Enhancing energy efficiency and increasing the use of renewable energy constitute essential components of global policies to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. UNIDO recognises sustainable energy as both a precondition and catalyst for economic and social development. This has been a priority in UNIDO’s work for many years. UNIDO’s ultimate aim is to strengthen opportunities for reliable, efficient and affordable energy services, both to urban and rural populations. The organisation takes a holistic approach to energy issues by addressing both supply and demand sides, and by advocating policies aimed at implementing green energy strategies.
The greening of economic growth series ESCAP, its partners and Asia-Pacific countries have advocated "green growth" as a strategy to achieve sustainable development in the resource-constrained, high-poverty context of the Asian and the Pacific region. The conventional "grow now, clean up later" approaches to economic growth are increasingly placing the futures of regional economies and societies at risk. The forward-thinking policymaker is tasked to promote development based on eco-efficient economic growth and at the same time, record more inclusive gains in human welfare and socio-economic progress. In order to assist policymakers in responding to such challenges, ESCAP’s activity on green growth has been developed to focus on five paths: sustainable infrastructure development; investment in natural capital; green tax and budget reform; sustainable consumption and production; and the greening of business and markets. The ESCAP “Greening of economic growth” series provides policymakers with quick access to clear, easy-to-read guidance to specific "green growth" policy tools and actions.
Within the context of sustainable development, natural resources and ecosystem services provided by the environment are essential to support economic growth social wellbeing, and human health. Inaction on key environmental challenges, such as climate change, could lead to severe economic consequences in the future. It is important that the measures governments are taking now to address the economic crisis are designed so that they support – and at least do not compromise – sustainable long-term, environmentally friendly growth in the future. This discussion paper highlights some of the measures governments are already taking to 'green' their approches to economic recovery, and some of the key issues they may wish to further consider going forward regarding the impact of these approaches on the environment.
This report was commissioned by UNEP in response to the multiple global crises of 2008 – fuel, food and financial. The report proposes a mix of policy actions that would stimulate economic recovery and at the same time improve the sustainability of the world economy. The Global Green New Deal (GGND) calls on governments to allocate a significant share of stimulus funding to green sectors and sets out three objectives: (i) economic recovery; (ii) poverty eradication; and (iii) reduced carbon emissions and ecosystem degradation; and proposed a framework for green stimulus programs as well as supportive domestic and international policies.
National actions proposed for the GGND include:
Despite the severity of the current financial and economic crisis, it cannot be allowed to distract us from addressing critical and strategic climate change and energy challenges. The energy sector produces 60% of global greenhouse gas emissions and so it must also be a key part of any strategy to reduce them.
This paper describes the most promising low-carbon technologies, their current status and the policy framework that will be necessary to achieve their widespread deployment. It also highlights what immediate steps can be taken as part of a Clean Energy New Deal.
Over the past few years the employment creation potential of activities beneficial to the environment has been receiving increasing attention through the term of ‘green jobs”. These jobs are often understood to be those involving the implementation of measures that reduce carbon emissions or help realise alternative sources of energy use in developed economies. This paper explores the potential for governments to create “green jobs” and align poverty reduction and employment creation in developing countries with a broader set of investments in environmental conservation and rehabilitation to also preserve biodiversity, restore degraded land, combat erosion, and remove invasive aliens etc. In many cases, environmental degradation has a devastating direct effect on the poor, whether they themselves are the main cause of this degradation or not, and indications are that well designed interventions can contribute directly to the poverty-environment nexus by allowing income generated from environmental activities to ease the pressure on generating income through exploiting the environment.