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International Labour Organization (ILO)

The 2007 International Labour Conference report and conclusions on sustainable enterprises address several economic, social and environmental aspects which are to be taken into account in order for businesses to be sustainable. The main purpose of the present paper is to illustrate the environmental elements of a strategy towards the creation of sustainable enterprises by highlighting impacts on employment of different environmental instruments and policies.

International Trade Centre (ITC)
United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment)
International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD)
The impact of trade on a green economy transition depends in large part on how trade policies are designed and applied. This policy brief shows that trade can be an overall driver in the transition to a green economy by helping to create and strengthen markets for sustainably produced goods and services.
 
However, the author shows that this requires fostering the exchange of environmentally friendly goods and services, and increasing resource efficiency. Otherwise, if managed poorly, unrestrained trade can contribute to environmental degradation, unsustainable resource use and increased wealth disparities.
 
The paper finds that the existence of national and institutional conditions to cope with the impact of liberalisation is of great importance.
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Trade liberalisation can provide access to green goods and technologies at lower cost and greater efficiency. This paper illustrates that liberalising trade in environmental goods can create new markets and export opportunities, thus supporting export-led development strategies.
 
The document figures that increased deployment of cheaper and better-quality environmental goods helps countries counter environmental degradation and climate change, facilitating the transition to a green economy. In this respect, the author notes that the greatest growth potential for environmental goods (EGs) is to be found in developing countries. Nevertheless, non-tariff barriers (usually technical regulations) hamper developing countries ability to trade in environmental goods.
 
The paper underlines that negotiations on environmental goods and services are part of the WTO Doha Round.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

The Asia-Pacific Regional Human Development Report (APHDR) focuses on the need for the region to find ways to continue to grow economically, while reducing poverty and tackling climate change and environmental concerns. The report addresses climate challenges facing small island developing states (SIDS) in the region with special attention given to the least developed countries (LDCs), including Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. The report assesses climate change impacts from the perspectives of mountain dwellers, delta communities, islanders, indigenous and tribal peoples and the urban poor.

This summary was prepared by Eldis.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment)
International Labour Organization (ILO)
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)

This report was launched at the first Global Human Development Forum which brought together high-level experts from governments, corporations, civil society and international organizations to examine the global policy changes required to ensure a sustainable future for people today and for generations to come.  The report, supported by 13 U.N. agencies, calls for a transformation to integrated policy making, where social equity, economic growth and environmental protection are approached together.   It is a contribution of governments, experts, researchers and development practitioners ahead of the ‘Rio+20’ U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development in June in Brazil where participants will come together to discuss and shape new policies and measures to promote prosperity, reduce poverty and advance social equity and environmental protection.

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

This report, (March 2009) prepared by UNEP proposes recommendations, objectives and suggestions for implementing a GGND as a response to the multiple crises the world is now facing. UNEP splits its proposals into three categories; targeted stimulus spending in 2009-2010, changes in domestic policies, and changes in international policy architecture. UNEP outlines a GGND with three objectives: revive the economy and create jobs, promote sustainable growth and reduce carbon dependency and environmental destruction. Section four and the annexes look at the different green economy sectors that could be used to stimulate economic recovery and reduce environmental impact through investment in five main areas.

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
This paper illustrates the potential for developing sustainable environment management practices such as BioTrade in Latin America.
Organisation :
World Bank Group

This book is organised as follows: the first chapter examines the pattern of structural transformation in Middle East and North Africa, or MENA and summarises the role of various factors examined thoroughly in the rest of the volume. The second chapter examines the correlates of this overall disappointing performance. At the macro level, MENA countries have been unable to maintain depreciated (undervalued) real exchange rates for long periods, yet such undervaluation has proved important to offset the market failures and poor institutional environment that severely hit the dynamic non-resource-intensive traded sectors.

Organisation :
World Bank Group

The world's first cities were in the Uruk cluster in Mesopotamia. The largest was Ur, which appears in the Epic of Gilgamesh (one of the earliest known works of literature, set around 3,500 BCE). Extending over 60 hectares, Ur was home to about 24,000 people. But as an irrigation city, also providing marketing and defense services, it governed and extracted surpluses from a neighboring population of about 500,000. Its urban population was densely concentrated, more than 400 people per hectare, and the planning practices were strikingly sophisticated. With four main residential areas, Ur offered its inhabitants basic amenities such as well-laid-out streets and sanitation. The report provides a framework to help city leaders make informed decisions for sustainable development in their cities. This book, planning, connecting, and financing cities, now distills the lessons learned from these diagnostics into a practical framework for sustainable urbanization, which is organized around the three policy pillars of the title.

Organisation :
LEI
World Bank Group

This report analyses the social dimensions of the Republic of Macedonia's green growth strategy using a Participatory Scenario Development (PSD) methodology. The report provides a summary of the major challenges faced by the Republic of Macedonia in terms of social-economic development, demographic development and climate change, future development scenarios, with breakdowns by sector, and recommendations with respect to green growth strategy development. The report is part of the World Bank's support to the Macedonian government through the "FYR Macedonia Green Growth and Climate Change Analytic and Advisory Support Program".