Volker Ott

Bio: Volker Ott is an academic researcher. The author has an hindex of 3, co-authored 4 publications receiving 36 citations.

Energieeffizienznetzwerke – beschleunigte Emissionsminderungen in der mittelständischen Wirtschaft

Abstract: Die Verminderung der energiebedingten CO2-Emissionen in der mittelstandischen Wirtschaft durch effizientere Nutzung von Energie ist eine der rentabelsten Optionen. Dennoch werden diese Chancen wegen vielfaltiger Hemmnisse und Marktversagen kaum realisiert. Hierbei spielen hohe Transaktionskosten und Entscheidungsroutinen bei Investitionen und beim Einkauf der Betriebe eine erhebliche Rolle. Ein in der Schweiz entwickeltes Netzwerkkonzept mit Eingangsberatung jedes teilnehmenden Betriebes, Zielsetzungen fur das gesamte Netzwerk, regelmasigen moderierten Treffen der Energiebeauftragten zum Erfahrungsaustausch sowie einem jahrlichem Monitoring uberwindet viele dieser Hemmnisse und fuhrt zu einer Verdopplung des energietechnischen Fortschrittes relativ zum Effizienzfortschritt der Industrie insgesamt. Dieses Netzwerkkonzept kann weitestgehend von der Wirtschaft selbst durchgefuhrt werden. Die jahrliche durchschnittliche Energiekostenersparnis ist rd. 100.000 € je Betrieb und Jahr und die CO2-Emissionsminderung rd. 500 t CO2. Bei einem Gesamtpotential von rd. 700 Netzwerken waren fur 2020 Emissionsminderungen bis zu 10 Mio. t CO2 moglich. Ein Netzwerk-Managementsystem erlaubt einen Mindeststandard zum Aufbau und Betrieb derartiger Netzwerke fur Beratende Ingenieure und Moderatoren.

Sustainable consumption and resource management in the light of life cycle thinking

Abstract: Approaches to address unsustainable ways of societal development constantly proliferate, but total consumption of resources and aggregate environmental impacts continue rising. This could partially be explained by weak attempts to develop comprehensive sustainability strategies that address the entire life cycle of products and especially resource extraction and use phases. This paper seeks to explore to what extent these life cycle stages and associated impacts are taken into account when various actors employ life cycle thinking and how these concerns can be better attended to in policy-making, business strategies and lifestyle choices. To accomplish this, we evaluate the efforts of the main stakeholders in reaching sustainable consumption and sustainable resource management, and impediments to further progress, and study whether and how deficits in these phases coincide and can potentially contribute to more holistic practical realization of life cycle thinking. We demonstrate that new approaches are needed to be able to tackle the international dimension of production and consumption.

Macroeconomic modelling of sustainable development and the links between the economy and the environment

Abstract: Europe 2020 is the EU's growth strategy for the coming decade, pushing the EU to become a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy. Under the Europe 2020 strategy the flagship initiative for a resource-efficient Europe points the way towards sustainable growth and supports a shift towards a resource-efficient, low-carbon economy. The purpose of the MACMOD project by Cambridge Econometrics, GWS, SERI and the Wuppertal Institute is to strengthen the economic underpinning for resource policy. Essentially to analyse, how important resources are to our economy, how we will use resources in the future under a business as usual scenario, what are the economic and environmental potentials of improved resource use, how we could achieve that, and what this would mean for our economy, our competitiveness, jobs and our environment. This report presents an overview of the results which provide strong support in favour of a resource policy.

The causal impact of material productivity on macroeconomic competitiveness in the European Union

Abstract: Interdisciplinary scholars and policy makers have claimed that increasing material productivity not only reduces environmental pressures but also improves the competitiveness of economies. This is particularly relevant in the context of the European Union (EU) since it motivates its resource efficiency and circular economy agenda by referring to this assertion. However, two limitations in the literature cast doubt on the validity of the claim. First, the literature fails to clarify the concept and measurement of macroeconomic competitiveness. Second, it lacks to take the endogeneity of material productivity into account. Addressing both shortcomings, this paper reviews the concept of macroeconomic competitiveness and identifies six conventional macroeconomic indicators to approximate it. Moreover, using panel data of the 28 member states of the EU between 2000 and 2014, the causal impact of material productivity on the six indicators is estimated, instrumenting material productivity with the number of deaths from natural hazards. The results provide evidence for a positive and causal impact of the material productivity rate on the wage rate and, with lower confidence, on the current account rate, while the remaining macroeconomic indicators are not significantly affected. Overall, these results suggest to be cautious with the claim that increasing material productivity improves macroeconomic competitiveness in the EU. Particularly the positive effect on the wage rate calls for considering possibilities to channel gains from increasing material productivity into eco-innovations to reduce the magnitude of potential rebound effects and thus environmental pressures.

Identification of technologies, products and strategies with high resource efficiency potential : results of a cooperative selection process

Abstract: The pressure on the environment caused by resource use and the related emissions as well as waste disposal lead to ecological but also economic and social problems. Insecurities in supply, shortages of resources, related international raw material conflicts as well as high and strongly fluctuating raw material prices can lead to massive economical and social problems around the world. In addition, competitiveness losses due to inefficient use of resources can endanger the development of jobs and companies. Therefore, the increase of resource efficiency is becoming a political top issue. Facing this development, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) entrusted 31 project partners with the research project “material efficiency and resource conservation” (MaRess). The project is coordinated and managed by the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy.