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18
GREEN ECONOMY
Challenges and
opportunities
Delineations of a
green economy
Helena Pavese
The GEI flagship is the development of the Report about green economy,
launched in February 2011, “Towards a green economy: pathways to sustainable
development and poverty eradication”. The document contains an analysis
of macroeconomic aspects and issues linked to sustainability and poverty
reduction related to investments in a range of sectors from renewable energy
to sustainable agriculture. It is expected that such analysis will support the
formulation of policies that can catalyze an increase in investments in these
green sectors. In addition to analyzing this content, GEI provides consulting
services to countries and regions and produces research products as well
as promotes the establishment of partnerships with a wide range of actors,
including academia, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, among
others, for the effective promotion and implementation of green economy
strategies.
“To w a r d s a g r e e n e c o n o m y: p a t h w a y s to
s u s t a in a b l e d e v e l o p m e n t a n d p o v e r t y e r a d ic a t io n”
Produced by the UNEP in partnership with global economists and specialists,
the report “Towards a green economy: pathways to sustainable development
and poverty eradication” seeks to defend the proposal that making economies
green does not necessarily imply a reduction in economic growth and
employment levels. On the contrary, such a transition would allow growth to
be strengthened through the generation of descent jobs 8 and would consist
of a vital strategy to eliminate poverty. It is hoped that the evidence raised by
this study will encourage decision makers to develop favorable conditions for
increased green economy investments, based on three main strategies:
1. Stimulate a change in investments, both public and private, seeking to
encourage critical sectors in the transition to a green economy;
2. Demonstrate how a green economy can reduce persistent poverty through
a wide range of important sectors, including agriculture, forestry, fishery, water
and energy; and
3. Provide guidelines on policies that permit this change; through the
elimination of perverse subsidies, identification of market failures, establishment
of regulatory frameworks or stimulus for sustainable investments.
Nº 8 • June 2011
The report seeks to demystify the idea that there is an inevitable trade-off
between social development, economic growth and environmental sustainability
and dispel misconceptions that green economy is a luxury whose costs only
developed countries can bear. The principal message highlighted by the Report
is that:
8. Employment that provide an adequate salary, social welfare and respect of workers’ rights
that allow workers to express their opinions about decisions that affect their lives. Source: OIT
(2009).