There are currently debates in many countries on whether or not to adjust or correct the measure of gross domestic product (GDP) for deterioration of the state of the environment and depletion of natural resources. The surge in interest for developing such a "green GDP" can perhaps be traced back to the World Commission on Economy and Development's report "Our common future" (WCED, 1987) and the follow-up conference in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, (UNCED). Also the process of revising the system of national accounts (SNA) and the emergence of a "blue book" on System for Economic and Environmental Accounting (SEEA) (UN, 2003) have played an important role in motivating these debates.
This report is an effort to summarise international experiences and current status with regard to the development of a "green GDP". The context is an ongoing debate in China on how to measure performance at the national and local level in a way that not only gives incentives for economic development, but also take due notice and care of the impact on the environment and the natural resources of the unprecedented economic development taking place in parts of China.
Greening of product chains has come up as an important means to systematically improve the environmental performance of products from cradle to cradle in Europe and elsewhere. Some experience with inter-firm co-operation aiming at reducing the environmental impacts has been generated in recent years. Most of these experiences involve cooperation between some of the links in product chains, very often stopping at European borders. Problems of market communication, information availability and information costs prevent companies from going beyond these lines. Also, anonymous markets may prevent communication between producers and end-users in the West and supplying firms in developing countries. Only very few documented case studies of global greening of product chains are available. Therefore, the challenge here is how to establish interactions with the first links in supply chains. Within the context of South Africa it is of cardinal importance to identify these links to ensure sustainable synergy. European countries are constantly changing the standards of products in order to meet environmental targets.
The Second Environmental Performance Review of Belarus details the progress made by Belarus in the management of its environment since the country was first reviewed in 1997, in particular in the implementation of the recommendations of the first review.
The Second Environmental Performance Review of Republic of Moldova takes stock of the progress made by the Republic of Moldova in the management of its environment since the country was first reviewed in 1998, in particular in the implementation of the recommendations of the first review.
This handbook describes in detail how trade can affect the environment, for better and for worse, and how environmental concern can work through the trading system to foster or frustrate development, in both rich and poor countries. It is aimed mainly at those with some knowledge about trade, environment or development, but who are not expert on the intersection of the three. It aims to serve as a practical reference tool for policy-makers and practitioners, and be equally useful to the media and civil society.
Until the 1980s, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon had largely been the result of public policies (incentives, investment). Since the 1990s, with basic infrastructure installed and cattle-ranching turned profitable due to innovations, deforestation has relied on its own endogenous dynamics. To stop this trend, politics will have to use both traditional and modern instruments for influencing economic behaviour, that is, control and sanctions as well as dialogue and negotiation. Since democratisation, civil society organisations (CSOs) have grown in the Amazon region, often with important support from foreign non-governmental organisations. Today, they are important partners for sustainable, bottom-up development strategies. This has become evident in the political mobilisation against two large public infrastructure investment projects: the dam and hydroelectric plant of Belo Monte; and the paving of the federal highway BR-163 between Cuiabá and Santarém.