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How environmentally focused is the German sustainability strategy? A critical discussion of the indicators used to measure sustainable development in Germany

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Abstract

There are hardly any critical discussions of sustainable development indicator sets designed for use at the national level. This article aims at rectifying this omission in critical academic research by contributing to the discourse on environmental sustainability with an assessment of the indicator set used for the measurement of sustainable development in Germany. It will evaluate to what extent the sustainable development concept is reflected in the structure of the strategy and analyse in how far fundamental environmental issues are covered by the indicator set. The discussion will show that the environmental dimension of the sustainability concept is not sufficiently integrated in the German National Sustainable Development Strategy. Although the strategy’s indicator set contains a range of environmental indicators, gaps in the German indicator set become apparent when contrasted with important issues of sustainability. It will be concluded that the environmental dimension of the sustainable development concept is not the recurrent theme in either the strategy or the indicator set.

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Notes

  1. It is estimated that Germany ranks 6th by total fossil fuel CO2 emissions (CDIAC 2012). The country’s ecological footprint is two-and-a-half times bigger than its biocapacity (GFN 2007).

  2. Gidding et al. (2002) even dismiss the three-dimension view and suggest a model that presents the economy as nested within society, which in turn is nested within the environment—thus emphasising that the economy is a subset, depending on the others.

  3. The Study Commission on Growth, Wellbeing and Quality of Life was constituted in late 2010, started working in 2011 is supposed to report its working results to the German Bundestag before the end of the electoral term, which ends in September 2013.

  4. Showing the share of land cultivated by organically producing farms that is subject to the inspection system of the EU Regulation on Organic Farming (EC 2007).

  5. Since fish stocks are migratory, such an indicator would need to be monitored in all countries fishing in a particular marine area. The target linked to this indicator would need to be set by an international agreement.

  6. Germany: 21 indicators, compared with Austria: 95 indicators; Denmark: 119 indicators; Italy: 190 indicators (Steurer and Hametner 2010). The indicator set of the UNDESA contains 50 core indicators (UNDESA 2007).

Abbreviations

CDM:

Clean development mechanism

CO2 :

Carbon dioxide

FSO:

Federal statistical office

GDP:

Gross domestic product

GHG:

Greenhouse gas(es)

GNI:

Gross national income

GNP:

Gross national product

LDC:

Least developed country

LUC:

Land-use change

NMVOC:

Non-methane volatile organic compounds

NOX :

Nitrogen oxides

NSDS:

National sustainable development strategy

ODA:

Official development assistance

PM:

Particulate matter

SDI:

Sustainable development indicator(s)

SO2 :

Sulphur dioxide

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  1. School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    Falko Leukhardt & Simon Allen

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  1. Falko Leukhardt
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  2. Simon Allen
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Correspondence to Falko Leukhardt.

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Leukhardt, F., Allen, S. How environmentally focused is the German sustainability strategy? A critical discussion of the indicators used to measure sustainable development in Germany. Environ Dev Sustain 15, 149–166 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-012-9380-6

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