The Triple Challenge for Europe: Economic Development, Climate Change, and Governance

Europe is confronted by an intimidating triple challenge - economic stagnation, climate change, and a governance crisis. This book demonstrates how these three challenges are closely inter-related.

A return to economic growth cannot come at the expense of greater risk of irreversible climate change. Instead, what is required is a reconceptualization of what is intended by 'economic development' and a fundamental transformation of the economy to a new 'green' trajectory, based on rapidly diminishing emission of greenhouse gases. This entails a much greater emphasis on innovation in all its forms - not just technological.

Innovation policy must be placed at the very heart of industrial policy and indeed of economic policy more broadly. Other parts of the world are also facing varying forms of the triple challenge, and while the governance challenge may not be exactly the same as for Europe and the EU, Europe is uniquely placed to take the lead in addressing the triple challenge. While this may well entail certain costs in the short term, it will undoubtedly bring considerable benefits in the longer term. It should also encourage countries in other parts of the world to follow Europe's lead in this transformation process, thereby ensuring that climate change is kept within manageable bounds. Addressing the triple challenge would thus provide Europe and its citizens with a new sense of purpose, revitalizing the EU and 'the European project' over the decades to come.

Jan Fagerberg, Professor, University of Oslo, Aalborg University, and Lund University,Steffan Laestadius, Professor Emeritus, Sustainability and Industrial Dynamics Division, Department of Industrial Economics & Management, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm,Ben R. Martin, Professor of Science and Technology Policy Studies, SPRU, University of Sussex

Jan Fagerberg is professor at the University of Oslo, where he is affiliated with the Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, and at Alborg University, where he is at the Department of Business and Management. He also has an affiliation with CIRCLE at Lund University. In his research Fagerberg has among other things focused on the relationship between technology (innovation and diffusion) on the one hand and competitiveness, economic growth and development on the other. He has also worked on innovation theory, innovation systems and innovation policy and has published extensively on these and other topics in books and journals


Staffan Laestadius is professor emeritus of Industrial Dynamics at Kungliga Tekniska Hogskolan, KTH (Royal Instutute of Technology) in Stockholm, Sweden. He is also chairing the Senior Advisory Board for Climate Change at the Swedish Think Tank Global Utmaning (Global Challenge). Recently he published a policy analysis on the conditions for combining a climate change mitigation policy with the Swedish welfare system (Laestadius, S., 2013: Klimatet och valfarden, Umea: Borea bokforlag).

Ben Martin is Professor of Science and Technology Policy Studies in SPRU, University of Sussex. Between 1996 and 2004, he served as SPRU Director. He is also an Associate Fellow at the Centre for Science and Policy (CSaP), and Senior Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Business Research, Judge Business School, both at the University of Cambridge. His research for the last 35 years has focused on science policy. He helped pioneer techniques for evaluating scientific laboratories, research programmes, and national scientific performance, and for conducting 'technology foresight'. In recent years, he has conducted research on the benefits from government funding of basic research, the changing nature and role of the university, the impact of the UK Research Assessment Exercise, creative knowledge environments, and the evolution of the field of science policy and innovation studies. Since 2004, he has been Editor of Research Policy.