Electric vehicles are a potentially significant route towards low-carbon transport but widespread adoption of e-mobility will lead to greater consumption of electricity. Existing electricity systems will need to be reconfigured to meet these needs if reliance on fossil fuels is not to increase. In a paper looking at the potential of Smart Grids and electric vehicles to change and improve electricity systems worldwide, the International Transport Forum found that:
Green growth entails several different kinds of processes: conversion to low-carbon energy, climate resilience, and response to climate shocks. Equity implies a fair sharing of the costs, within countries and between countries. The authors set out to explore some of the ways that equity has been considered in climate change discussions. They discuss per capita emission right approaches, and highlight key challenges in the application of equity in global climate change negotiations. They provide a brief overview of key approaches to carbon financing, focusing on some recent cost estimations of potential climate change impacts, as well as of projected needs for green growth programs. The diversity of estimates and present evidence on the apparent gulf between available public financing and green growth needs are highlighted; and considerations of implementing green growth, focusing on building climate resilience and responding to climate shocks are discussed.
While international transport – aviation and maritime shipping – is an important facilitator and driver of trade, it also contributes significantly to climate change. This paper states that the regulation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from international transport would help mitigate climate change, as well as support a green economy transition.
This report shares the results of holistic assessments of opportunities and constraints for solving some of Viet Nam’s most pressing industrial environmental problems, paying due attention to their socioeconomic context. These served to inform and guide the development of a policy framework for widescale deployment of Green Industry approaches to ultimately achieve Green Growth in Viet Nam. A total of three replicable pilots were undertaken, from which lessons learnt and best practices were brought together to form the basis for overall policy recommendations and quantified targets. Firstly, benchmarking against good international practices in the Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) steel sector was combined with a sectoral voluntary agreement and technology roadmap, to offer a highly innovative yet equally feasible approach for Green Industry development in resource- and energy-intensive sectors.
The growing global demand for medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) could help drive Nepal’s green economy, while improving livelihoods in its poorest communities. The study focuses on the cultivation, processing and trade of high-value MAPs, which are found in the forests and grasslands of the mountains in the northern part of the country. Given Nepal’s high degree of biodiversity, the study confirms Nepal’s significant potential to develop its BioTrade sector. This study is part of Capacity Building for BioTrade (CBBT) project, which is implemented by UNEP with financial support from Germany, and has conducted similar studies in Namibia and Peru.