Ecological Modernisation: Assessment, Critical Debates and Future Directions

Critics raised a number of objections and pointed out limitations to perspectives and formulations common in early ecological modernization studies. Such intellectual diversity notwithstanding, most ecological modernization studies within environmental sociology, political science and human geography today have become sensitive and reflexive with respect to the role of technology in environmental change. In addition to disagreement on the desired pace and scope of environmental change, the perceived 'anthropocentric outlook' of many ecological modernization studies also seems to contribute to a continued divide. This chapter highlights ecological modernization scholarship's contributions to social theory, reviews several critical debates in which it is engaged and suggests key areas for future research on the political geographical scope, global conditions and cultural dimensions of environmental reform. Environmental problems faced by humankind today are both better understood and as biophysically, socially and politically daunting as ever.