A Resource Paradox Problem behind Green Innovations

Abstract

Green innovation is considered to be a promising approach to addressing environmental issues such as global warming. However, excessive resource use may be induced behind green innovation, which was defined as the "resource paradox problem" by the authors. People have gradually faced with the imminent risk associated with the resource paradox problem, but without sufficiently quantifying it. This paper introduced quantitative examples of resource paradox problems potentially seen at the national, material, and product levels. Then, importance in the categorization of resource consumption patterns and development of corresponding strategies were highlighted for some green innovations that cause the resource paradox problem. Finally, the effects of the introduction of renewable energy and the usage patterns of products were discussed in the context of the resource paradox problem.