In the first post-transition decade after the fall of communism, Europe and Central Asia (ECA) moved its economy from plan to market. In the second decade, the 2000s, it moved from social division to inclusion. The region has an opportunity to use the third decade, the 2010s, to move from brown to green growth making production and consumption more sustainable, increasing quality of life, and reducing impacts on the climate. Lowering climate change risks in ECA will involve many different actions that fall broadly into three areas. Some, like energy efficiency improvements, are often economically beneficial regardless of climate concerns. Others, like creating a good business environment for green enterprises, are investments that create new growth opportunities. Finally, actions like expanding wind and solar energy will have net costs for some time but are essential to tackling climate change. A simple framework helps guide climate action. The priorities are to use energy more efficiently, use cleaner energy, and manage natural resources better.
China - and to some extent Brazil and India (BICs) - are staging a ”Great Convergence” in terms of industrial strength and incomes. This reverses the past two centuries of the Great Divergence, which has separated them from the West. In the process, the BICs are lifting millions of people out of poverty. But in the great transformation that lies ahead, there is a significant problem to contend with: the model of industrial capitalism that has served the West so well - and which has been held out as a model for the BICs as well - will not “scale” to lift vast new populations out of poverty. A new model of industrial capitalism has to be developed, and in some people’s eyes it is inconvenient that China is leading the way.
In 2005, the concept of green growth was introduced in the Asia-Pacific region as a strategy for sustainable growth in developing countries. This roadmap, produced by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), is intended for the use of member states to help policymakers find win-win strategies for promoting growth and reducing carbon emissions. Drawing upon innovative approaches, particularly from the Republic of Korea, this manual lays out the challenges, strategies and policy options of green growth in several critical sectors.
The document is divided into two parts, with additional case studies and fact sheets available via CD-ROM. Part one presents an overview of the opportunities and challenges the region faces regarding low carbon green growth. It also discusses the system change required to shift focus to this new development path. Part two of the roadmap shows how to start the process of pursuing green growth through five different tracks, outlined below, which are seen as core elements of necessary systemic change:
This volume discusses several policy challenges facing countries to achieve and sustain inclusive growth. It is based on the proceedings of a conference co-organised by the OECD Economics Department and the World Bank on 24-25 March 2011, which brought together academics and practitioners from advanced, emerging-market and developing economies. While discussions on strong growth typically focus on the pace of economic expansion, those on inclusiveness also delve into the patterns of growth and on how its benefits are shared among the various social groups. An important message that came out of the conference is that strong growth is not necessarily inclusive and that policy action is needed to make sure that pro-growth initiatives also foster inclusiveness.
The private sector is increasingly being engaged in climate finance and climate-related activities. Private sector opportunities for engagement in climate change adaptation are less clear than for mitigation, particularly in developing countries. This article first conceptualizes private sector engagement in adaptation by exploring: (1) different roles of the private sector in adaptation in developing countries; and (2) the way governments can create an enabling environment to increase private sector engagement. Second, it analyses how 47 least developed countries (LDCs) envisage the role of the private sector in their National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs). This article argues that private sector engagement in adaptation is often inevitable and potentially significant. Yet, the results show that it receives little attention in NAPAs.