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34
GREEN ECONOMY
Challenges and
opportunities
The necessarily
systemic character
of the transition to a
green economy
Alexandre d'Avignon
Luiz Caruso
policies, and in the absence of international regulations that promote technology
transfer from developed countries to developing countries, the second myth
could become a reality.
The UNEP document raises another delicate point in discussing this concept
and associating it with the sectors that generate the greatest emissions of
anthropogenic greenhouse gases in developing countries, such as agriculture
and forests, related to land use. Developed countries as a group are still those
that emit more and the sectors responsible for most emissions in these countries
– such as conventional power generation using coal, transport and buildings
– were practically out of the discussion, with the exception of transport and
renewable energy. It is necessary to provide greater details on the emissions
of developed countries and suggest solutions to decarbonize their economies,
as well as mechanisms to contribute effectively to “greening” the economies
of developing economies.
In sum, the UNEP document seems to present an overly optimistic vision
about the transition to a green economy. An effective transition would occur
if there were a change in the prevailing view about the solutions contained in
the UNEP report, such as those associated with the need for governmental
regulations or the definition of property rights through privatization as proposed
by neoliberals.
Local solutions seem to provide a clue and may become an important driver of
innovations in the workplace, in association with interest groups. The search for
flexible solutions, in which there is greater participation of affected communities,
seems to be a decisive factor for a desired transition. The questioning of
developed countries´ voracity for energy and natural resources, to the detriment
of developing countries, appears to be another essential element. Equity in the
use of these resources would build the solidarity required for a transition to an
economy that is more harmonious with the environment, while seeking other
theoretical lines, beyond the neoclassical, that provide a conceptual foundation
for alternatives to the degrading pathway which we are currently following.
Nº 8 • June 2011
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