Efectos de las políticas ambientales sobre la competitividad

There is a strong controversy about the effects of environmental policies on companies’ competitiveness and on national economies. Although there are environmental policies that, in the short term, induce costs on some sectors and, in particular, the most polluting ones, the effects of these costs on the economy as a whole are not that clear in the long run. On the one hand, there are complex economic interrelations and new equilibriums that are achieved; on the other hand, environmental policies generate innovation, new opportunities and an improvement in the companies’ image. Furthermore, not adopting environmental policies leads to other costs that are deemed to be higher than adoption costs. Among these costs are environmental degradation and natural resources over-exploitation, which are fundamental to sustain any form of life and, therefore, the economic system itself.