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.
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.
This review asks two questions: first, how have the public and policy debates over green growth evolved; and second, does academic research on economic and climate policy support the claims and assumptions made in these debates, and with what consequences for the green growth hypothesis? As the authors make clear, careful scrutiny of the most popular proposals for “green growth” suggests that they may well succeed at reconciling economic growth and emissions reduction. But it’s by no means clear that they offer general proposals for using the transition to a low-carbon economy to generate growth directly.
The Life Beyond Growth publication by AtKisson for the Institute for Studies in Happiness, Economy and Society, explores, as a basis, alternatives and complements to GDP-measured growth as a framing concept for social progress. The report begins by analysing the history of the economic growth paradigm, summarising the key factors that have supported the dominance of growth in global history, and then continues to provide insight on some of the contemporary political factors and technical initiatives that have led to new thinking on green growth and human well-being as indicators for social progress.
The document aims to provide a summation of the current state of the art in relation to rethinking economic growth in favour of alternative models such as green growth. It concludes with a section on the ethics of growth and happiness and a vision for the future.
This summary was prepared by UNDESA.
This synthesis report focused on five key sectors (agriculture, fisheries, building, transportation and tourism) in Barbados to scope the transition to a green economy on the island. In particular, the study focuses on the applicability of the accepted UNEP definition of green economy to Small Islands Developing States, of which Barbados is one.
Barbados is vulnerable to both fluctuations in the price of its imported fossil fuels and at risk from the destruction of its marine and coastal ecosystems from climate change therefore the report states that the pursuit of a greener path to economic development is highly attractive to the country.