ABSTRACT

This chapter deals with the historical background of sustainable development, then, with the conceptual characteristics of sustainable development, and finally, with the paradigm shift from traditional business and economics toward green business and green economics. Global warming and a worldwide environmental crisis are the phenomena behind the fourth revolution of the green wave. Northeast Asia is the most dynamically growing region in the world, and thus the northeast Asian countries do fear more for the global warming than any other country in the world as well. The most outstanding challenges in the twenty-first century may come from the strong effect of global warming and Internet revolution. The global warming and environmental crisis should become not threat but challenging opportunity for all countries, regardless of their economic level and/or cultural differences. Environmental issues are one of the most challenging cases of traditional market failures, because a decision unit can use up all environmental resources, with resulting deterioration for other decision units.