Category Archives: Factor Four / Factor Five

Publication: “Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker: A Pioneer on Environmental, Climate and Energy Policies”

On the occasion of the 75th birthday of Prof. Dr. Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker on June 25, 2014, the following book has been published in English: Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker (Ed.): Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker: A Pioneer on Environmental, Climate and Energy Policies – Presented by Uwe Schneidewind, Pioneers in Science and Practice, vol. 28 […] more…

Speech at dinner with Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon

At the end of January I had the honour of being invited by the United Nations Association of Germany to give a short speech at a dinner with the Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon in Berlin. more…

Circular Economy, Cascade Use and Efficiency as Pillars of a Factor Five World

Here are the slides of my talk on “Circular Economy, Cascade Use and Efficiency as Pillars of a Factor Five World“ at the LCM 2011 – Towards Life Cycle Sustainability Management, on August 28–31 at the dahlem cube in Berlin. more…

“Factor Five” has been published

The successor to “Factor Four” (first published in 1997) has been published by Earthscan in December. Picking up where Factor Four left off, this new book examines the past 15 years of innovation in industry, technical innovation and policy. more…

Energy Productivity As a National Goal

The core of the answer to the energy challenges may not come from modified energy supplies but from a systematic, long term strategy of increasing energy productivity, which essentially means curbing energy demand while further increasing prosperity. more…

Technology for Sustainable Development — Decisive for Future Markets

We live in a finite world. Ultimately, there is no way around production and consumption patterns that are sustainable. Ultimately, customers, engineers, managers and politicians will show a strict priority for the respect of nature and the environment. more…

Redirecting Technological Progress: Contribution to Bolsa Amazônia

The global environment is endangered. We are losing some fifty plant and animal species every day. The global climate is beginning to become hotter. Unpredictable changes may hit countries both in the temperate and tropical zones. Theoretically even the sea water table is unstable. more…

A New Sense of Direction is Needed

I shall briefly offer some unconventional views on Japan and then move on to discuss the megatrend of globalisation which I see as the main reason for the massive neglect of the environment. I shall conclude with an attempt at establishing a new sense of direction for technology, civilisation and investments. more…

International Meeting on Environmental Fiscal Reform

Speech by Ernst von Weizsäcker, M. P., Athens, 9 November 2002 Let me at the outset distinguish two different tasks of environmental policy. One is pollution control which is predominantly a local and a national activity. The first twenty years of environmental policy in advanced industrial countries were almost exclusively devoted to pollution control and […] more…