The chapter on green growth first seeks to place the concept of green growth within the history of recent discourses of environmental protection. It then distinguishes between a “standard” version of green growth and a “strong” interpretation which seeks to present a much bolder argument to policy-makers. Three different forms of this argument are identified and the evidence for them surveyed. Finally the chapter asks whether the idea of green growth is likely to be “successful”. Will its arguments prove sufficiently convincing, and the interests gathered around it sufficiently strong, to change the priorities of economic policy-making?
How can Africa’s vast natural resources create more wealth for the African people in a more resource-efficient and beneficial manner? What are the pathways to industrial growth which can create greater employment, produce higher outputs with lower inputs, and enhance competitiveness for African economies? How can vulnerabilities created by climate change, desertification and external shocks in the world economy be tempered, if not eliminated? What challenges will African countries face in the transition to a green economy and how could such challenges be overcome? What experiences within and outside Africa offer lessons that could be built upon?
These are questions that this report seeks to address. The report is meant to stimulate further discussion, aiming to contribute to articulating African views and perspectives on the theme of green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in 2012.
There are many questionable assumptions in the discussion of economic growth. One of them is the idea that governments are able to achieve sustained high growth. Another one is the belief that the solution to pressing financial and social problems centres on higher growth. It is also questionable, however, to say that giving up on economic growth as a paradigm is the necessary condition to tackle the environmental crisis. In actuality, solving such problems is about radical growth in environmental and resource-saving technologies. It is also about radical ‘‘de-growth’’ in products and processes that undermine long-term living and production conditions. This paper describes some best practice cases of ‘‘green growth’’ and the conceptual generalisations given by the OECD and other established institutions in Europe and Asia. It traces the transformation of the concept of ‘‘green growth’’ and evaluates the strategy that accompanies it.