Sixth Green Growth Knowledge Platform Annual Conference (2018)

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Location :
Paris, France

The Sixth Green Growth Knowledge Platform (GGKP) Annual Conference took place on 27-29 November 2018 in conjunction with the OECD's 2018 Green Growth and Sustainable Development Forum (GGSD) in Paris, France. It focused on the theme of "Inclusive solutions for the green transition: Competitiveness, jobs/skills and social dimensions". 

The conference addressed the political economy of the green transition, by identifying distributional impacts and exploring inclusive solutions for workers, sectors, households and regions that may otherwise be hit hard in order to help them contribute to a greener future. It also considered the role of SMEs in this context. The Forum sessions were developed around competitiveness, employment and distributional impacts of green policies.
 

Background

Global momentum toward sustainable development has been renewed by the success of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and Paris Agreement on climate change. The latest findings by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warn that current efforts to tackle rising temperatures are dangerously off track, while a growing body of evidence shows that accelerating climate action can bring strong, sustainable and inclusive growth. OECD work indicates that if we combine growth enhancing policies and climate action, global GDP in 2050 could be nearly 5% higher from boost in investment and avoided climate damage. Recent work by New Climate Economy and ILO suggest that bold climate action could yield direct economic gains.

At the same time, political priorities have placed inequality, living standards and the fate of ‘leftbehind’ communities at the top of the global agenda. While macro average figures point to a positive growth story of an innovative green future, averages mask the fact that there are pockets of society and regions that face real or perceived negative impacts on competitiveness, jobs and household budgets. Countries and regions need to proactively address such concerns and devise more socially inclusive solutions in order to accelerate the transition to a greener, low-carbon and circular economy. How can a well-managed green transition become a strong driver for job creation, competitiveness and more inclusiveness?

 

Objectives

The Forum was aimed at creating a new narrative around green growth and national competitiveness, and examined examples of successful “transition management strategies” that offer inclusive solutions for green growth. It consisted of panel discussions among policy makers, business, labour and civil society representatives and academia, as well as presentations of latest research contributed by the OECD, other GGKP partners and beyond.

 

Scientific Committee

To generate research on the topic, the GGKP and the OECD issued a call for papers in May 2018. Papers were reviewed by a Scienfitic Committee comprised of the following experts:

 

Program
Coverage
Outcomes

Monday 26 November 2018

GGKP Advisory Committee Meeting 
 

Tuesday 27 November 2018

 

2:00 pm - 3:30 pm Opening Session

Welcome
  • Rodolfo Lacy, Director, OECD Environment Department
  • Ban Ki-Moon, President of the Assembly & Chair of the Council of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) by Video Address
Keynote address:
  • Nicholas Stern, IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government, Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics (presentation)
  • Kumi Kitamori, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
  • Fulai Sheng, UN Environment
Labour and business perspective:
  • Montserrat Mir Roca, Confederal Secretary, European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)
  • Pierre Vincensini, Senior Adviser, International Organization of Employers (IOE)
Economic Policy Committee perspective:
  • Alain De Serres, Deputy Director, OECD Economics Department 

3:30 - 4:00 pm Coffee Break 

4:00 - 5:30 pm Session 1: Jobs and skills transition management: Strengthening green human capital 

Moderator:
  • Steven Stone, Chief of UN Environment's Geneva-based Economy and Trade Branch 
Scene-setting presentations:
  • Olivier Deschenes, Professor of Economics, University of California, Santa Barbara 
  • Stéphane Carcillo, Head of Division, OECD Employment, Labour and Social Affairs
Panellists:
  • Samantha Smith, Director, Just Transition Centre, ITUC
  • Eva Nordmark, President, Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees
  • Catherine Saget, Senior Economist, International Labour Organization (ILO) 

 

Wednesday 28 November 2018

9:00 am - 9:30 am Welcome Coffee

9:30 am - 11:00 am Session 2: Green Growth and Competitiveness: firms who win, firms who lose

Moderator:
  • Radolfo Lacy, OECD Director of the Environment Directorate 
Scene-setting presentations:
Panellists:
  • Norbert Kurilla, State Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Slovak Republic
  • Stephan Sicars, Director, Environment Branch, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
  • Tilman Altenburg, Head of Sustainable Economics and Social Development, German Development Institute (DIE); Chair of GGKP Research Committee on Competitiveness
  • Donal O’Riain, Managing Director, Ecocem Materials Ltd, Ireland

