In the full recognition of the seriousness of climate change problems, Korea announced a new policy towards greening its economy. In his address marking the 60th anniversary of Korea’s foundation in 2008, President Lee Myung-bak declared ‘Low Carbon Green Growth’ as the country’s new vision to lead the country’s development for the next decades. In 2009, the government announced the ‘National Strategy for Green Growth’ up to 2050, to be gradually implemented through five-year plans.
The national strategy envisages three main objectives: (1) mitigation of climate change and the strengthening of the country’s energy independence, (2) creation of new growth engines, and (3) improvement of the quality of people’s lives and enhancement of Korea’s international status. These goals are pursued by 10 designated policy directions, such as mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, development of green technologies, creation of a green homeland and others.
The market for environmental services is substantial and growing. This policy brief argues that if well managed, liberalisation of trade in environmental services can provide substantial benefits to the private sector as well as the general public.
The paper clarifies that this would be achieved through enhanced market opportunities, improved health and environmental sustainability, particularly in developing countries.
Findings encompass:
Export restrictions are implemented nowadays with the aim of achieving a number of goals, such as food security, industrial development, environmental protection and natural resource conservation. Nevertheless, the current paper brings about a rethinking of the needs and policy objectives behind such measures.
The document presents the following findings:
- in most cases, export restrictions are implemented as one element of a larger resource management strategy
- most restrictions have been imposed by LDCs and developing countries, which account for a high proportion of natural resources produced worldwide
- rules under the WTO governing the use of export restrictions are less developed than those on the import side
- in some cases, export restrictions have served a role in reducing incentives to produce, and have sometimes exacerbated price spikes and volatility on the global markets that they sought to respond to
The authors indicate that countries may wish in the future to multilaterally negotiate better-adapted disciplines and policies, yet they underline these considerations:
This article considers how green growth might move from religion to reality. We make three straightforward arguments: first, that green growth will require a systems transformation; second, that a growth-inducing systems transformation must look beyond the energy sector; and third, that both green growth and energy systems transformation will require a range of policy interventions that go well beyond conventional prescriptions for emissions pricing and R&D subsidies.
Appealing to the broad-based growth catalysed by earlier transformations in energy, transport, and information technology, this article argues that the real green growth challenge lies in discovering the transformative potential of a low-emissions energy system for economic production and social innovation writ large.
The 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), or “Rio+20 Summit”, confirmed that if countries, communities and businesses are seriously committed to moving towards a green economy to achieve sustainable development and poverty eradication, then they should consider establishing new measures and metrics that not only reflect these goals, but also inspire action.
Green economy indicators are useful tools for informing policy decisions. They also provide a mirror on the journey to an environmentally stable, economically sound and equitable society. That said, there is no single destination on this journey. There are many pathways depending on a country’s endowments, priorities and policies. This publication intends to foster a better understanding and utilisation of green economy indicators. “Measuring Progress Towards a Green Economy” is a practical guidebook that looks at how indicators can be used in a way that specifically supports and tracks green economy policies.