Sustainable Development and the Territorial Dynamics of the 'Green Economy' : Actors, Scales and Policies

Following the rise of climate and environmental challenges during the last decade or so, the growing awareness among various actors of sustainability issues at the local and global levels has resulted in a change in public policies as in industrial and financial strategic moves. This change has rapidly translated into substantial investments, both public and private, in environmental sectors. Indeed, many "green" technologies and innovations are now reaching the market, and more radical ones are being developed through significant R&D investments. However, the development of this emergent "Green Economy" is rather concentrated in certain leading countries or regions. Building on some national examples, the paper explains this phenomenon by the key role played both by the integration and inter-temporal coherence of public policies and by territorial specific settings and permissive conditions