11:00 am - 11:30 am Coffee Break 

11:30 am - 1:00 pm Parallel Sessions (in English only)

Session A - Effects of Green Growth Policies on Labour Markets 
Session B - Policies for Regional Resilience and Distributional Impacts 
  • Distributional consequences of coastal risk management policies under sea-level risk: a survey of OECD country approaches (presentation)
    Lisa Danielson, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
  • Climate Change Adaptation in the Philippines: Case and Policy Analysis of the People's Survival Fund (paper) (presentation)
    Maria Angela Zafra, Ateneo de Davao University
  • The Social and Environmental Dimensions of China's Spatial Planning System (paper)
    Christina Wong, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Session C - Energy Pricing and Distributional Impacts 
  • Political Economy Determinants of Carbon Pricing (presentation)
    Sebastian Levi, Free University of Berlin 
  • Too much Energy: The Perverse Effect of Low Fuel Prices (paper) (presentation)
    Giorgio Presidente, World Bank Group 
  • Energy Pricing and competitiveness: Firm level evidence from Indonesia (paper)
    Jun Rentschler, World Bank Group 
  • Social effects of carbon taxes on households: impacts, consequences, solutions (original paper in French)
    Mathilde Clément, Ministry of Ecological and Inclusive Transition of France
Session D -  Green Growth Strategies for Firms
  • Green Investment and Organizational Performance: Evidence from the Nigerian Pulp and Paper Industry (paper) (presentation)
    Joseph Adelegan, University of Venda, South Africa 
  • Nordic businesses on climate transition, competitiveness and growth - An interview study among leading businesses in the Nordics
    Nils Westling, Haga Initiative
  • How does going green affect firms’ profitability and valuation? Evidence from a global firm level dataset (presentation)
    Tobias Kruse, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)     

1:00 pm - 2:30 pm Lunch Break

2:30 pm - 4:00 pm Session 3: Social impacts of the green transition

Moderator:
  • Marianne Fay, Chief Economist for Sustainable Development, The World Bank
Scene-setting presentations:
  • Ian Parry, Principal Environmental Fiscal Policy Expert, International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Panellists:
  • Theresa Griffin, MEP for the North West of England; EU Observatory on energy poverty
  • Benjamin Gestin, Director General, Water, City of Paris
  • Nicholas Howarth, Energy Transitions & Environment, KAPSARC, Saudi Arabia
  • Kevin Chika Urama, Professor, Senior Advisor to the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), formerly the Inaugural Managing Director of the Quantum Global Research Lab

4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Coffee Break

4:30 pm - 6:00 pm Parallel Sessions (in English only)

Session E - Jobs and Green Growth 
  • Impacts of Green Growth Policies on Labour Markets and Wage Income Distribution: A General Equilibrium Application to Climate and Energy Policies (paper)
    Jean Chateau, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
  • Presentation by Moustapha Kamal Gueye, International Labour Organization (ILO) and Stelios Grafakos, Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI)
  • Green Jobs in the Forest Sector / Trends in Green Forest Jobs: An analysis of green forest jobs’ trends and their implications for the sector (paper)
    Alicja Kacprzak, UNECE Food and Agriculture Organization
Session F - SMEs and the Green Transition  
  • Role of SMEs in the green and "inclusive" transition in Africa (paper) (presentation)
    Alice Kaudia, Eco-Entrepreneurs Ltd.
  • Scaling up and Mainstreaming Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production in Small and Medium Enterprises: achievements and lessons learned in the European Union’s Eastern Partnership Region (paper)
    Stephan Sicars, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) 
  • Micro and Small Enterprises - Striving towards a greener economy (paper)
    Anshul Bhamra, Development Alternatives Group
Session G - International Competitiveness
  • The Effect of Environmental Provisions in Trade Agreements on International Trade (paper)
    Clara Brandi, German Development Institute 
  • Is an accelerated mitigation strategy compatible with a competitive and equitable transition?
    Arpad Cseh, Climate Moonshot Initiative
  • Barriers to Trade in Environmental Goods: How Important they are and what should developing countries expect from their removal (paper)
    Jaime de Melo, Geneva University
Session H - Social Impacts of Climate Policies 
  • Impact of Adaptation to Climate Change on Household Food Security and Incomes in Ferlo Semi-arid Area, Northern Senegal (paper) (presentation)
    Saboury Ndiaye, Agriculture Development Project of Matam (PRODAM) Senegal
  • Social impacts of climate change mitigation policies and their implications for inequality 
    Sanna Markkanen, University of Cambridge 
  • Barriers to Trade in Environmental Goods: How Important they are and what should developing countries expect from their removal (paper)
    Nils Ohlendorf, Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC)

