Economic growth, pollution, and quality of environment: estimation of problems and solutions

Abstract

Faced with the dilemma of industrial economic growth and improved environmental quality, the government must formulate a sound environmental regulatory policy to accelerate the tipping point of improving environmental quality. In our opinion, the issues of measuring the effectiveness and rationality of economic policies and environmental regulation tools will be at the centre of scientists’ upcoming research. Production with a high level of pollution limits the further development of the economy of any country. It is necessary to radically change the mode of development of the industrial economy, which requires a constant increase in the overall productivity of «green» factors of production, which contribute to improving the quality of economic growth in industry. In the process of accelerating the «green» transformation of the economy, the important role of the productivity of «green» factors in the transformation of the economic growth regime should be fully realized. The authors examine environmental factors that directly affect the country’s economy in the context of the selected indicators. Improving the quality of the environment is not an inevitable endogenous result in the process of economic growth, that is why, we cannot continue the current extensive economic growth regime and expect automatic improvement in the quality of the environment. There is a certain threshold for the quality of the environment. As soon as environmental pollution exceeds the capacity of the ecosystem, it will lead to irreversible environmental losses. Therefore, we must first correct the concept of pollution, and then control it, taking into account the improvement of environmental quality and economic growth.