Developing countries will be decisive in shaping the success of the EU strategy focused on sustainable development. Although they face a drastic increase in environmental pollution, as e.g. in greenhouse gas emissions, mitigation actions do not rank high among their priorities. The relative unwillingness with which the majority of developing countries approach executive policies aiming at sustainability issues stems from their different understanding of preferences regarding economic development. The obvious reason lies in the necessity for them to continue the development process, which is characterised by pressing needs other than emission control. Being economically poorly or less developed, they tend to give priority to economic growth rather than to ecological issues, even at the expense of devastating their natural environment. Therefore the key question is whether or not the environmental policy provides an opportunity for their economic development.

The only way to accelerate the participation of developing countries in environmental policies – and therefore to come closer to the goal of a global sustainable development – seems to be the design of strategies which enable their economic development. Conditions should be created that are conducive to environmental protection and sustainable growth on a global scale. Greater emphasis must therefore be placed on elements such as international equity and economic development. In particular, an approach should be adopted which starts from the viewpoint of development and not climate change mitigation. A first step is to prepare a development strategy for a country and to consider where in this strategy the measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions can be integrated. This approach is also sometimes referred to as "sustainable development policies and measures" or "development first" and is particularly attractive for developing counties, as has also been confirmed by various research studies.

• An overview on and the analysis of "development first" architectures.
• The identification and assessment of possible sustainable development policies and measures.

• Economic Development and Sustainability in W8D and IMPEC Models of the Polish Economy
• Macroeconomic Consequences of Introducing Taxes on Carbon Dioxide Emission in Poland
• Untying the Climate-Development Gordian Knot – Economic Options in a Politically Constrained World
• Distribution Matters - Taxes vs. Emissions Trading in Post Kyoto Climate Regimes

SMASH (lead), IVM, LFEA, IEEP