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change and independence of energy. The government also partially includes the
idea of making a foundation for a quality life in their policy.
On the other hand, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for
Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), which officially adopted green growth as a new
development model of the countries in the Asia-Pacific region, adds more meaning
to the concept of green growth. It includes a complementary relationship between
the environment and economic growth while it also takes quality of life into account.
Therefore, green growth includes social integration and ecological aspects. Green
growth is an ecologically sustainable economic progress to foster low carbon,
socially inclusive development, and it puts emphasis on sustainable development for
all (www.greengrowth.org). The concept of low carbon includes a symbiosis with the
environment among different generations. The concept of green growth as a social
and integral development includes a symbiosis and sharing among different social
classes in the present generation.
The root of the concept of green growth comes from sustainable development.
The word “sustainable development” was first used in the World Commission on
Environment and Development (known as Bruntland Commission) in 1987.
Sustainable development is defined as a development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generation to meet their own
needs. That is, sustainable development is a development that considers both the
lives of present and our future generations, and it does not aim for a surplus society
that consumes the past nor a “credit society” that spends the wealth and
development of our descendents. Furthermore, sustainable development, from a
social development aspect, considers the environment, economy and society and the
relationship among them at the same time. Thus, it emphasizes an integral and
balanced perspective towards development. This concept of an integral and
balanced development corresponds exactly to the concept of green growth which
contains the idea of harmonious and integrated relationships between the
environment and economy.
Despite the criticism of sustainable development being too vague and abstract
for a social policy, the concept of sustainable development can be categorized into
three dimensions as it has been developing continuously for the past 20 years. The
three dimensions are: conceptual framework, decision-making process, and means
of problem solving (Strange and Bayley, 2008). The conceptual framework of a
sustainable development is a change toward a more integral and balanced world
view. In terms of the decision-making process, the principle of integrating space and
time to all decision-making processes is being applied. Sustainable development is
also a goal-oriented and problem-solving oriented concept, which finds and solves