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Resource Politics

Germany has committed itself to an ambitious resource policy. The National Strategy for Sustainable Development of the Federal Government formulates the aim of doubling the resource productivity until 2020 (compared to 1994). Following the European resource strategy, the German government has adopted the German resource efficiency strategy in 2012.
The necessity to increase resource efficiency is indisputable: Natural resources are scarce (either in geological or in economical terms), and their extraction, use and disposal is associated with environmental and social impacts. However, recent assessments suggest that the goal of doubling the resource productivity will not be reached unless further policy measures are taken. Much potential has not yet been used and politics must help to overcome these barriers. However, the concrete objectives and priorities, the level of ambition and the instrumentation of a resource policy remain controversial in politics and society.
At the FFU we analyze and support in various projects the evolving debate on resource policies in Germany and the EU from a political science perspective.