In the long run, economical and industrial progress is still better for the environment. The key is new technologies. There is no pollution that cannot be clean

In the long run, economical and industrial progress is still better for the environment. The key is new technologies. There is no pollution that cannot be cleaned up, the question is only in the cost, and that depends directly on the tech. Ultimately, any piece of trash or a dangerous chemical can be separated into atoms (e.g. with a plasma burner) that can be separated into pure chemical elements that then can be used to create products or chemically neutralized. The problem is only in the cost of energy, and that's, again, a question of tech. With fusion reactors, we'll have a way to solve world's pollution problems easily. So yes, developed countries ARE moving towards a clean environment. The solution is to move faster, not try to slow down the progress in economy, industry and technology with greenie measures that achieve only temporary pollution slow-down while postponing the real future solutions.