The discourse of “green growth” has recently gained ground in environmental governance deliberations and policy proposals. It is presented as a fresh and innovative agenda centered on the deployment of engineering sophistication, managerial acumen, and market mechanisms to redress the environmental and social derelictions of the existing development model. But the green growth project is deeply inadequate, whether assessed against criteria of social justice or the achievement of sustainable economic life upon a materially finite planet.
This volume outlines three main lines of critique. First, it traces the development of the green growth discourse qua ideology. It asks: what explains modern society’s investment in it, why has it emerged as a master concept in the contemporary conjuncture, and what social forces does it serve? Second, it unpicks and explains the contradictions within a series of prominent green growth projects. Finally, it weighs up the merits and demerits of alternative strategies and policies, asking the vital question: “If not green growth, then what?”
The 2015 EU Energy Union Package proposes integrating renewables into the market, just as the UK has moved away from Premium Feed-in Tariffs (FiTs) for renewable electricity supply (RES-E) to something closer to the standard FiT, which, when auctioned, demonstrated a 3% real fall in the weighted average cost of capital (WACC). The UK, which has experimented with nearly all forms of RES-E support, offers the evidence base for designing the Energy Union’s RES-E support. Innovation needs a further redesign to deliver adequate funding, best done through country contributions to an EU-wide innovation competition.
This report presents the current progress of Italy towards a green economy. It provides a clear overview of the diffusion of green businesses and practices within the manufacturing, building and trade industries, and the primary and tertiary sectors. The report highlights that about 40% of Italian firms are either:
- Core Green (i.e. firms that produce environmental goods and services, or firms whose outputs have low environmental impact); or
- Go Green (i.e. firms that are taking steps towards the greening of their supply chains and business practices).
Additionally the report offers an overview of the modern state of some themes which are strategically important for the transition to a green economy in Italy. In specific the report analyses the diffusion of renewable energy technologies, the improvements in energy efficiency, the reduced emissions of pollutant gases, circular economy, eco-innovation, land and natural resources management, ecological agriculture and sustainable transport.
Sustainable transport systems are crucial for underpinning the economic performance and prosperity of nations. They are also critical for tackling global climate change and reducing local air pollution. This is particularly the case in the world’s urban areas.
This paper provides an overview of the available evidence on the link between the effectiveness of transport systems and economic, social and environmental performance. It starts with a short overview of the main trends in urban transport, and then covers the costs of the current model of urban development and transport use and the benefits of an alternative model. It discusses potential tipping points in transport mobility worldwide and barriers to scaling up positive change. Finally it concludes with an overview of international collaborative initiatives on urban transport and with some recommendations for policy-makers.
Sustainable infrastructure is at the nexus of growth, poverty reduction and environmental sustainability, and is therefore important to making progress toward the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals, which aim to end poverty by 2030.
The report Financing Change: How to Mobilize Private-Sector Financing for Sustainable Infrastructure examines how to create the financing environment that could create a step change in private-sector capital flows into sustainable infrastructure. By evaluating and analyzing the global demand for infrastructure and the current lack of enough supply of finance, the report offers an overview of solutions to boost private-sector investment in sustainable infrastructure in a way that creates value for investors as well as improving climate and development outcomes.