6:00 pm - 7:30 pm Cocktail Reception

 

Thursday 29 November 2018

9:30 am - 10:30 am Parallel Sessions (in English only)

Session I- Green Transition Strategies and Employment Skills Impacts
  • Employment Protection, Collective Bargaining, and Labour Market Resilience - The Swedish Transition Agreements
    Samuel Engblom, Swedish Confederation for Professional Employees (TCO) 
  • Green industrial path development in Swedish regions: Case of bioeconomy initiatives in Skåne  and  Värmland
    Suyash Jolly and Teis Hansen, Lund University
  • Employment impact of the transition to a circular economy in Flanders (paper)
    Kris Bachus, KU Leuven
Session J- Perceptions of Green Growth Policies 
  • Should individuals who are adversely affected by mitigation be compensated? Evidence from a survey experiment in the United States (paper)
    Brilé Anderson, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 
  • Is prioritization possible? Experts’ perceptions of obstacles and responses to staying below 2°C (paper)
    Ulrike Kornek,  Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC)
  • Perceived effectiveness of climate change mitigation policies (paper)
    Eva Kyselá, Charles University
Session K - Country Case Studies of Green Transition Strategies 
  • Welfare and Environmental Impact of Incentive Based Conservation: Evidence from Kenyan Community Forest Associations (paper)
    Boscow Okumu, University of Cape Town
  • Greening Industry in Vietnam: Environmental Standards and Resource Efficiency in SMEs (paper)
    Dalia Fadly, Philipps University of Marburg
  • Growth Through Diversification and Energy Efficiency: Energy Productivity in Saudi Arabia
    Nicholas Howarth, King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC)
Session L- Firms and Green Industrial Strategy
  • State-Owned Enterprises and the Low-Carbon Transition (paper)
    Dirk Röttgers, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 
  • Resource Efficient Eco-Innovations for a Circular Economy: Evidence from EU Firms (paper)
    Massimiliano Mazzanti, University of Ferrara
  • Multinational Corporations and the EU Emissions Trading System: Asset Erosion and Creeping Deindustrialization? (paper)
    Nils Aus Dem Moore, Leibniz Institute for Economic Research

10:30 am - 11: am Coffee Break 

11:00 am - 12:30 pm Session 4: Special Panel Discussion - Green transition in a post-truth world: How to close the gap between perception and empirical evidence?

Moderator: 
  • Roger Dungan, Deputy Permanent Representative to the OECD, New Zealand   
Scene-setting presentations:
Panellists:
  • Edgar Gutierrez-Espeleta, former Minister of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica, former President of the Secon and Third UN Environment Assembly
  • Elke Weber, Professor Energy and Environment; Professor Psychology and Public Affairs, Princeton University, USA
  • Simon Kuper, Journalist, Financial Times, UK
  • Anthony Cox, Deputy Director, Environment Directorate, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

12:30 pm - 1:00 pm Closing Session: Future Collaboration under the GGKP

Moderator: 
  • Ben Simmons, Head of Secretariat, Green Growth Knowledge Platform   
Closing Remarks by the host:
  • Masamichi Kono, Deputy Secretary-General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Future Collaboration under the GGKP:
  • Orestes Anastasia, Deputy Head, Office of Thought Leadership and Head of Knowledge Sharing, Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI)
  • Ligia Noronha, Director, Economy Division, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
  • Stephan Sicars, Director, Environment Branch, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
  • Kumi Kitamori, Head of Green Growth and Global Relations Division, Environment Directorate, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

Coverage of the conference including press, blogs and social media can be found below:

Photo coverage of the conference is available here. 

Video coverage of the conference is available here. 

Follow the GGKP on Twitter for updates. The event hashtags are #GGKP6 #GGSD, and are taking place in the context of #ParisWeek and #NatCapWeek. 

The conference report is available at ggkp.org/2018-Conference-Report

 

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