing a combination of different policies targeting these interrelated drivers is important, hence requiring thinking in terms of policy mixes and of packaging of different instruments so as to mitigate unintended consequences and ease implementation.

DYNAMIX has found that existing policies mainly achieve relative decoupling, at best. Absolute decoupling will require more transformative social innovation and consumer-demand shifts.

The project hosted three policy platform events to connect with stakeholders, in Brussels in 2013 and 2014, to exchange with and co-generate knowledge through involving the target groups.

DYNAMIX is expected to help EU policymakers design and implement effective policies for decoupling. The project has designed and is now testing three policy mixes.