As the global population heads toward 9 billion by 2050, decisions made today will lock countries into growth patterns that may or may not be sustainable in the future. Care must be taken to ensure that cities and roads, factories and farms are designed, managed, and regulated as efficiently as possible to wisely use natural resources while supporting the robust growth developing countries still need. Economic development during the next two decades cannot mirror the previous two: poverty reduction remains urgent but growth and equity can be pursued without relying on policies and practices that foul the air, water, and land.
The 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), or “Rio+20 Summit”, confirmed that if countries, communities and businesses are seriously committed to moving towards a green economy to achieve sustainable development and poverty eradication, then they should consider establishing new measures and metrics that not only reflect these goals, but also inspire action.
Green economy indicators are useful tools for informing policy decisions. They also provide a mirror on the journey to an environmentally stable, economically sound and equitable society. That said, there is no single destination on this journey. There are many pathways depending on a country’s endowments, priorities and policies. This publication intends to foster a better understanding and utilisation of green economy indicators. “Measuring Progress Towards a Green Economy” is a practical guidebook that looks at how indicators can be used in a way that specifically supports and tracks green economy policies.
This new report reveals, for the first time, data on resource use and resource efficiency for all countries of the world over three decades, from 1980 – 2008. The data covers the global, continental and country level, featuring illustrative case studies. The report evaluates the performances of different countries, highlighting the critical issues of current trends in resource use.
The report addresses three main issues:
1. Patterns of material extraction, trade, consumption and resource productivity in different world regions and countries;
2. Connections between material use and indicators of economic and social development;
3. Links between material use and selected major environmental problems, such as carbon emissions, land use change and water use.
Green jobs in Mauritius stands at around 6.3 per cent of total employment (35,160 jobs out of a total of 558,100). This policy brief provides a summary of the assessment of existing green jobs in Mauritius undertaken in 2010. It concludes with providing a short term projection of a green growth scenario as opposed to a conventional one. The assessment originated from a request by the Government of Mauritius and was conducted by the ILO and a research team in Mauritius in 2011/2012. Its aim is to inform the Ministry of Labour as a contribution to shaping the Maurice Ile Durable (MID) strategy launched in 2008, which intends to make Mauritius a model country of sustainable development.
The report takes stock of the latest developments in the overall economic and social conditions in EECCA countries, market signals and environmental governance arrangements that may facilitate the shift towards green growth, and discusses possible barriers and measures to overcome them. At the same time, the report delineates the possible elements of a more coherent and effective reform agenda. In such a way the report aims to serve as background and a starting point for follow up development of green growth policies in EECCA.
The report contains profiles of the following countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan
This document Inclusive Green Growth: For the Future We Want includes sections on: what green growth is and how it can deliver sustainable development; the elements of successful green growth strategies; integrating green growth into government policies; international cooperation for green growth; measuring well being and progress towards greener growth; and transforming sectors.