Challenges in the area of green economy and green transformation in regard to the development of environmental technologies

Purpose: The research objective of this paper was to define the lines of the environmental technologies development in the context of the transformation of the economy towards green growth. The discussion focuses on the challenges accompanying the transformation processes and the implementation of sustainable technological changes. The research results allowed identifying the prospective lines of technological development regarding the transformation towards green growth as well as the future research areas. Design/methodology/approach: The study was based on the analysis of the development trends strictly connected with environmental technologies. The adopted methodology involved a comprehensive literature review and quantitative research using the CAWI technique combined with complementary qualitative research using an expert panel. Findings: The analyses allowed distinguishing the most important trends and placing them within the process of the Silesia Province green transformation. The dominating importance was attributed to energy generation, storage and decarbonization (CCS and CCU) technologies. Research limitations/implications: The paper highlights the green transformation issues and the technological changes within the transition process while searching for a model approach enabling to delineate the development determining factors, especially environmental technologies. Practical implications: The study results can be used to formulate development scenarios and conduct analyses that involve these green economy components which determine the development of chosen technological areas. Originality/value: In the coming years, green economy will constitute a significant area of regional and international development incorporating resource management, RES, energy and material efficiency, clean technologies, CSR, biodiversity protection or the models of sustainable consumption and production. However, there is no research on how green economy is to be implemented in areas undergoing transformation, particularly, which technologies and factors should be considered. The identification of the challenges concerning the transition towards green economy and environmental technologies may prove critical for the Silesia Province, a region heavily affected by transformation processes, to formulate its 2030 Green Silesia Strategy and the development of its regional specialization.