Innovation, technology, and economic growth

This chapter traces the interplay of innovation, technological change and economic growth in the context of the biophysical constraints that have, and always will, set the boundaries within which human society flourishes. Special attention is given to the complexities that pose challenges for understanding the role, and guiding the uses of technology. An illustration is provided for the case of energy transitions from non-renewable to renewable fuels. As the illustration highlights, institutional and societal innovations need to accompany innovations in technology to help ensure its deployment in ways that promote sustainability. Also, since sustainability inherently pertains to development paths that unfold over long periods of time in which environmental, social and technological conditions (re-)shape each other in unknown and unknowable ways, multiple criteria, rather than, for example, standard efficiency measures, need to be used to assess (anticipated) technology performance and to guide technology deployment. The chapter closes with a critical perspective on the legal and economic instruments that currently dominate conventional economic policies and the growth objective for which they are used.