This report discusses the Green Growth Index developed by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI). The Index is the first metric for green growth that explicitly links to sustainable development. The report explains that in order to make the Index relevant at the national and international level, it was imperative for GGGI to align the Index with global sustainability goals and targets such as the SDGs, the Paris Agreement, and Aichi biodiversity targets. The indicators in the Index selected for the four dimensions of green growth have undergone systematic assessment, with regional experts rating their policy relevance to different countries and regions. GGGI also intends to further develop and improve the Green Growth Index in years to come.
The document also covers the main findings from the Index, noting that roughly half of the countries have moderate performance in attaining their green growth targets and low-performing countries still outnumber high-performing ones. Regionally, Europe leads the world in green growth performance. Africa, on the other hand, is the region where green growth work remains imperative, but also where opportunities for the most conceivable impacts are most significant. Continued enhancement of local skills and infrastructure can help improve Africa’s green growth performance. The switch to more efficient technologies also offers the region opportunities for leapfrogging to a greener future. The report also highlights that, across regions, improving green economic opportunities continues to present the largest opportunities for performance improvement. For countries in Africa, the Americas, and Asia, enhancements in sustainable land use will enable better green growth performance through more efficient and sustainable resources use.