There are many challenges and obstacles facing developing countries in moving their economies to more environmentally friendly paths. On one hand, this should not prevent the attempt to urgently incorporate environmental elements into economic development.
On the other hand, the various obstacles should be identified and recognised and international cooperation measures should be taken to enable and support the sustainable development efforts. The conditions must be established that make it possible for countries, especially developing countries, to move towards a “green economy.”
The main conditions and dimensions have been recognised in the negotiations that led to Rio 1992, and are well established in the Rio Principles and in Agenda 21. The treatment of the “green economy” in Rio Plus 20 should be consistent with the sustainable development concept, principles and framework, and care should be taken that it does not detract or distract from “sustainable development”.
Drawing on UNEP’s Green Economy Report, this UNEP brief provides an evidence‐based roadmap for policy makers, the private sector, forest sector and forest dwellers alike. The paper includes an overview of the role of forests in the green economy, policy recommendations for forests in a green economy, and a number of success stories.
The paper concludes that to fully realise the benefits of forests in a green economy, governments and the international community will need to take an active role, including through policy reforms to create incentives to maintain and invest in forests and introduce disincentives to modify market signals and associated rent‐seeking behavior. Examples of policies include national regulations, smart subsidies and incentives, information management, supportive international markets, legal infrastructure, and conducive trade and aid protocols.
In this provocative paper, PCI Executive Director Asher Miller and Transition Movement Founder (and PCI Fellow) Rob Hopkins make a convincing case for why the environmental community must embrace post-growth economics and community resilience in their efforts to address the climate crisis.
In response to the financial and economic crisis, UNEP has called for a “Global Green New Deal” for reviving the global economy and boosting employment while simultaneously accelerating the fight against climate change, environmental degradation and poverty. A Policy Brief outlining these recommendations was prepared in April 2009. This report is a follow-up to that brief that was launched during the G20 (Pittsburgh Summit) in September 2009.
The review of country experiences with green stimulus packages reveals that much more needs to be done if the G20 is to follow through on its commitment to accelerate the transition to the Green Economy. UNEP reiterates its Global Green New Deal call, and urges G20 governments to invest US$ 750 billion of the US$ 2.5 trillion stimulus package (about 1 per cent of global GDP) towards building a green economy – one that reduces carbon dependency, addresses poverty, generates good quality and decent jobs, maintains and restores our natural ecosystems, and moves towards sustainable consumption.
Green Growth examines the impact of wind energy on jobs and the economy in the EU. The wind energy industry increased its contribution to the EU’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 33% between 2007 and 2010. In 2010, the industry’s growth was twice that of the EU’s GDP overall, with the sector contributing €32 billion to an EU economy in slowdown. Contents: The sector created 30% more jobs from 2007 to 2010 to reach nearly 240,000, while EU unemployment rose by 9.6% . By 2020, there should be 520,000 jobs in the sector. The sector was a net exporter of €5.7 billion worth of goods and services in 2010. The sector avoided €5.71 billion of fuel costs in 2010. The sector invested 5% of its spending in R&D – three times more than the EU average. Wind turbine manufacturers commit around 10% of their total turnover to R&D.