Revisiting Competitiveness Acknowledging the Economic Benefits of Climate Mitigation and Circularity
As part of the special edition: Earth4All Germany
This paper focuses on the macroeconomic implications and the critique of a too narrowly defined category of economic competitiveness. Typically, the short-, medium-, or long-term goals that are to be achieved through competitiveness are not further addressed, let alone potentially conflicts of objectives for example, economic competitiveness in relation to increased climate protection or fostering the transformation to a circular economy being analyzed in a sufficient way. Therefore, this paper aims not only to critically examine the seemingly unambiguous target of "increasing competitiveness" in relation to different socieatal goals and perspectives, but also to propose a broader concept of "green" and systemic competitiveness for use in scientific policy advice. It becomes clear that competitiveness is not an end in itself, but rather a means to achieve the medium- and long-term goals of a circular, decarbonised economy and a well-being society.
Against this backdrop a new look into the relation between green competitiveness and economic growth is also necessary. Ambitious climate mitigation, circular economy and dematerialisation strategies foster the rapid growth of GreenTech sectors and at the same time the degrowth of fossil, resource intensive or risky sectors. To what extent this politically driven economic structural change towards net-zero emissions and a circular economy contributes to overall positive and more sustainable pattern of GDP growth and to an (absolute) decoupling of GDP from resource consumption remains an open question. Considering sufficiency policies in conjunction with the predominantly technical strategies of efficiency and sufficiency (renewable energies) as well as with circular economy strategies makes it, according to studies, easier to achieve climate neutrality and risk minimisation through decoupling.
Peter Hennicke, Monika Dittrich, Janina Dierk:
Revisiting Competitiveness Acknowledging the Economic Benefits of Climate Mitigation and Circularity
As part of the special edition: Earth4All Germany
Wuppertal, 2026
(Wuppertal Paper no. 206)