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.
In March, 2011, China officially adopted its 12th Five-Year Plan, a blueprint for China’s development from 2011 to 2015. Its green targets will shape the country’s action on the environment over the next five years. But what are they? How were they decided? And what do they tell us about China's future path? In this book, chinadialogue brings together expert views from China, the United States and Europe on the significance of the Five-Year Plan, for China - and the wider world.
This policy brief sets out the different methodologies available to assess the employment potential that green policies can offer and, in so doing, aims to help to focus policy decision-making in order to make it as efficient and productive as possible.
The cities of the 21st century are the largest sites of human settlement today and are increasingly acting as critical nexus points of social, economic, ecological and technological change. This is especially evident in the developing world city context, where growth is most rapid and where future sustainability challenges will be most severe - all this in the light of growing inequalities, poverty and the pervasiveness of slums and informality. This publication presents a rationale for socially inclusive urban transitions to sustainable growth and draws on a range of case studies and theoretical and analytical considerations to establish the basis of the argument. It outlines practical steps that cities can take towards resource efficiency, including: the integration social measures into urban development; governance approaches that engage local communities and civil society groups; financial incentives and subsidies for green technologies; technology transfer; and innovation. The summary was prepared by Eldis.
This report is part of 'China 2030'. China should complete its transition to a market economy through enterprise, land, labor, and financial sector reforms, strengthen its private sector, open its markets to greater competition and innovation, and ensure equality of opportunity to help achieve its goal of a new structure for economic growth. These are some of the key findings of China 2030, a joint research report by a team from the World Bank and the Development Research Center of China's State Council.