Green growth

Green growth is a term to describe a path of economic growth that is environmentally sustainable. It requires a decoupling of economic growth from resource use and environmental impacts. As such, green growth is closely related to the concepts of green economy and low-carbon or sustainable development. A main driver for green growth is the transition towards sustainable energy systems. Well-implemented green policies can create opportunities for employment in sectors such as renewable energy, green agriculture, or sustainable forestry.

Several international organizations, such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), have developed strategies on green growth; others, such as the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), are specifically dedicated to the issue. Many countries are taking steps towards green growth, including China and the United States.

Green growth as a policy strategy

The term green growth has been used to describe national or international strategies, for example as part of economic recovery from the coronavirus recession.[1]

Employment

The report "Growth Within: A Circular Economy Vision for a Competitive Europe" predicts that there are many opportunities in recycling, producing longer-lasting products and offering maintenance services from the manufacturer.[2]

According to the International Labour Organization, a shift to a greener economy could create 24 million new jobs globally by 2030, if the right policies are put in place. Also, if a transition to a green economy were not to take place, 72 million full-time jobs may be lost by 2030 due to heat stress, and the temperature increases will lead to shorter available work hours, particularly in agriculture.[3][4][5][6][7]

According to a 2020 report by the Green Alliance the job-creation schemes with the best value for money in the UK are: retrofitting buildings and creating cycle lanes; followed by electric ferries, battery factories and reforestation; and that these would create more jobs than proposed road-building schemes.[8] They also say that new investment in nature recovery could quickly create 10,000 new jobs.[9]

Metrics

One metric commonly used to measure the resource use of economies is domestic material consumption (DMC). The European Union, for example, uses the DMC the measure its resource productivity.[10] Based on this metric, it has been claimed that some developed countries have achieved relative or even absolute decoupling of material use from economic growth.[11] The DMC, however, does not consider the shift of resource use which results from global supply chains, which is why another proposed metric is the material footprint (MF).[11] The MF aims to encompass the resource use from the beginning of a production chain to its end, meaning from where raw materials are extracted to where the product or service is consumed.[11] Research based on the MF indicates that resource use might be growing similarly to GDP for a number of countries, as for example for the EU-27 or the member countries of the OECD.[11]

Organizational efforts on green growth
  • IEA: In 2020 the IEA published a strategy towards a "Clean Energy New Deal",[12] which is being strongly promoted by executive director Fatih Birol.[13]
  • IMF: In 2020 Kristalina Georgieva, the head of the IMF, urged governments to invest emergency loans in green sectors, scrap subsidies to fossil fuels and tax carbon.[14]
  • UNESCAP: In 2012, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific released the Low Carbon Green Growth Roadmap for Asia and the Pacific to explore the opportunities that a low carbon green growth path offers to the region. The roadmap articulates five tracks on which to drive the economic system change necessary to pursue low carbon green growth as a new economic development path.[15]
  • OECD: In 2011 the OECD published a strategy towards green growth.[16]
  • UNEP: In 2008, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) led the Green Economy Initiative.[17]
  • World Bank: In 2012, the World Bank published its report "Inclusive Green Growth: The Pathway to Sustainable Development".[18]
  • International Chamber of Commerce (ICC): In 2010, ICC launched the unique global business Task Force on Green Economy resulting in the Green Economy Roadmap, a guide for business, policymakers and society published in 2012.[19][20]

Organizations devoted to green growth
  • Global Green Growth Institute: Founded in 2010 by Korean President Lee Myung-bak and later GGGI was first launched as a think tank in 2010 by Korean President Lee Myung-bak[21] and was later converted into an international treaty-based organization in 2012 at the Rio+20 Summit in Brazil.[22]
  • Green Growth Knowledge Platform: In January 2012, the Global Green Growth Institute, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and World Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding to formally launch the Green Growth Knowledge Platform (GGKP).[23] The GGKP's mission is to enhance and expand efforts to identify and address major knowledge gaps in green growth theory and practice, and to help countries design and implement policies to move towards a green economy.[24]
  • KAIST Graduate School of Green Growth: Graduate School of Green Growth (GSGG)[25] at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) provides world-class education and research on green business, sustainable finance, and policy through Green Business and Policy Program (MS), Green Business (MS/Ph.D.), Green MBA, and Green Business and Green Finance Track programs. GSGG was ranked 4th in 'Better World MBA' by Corporate Knights in 2015.[26] Established in 2013, GSGG nurtures professionals in green growth to cope with and adapt to climate change.

