Technologies
In the Environmental Technologies Action Plan environmental technologies are defined as the "technologies whose use is less environmentally harmful than relevant alternatives. They encompass technologies and processes to manage pollution (e.g. air pollution control, waste management), less polluting and less resource-intensive products and services and ways to manage resources more efficiently (e.g. water supply, energy-saving technologies)" . This definition is in turn based on the definition of environmentally sound technologies provided for in Chapter 34 of Agenda 21 and reading as it follows: "Environmentally sound technologies protect the environment, are less polluting, use all resources in a more sustainable manner, recycle more of their wastes and products, and handle residual wastes in a more acceptable manner than the technologies for which they were substitutes. Environmentally sound technologies in the context of pollution are process and product technologies that generate low or no waste, for the prevention of pollution. They also cover end of the pipe technologies for treatment of pollution after it has been generated. Environmentally sound technologies are not just individual technologies, but total systems which include know-how, procedures, goods and services, and equipment as well as organisational and managerial procedures". Environmental (or clean) technologies are estimated to be able to contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 25-80%, to ozone depletion by 50% and to acidification and eutrophication by up to 50% (JRC, IPTS, Clean technologies: Mapping the future for sustainable development ).
