Towards a Green Economy: are we really headed that way?Derek Eaton, an economist and programme officer at the United Nations Environmental Programme is in Brussels today presenting his answers to this question. In a long awaited, groundbreaking report, he is setting out new "Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication" that every entrepreneur and aspiring sustainable business should take note of.
As I watched the stress and saw care Derek has taken with his team to put this monumental project together over the past year, and I'd like to honor UNEP in this blog by sharing with our community about the report -- a must if you want to be ahead of the game on how to build a sustainable business!
As Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director writes,
"Nearly 20 years after the Earth Summit, nations are again on the Road to Rio, but in a world very different and very changed from that of 1992.
Then we were just glimpsing some of the challenges emerging across the planet from climate change and the loss of species to desertification and land degradation. Today many of those seemingly far off concerns are becoming a reality with sobering implications for not only achieving the
UN’s Millennium Development Goals, but challenging the very opportunity for close to seven billion people − rising to nine billion by 2050 − to be able to thrive, let alone survive."
The report points out that a sustainable future "will only be possible if the environmental and social pillars of sustainable development are given equal footing with the economic one: where the often invisible engines of sustainability, from forests to freshwaters, are also given equal if not
greater weight in development and economic planning."
The report makes the "economic and social case for investing two per cent of global GDP in greening ten central sectors of the economy in order to shift development and unleash public and private capital flows onto a low-carbon, resource-efficient path."
The outcome could "catalyze economic activity of at least a comparable size to business as usual, but with a reduced risk of the crises and shocks increasingly inherent in the existing model. New ideas are by their very nature disruptive, but far less disruptive than a world running low on drinking water and productive land, set against the backdrop of climate change, extreme weather events and rising natural resource scarcities."
The concept of a green economy is powerful because, according to the authors, "one political perspective over another. It is relevant to all economies, be they state or more market-led. Neither is it a replacement for sustainable development. Rather, it is a way of realizing that development at the national, regional and global levels and in ways that resonate with and amplify the implementation of Agenda 21."
Looking at the world today, we can see that a transition to a green economy is already underway, but that there are many challenges to keep going on this path. If we beyond 2012, we will desperately need a far more intelligent management of the natural and human capital of this planet, as this is what, according to Steiner, "finally shapes the wealth creation and direction of this world."
You can read the full report online or download parts of the report on the Green Economy site:
As I watched the stress and saw care Derek has taken with his team to put this monumental project together over the past year, and I'd like to honor UNEP in this blog by sharing with our community about the report -- a must if you want to be ahead of the game on how to build a sustainable business!
As Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director writes,
"Nearly 20 years after the Earth Summit, nations are again on the Road to Rio, but in a world very different and very changed from that of 1992.
Then we were just glimpsing some of the challenges emerging across the planet from climate change and the loss of species to desertification and land degradation. Today many of those seemingly far off concerns are becoming a reality with sobering implications for not only achieving the
UN’s Millennium Development Goals, but challenging the very opportunity for close to seven billion people − rising to nine billion by 2050 − to be able to thrive, let alone survive."
The report points out that a sustainable future "will only be possible if the environmental and social pillars of sustainable development are given equal footing with the economic one: where the often invisible engines of sustainability, from forests to freshwaters, are also given equal if not
greater weight in development and economic planning."
The report makes the "economic and social case for investing two per cent of global GDP in greening ten central sectors of the economy in order to shift development and unleash public and private capital flows onto a low-carbon, resource-efficient path."
The outcome could "catalyze economic activity of at least a comparable size to business as usual, but with a reduced risk of the crises and shocks increasingly inherent in the existing model. New ideas are by their very nature disruptive, but far less disruptive than a world running low on drinking water and productive land, set against the backdrop of climate change, extreme weather events and rising natural resource scarcities."
The concept of a green economy is powerful because, according to the authors, "one political perspective over another. It is relevant to all economies, be they state or more market-led. Neither is it a replacement for sustainable development. Rather, it is a way of realizing that development at the national, regional and global levels and in ways that resonate with and amplify the implementation of Agenda 21."
Looking at the world today, we can see that a transition to a green economy is already underway, but that there are many challenges to keep going on this path. If we beyond 2012, we will desperately need a far more intelligent management of the natural and human capital of this planet, as this is what, according to Steiner, "finally shapes the wealth creation and direction of this world."
You can read the full report online or download parts of the report on the Green Economy site:
The Green Economy Report was produced in close partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO).
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