ABSTRACT
The theoretical framework for decoupling is constructed based on a review of two major schools of thought showing growth optimism and claiming that global economic growth can be combined with maintenance of a healthy environment. This decoupling theory provides a conceptual framework to explain the mechanisms of decoupling and what kinds of approaches can be adopted to decouple economic growth from negative environmental impacts. The specific task of the theoretical framework is to abstract a series of decoupling strategies that can be applied to individual economic sectors as well as the economic system as a whole. It is abstract in the sense that it refers to the structures of the economic system and its relations to the natural environment. It is also systematic in the sense that it categorizes the methods of decoupling in theory and practice into different groups and summarizes them at a higher level. In particular, the theoretical framework focuses on the contents of decoupling strategies, the processes implementing the strategies and the likely outcomes of implementing these strategies. The development of the theoretical framework is derived from a review of major disciplines embedding a decoupling notion.