National green growth efforts
  • China: since at least 2006 A.D. (with its 11th 5-Year Plan), China has been committed to achieving a green economy.[27][28] Emissions growth in recent years has decelerated sharply, underpinned by tighter environmental regulations and massive green investments, including in renewable energy and electric vehicle infrastructure. China’s national emissions trading system (ETS) — which will be rolled out to the power sector in 2020 — could help facilitate the shift to cleaner energy. For price signals to be effective however, power producers need to compete, allowing less polluting and more efficient ones to trade freely and expand their market share (which has not yet been the case in 2020 A.D.)[29][30] China also has an impact on the implementation of environmental technologies throughout Asia, via its Belt and Road Initiative International Green Development Coalition.
  • South Korea: Green growth is being discussed in the National Assembly in 2020.[31]
  • United States: President Barack Obama took several steps toward green growth. He believes that by investing in the future, energy production will not only reduce the dependency on foreign energy sources but will also create jobs and a 'clean-energy economy'. Obama had a goal of installing 10 gigawatts of renewable projects by 2020, doubling the wind and solar energy production by 2025, and to develop such policies, which will help to shape the nation's green economy.[33] A 2014 report by the Center for American Progress quantified the levels of investment necessary for the US to attain green growth, while meeting the levels of emission reduction spelled out by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).[34] In 2019, Democratic members of Congress introduced the Green New Deal resolution to create an umbrella for future government programs.[35][36]

Requirements of Green Growth

Energy sources that meet the requirements of green growth must fit the criteria of the efficient use of natural resources, affordability, access, the prevention of environmental degradation, low health impacts, and high energy security.[37] Renewable energy sources, including nuclear power, increase the power supply options for our current and future populations, and meet sustainable development requirements. While solar, wind, and nuclear energy have nearly no negative interactions with the environment when generating electricity, there is waste and emission connected to material extraction, manufacturing, and construction.[38] Overall, all renewable energy sources are a fundamental part of a nation’s green growth strategy. Nuclear,[39] wind,[40] and solar energy[41] can all be beneficial and used together to combat climate change and kickstart green growth.

See also

References
  1. Scott, Mike. "Green Growth 'Tigers' Can Help The Global Economy To Roar Once More". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  2. Estimating Employment Effects of the Circular Economy
  3. Green economy could create 24 million new jobs
  4. Greening with jobs – World Employment and Social Outlook 2018
  5. Employment Implications of Green Growth: Linking jobs, growth, and green policies
  6. Jobs in the green economy will ‘more than offset’ losses in traditional industry by 2030
  7. Green jobs as an unemployment solution
  8. Harrabin, Roger (2020-06-29). "Extra £14bn needed a year for climate, report says". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  9. Venables and Joanna Furtado, Chris; Furtado, Joanna (June 2020). Blueprint for a resilient economy (PDF) (Report). Green Alliance.
  10. "Material flow accounts and resource productivity". Eurostat. Retrieved 2020-12-17.
  11. Wiedmann, Thomas O.; Schandl, Heinz; Lenzen, Manfred; Moran, Daniel; Suh, Sangwon; West, James; Kanemoto, Keiichiro (2015). "The material footprint of nations". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 112 (20): 6271–6276. doi:10.1073/pnas.1220362110.
  12. "Ensuring Green Growth in a Time of Economic Crisis – Analysis". IEA. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  13. Ambrose, Jillian (2020-04-30). "Covid-19 crisis will wipe out demand for fossil fuels, says IEA". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  14. "IMF chief: $1 trillion post-coronavirus stimulus must tackle climate crisis". Climate Home News. 2020-04-29. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  15. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-08-03. Retrieved 2013-08-01.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. "Green growth and sustainable development - OECD". www.oecd.org. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  17. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-30.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. Sustainable Development - Getting to Inclusive Green Growth
  19. ICC Green Economy Taskforce Archived 2013-09-03 at the Wayback Machine
  20. ICC Green Economy Roadmap
  21. "About GGGI: Organizational Overview". Global Green Growth Institute. Archived from the original on 4 June 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  22. "Green Growth for All: Converting the Global Green Growth Institute". United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  23. 2012 Annual Conference | Green Growth Knowledge Platform
  24. Pages - About - Green Growth Knowledge Platform
  25. KAIST GSGG
  26. Corporate Knights
  27. Green growth in action: China
  28. China’s progress towards green growth
  29. The decoupling the world is waiting for
  30. Growing a green economy in China
  31. Watts, Jonathan (2020-05-23). "Could a green new deal turn South Korea from climate villain to model?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  32. "CCC boss: Green and resilient economic recovery can push UK towards net-zero target". edie.net. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  33. "Advancing American Energy". The White House. Archived from the original on 2015-04-23. Retrieved 2015-04-25.
  34. Pollin, Robert; et al. (September 18, 2014). "Green Growth: A U.S. Program for Controlling Climate Change and Expanding Job Opportunities". Center for American Progress. Retrieved 2018-11-14.
  35. Whyte, Chelsea (12 February 2019). "Green New Deal proposal includes free higher education and fair pay". The New Scientist. New Scientist Ltd. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  36. Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria. "H.R. 109 - Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New Deal" (PDF). Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (website). House.gov. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  37. Rogner, Holger (2012). "Green Growth and Nuclear Energy" (PDF). CESifo DICE.
  38. Viaintermedia.com. "- Waste in the Renewable Energy Industry and How We Can Sustainably Power Our World". Renewable Energy Magazine, at the heart of clean energy journalism. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  39. Kugelmass, Bret. "Want to stop climate change? Embrace the nuclear option". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  40. "Wind energy is a vital climate solution | Union of Concerned Scientists". www.ucsusa.org. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  41. Masson, Valéry; Bonhomme, Marion; Salagnac, Jean-Luc; Briottet, Xavier; Lemonsu, Aude (2014). "Solar panels reduce both global warming and urban heat island". Frontiers in Environmental Science. 2. doi:10.3389/fenvs.2014.00014. ISSN 2296-665X.


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