Abstract: The main purpose of the lecture is to review the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, according to which, the process of economic growth is expected eventually to limit the environmental degradation which was created in the early stages of development. The origin of the EKC hypothesis is based on Simon Kuznets' speculation in 1955 who claimed that exists a possible inverted-U relationship between income inequality and of the process of economic growth. This reduced-form EKC concept led many researchers from the early 1990s to assume that countries should focus on their economic growth and any environmental problems will be eventually eliminated by the same process of economic growth. Several empirical studies have attempted to test empirically the EKC hypothesis using data on various types of environmental degradation and for many countries or panel of countries but results are rather mixed. An EKC pattern is not confirmed for all countries but rather for some developed countries and for particular forms of environmental degradation. Other studies are attempting to examine the possible causes that may lead to an EKC pattern like the distribution of income, international trade and the pollution haven hypothesis, structural changes and technical progress, energy issues, institutional conditions and consumer preferences. Various critiques on the EKC literature have also been exercised. Such critiques focus on income distribution matters, the underlying assumption that countries follow the same pattern of growth, the assumption that the service sector is less polluting, the feedback from environmental degradation to the process of economic growth, the type of pollution (local versus global) or the type of economy (rich or poor) and econometric issues. What comes as a conclusion is the need of constructing a model that will include all the possible structural factors of an economy that may shape eventually the relationship between environmental degradation and the process of economic growth.

Brief Biography of the Speaker:
Efthimios Zervas has a degree of Chemical Engineering of National Technical University of Athens, Greece and a Ph.D. of Institut Francais du Petrole (IFP) and University of Haute Alsace - France. He worked for several years in Renault in the field of emission control and development of after-treatment devices. Since 2006, is Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Engineering of Democritus University of Thrace where he deals with energy policy, the control of pollutants emitted from combustion systems, the development and use of alternative fuels. Since September 2009 he moved to Greek Open University. He is author of more than 45 publications in international scientific journals, has more than 70 presentations in conferences, is referee of more than 130 papers of international scientific journals and has more than 400 citations.