The report underlines that the private sector, including large multinationals and small- and medium-sized enterprises, along with non-governmental organizations have a key enabling role, too.
For example:
- Unilever is working in West Africa with 10,500 small-scale farmers to promote allanblackia trees, which produce seeds rich in oil for use in spreads under the brand names Flora and Bercel
- In Brazil, the cosmetics company Natura has forged partnerships with 26 communities to source new cosmetics, fragrances, and other products under a benefit sharing project that supports the principles of the UNEP-linked Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
- The Indian-based Jain Irrigation System makes drip and sprinkler irrigation systems while providing markets for farmers’ produce. Farmers in parts of India have seen net incomes rise by US $ 100 to $ 1,000 a hectare as a result of adopting such systems while also reducing water use and environmental impacts.
“There is strong evidence that a transition to a low-carbon, resource-efficient green economy could hugely benefit the poor while helping preserve vital ecosystem services,” saidJohan Kuylenstierna, Executive Director of the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), a PEP member and co-author of the report.
“The challenge at Rio+20 is to make strong international commitments that will ensure the green economy can grow and flourish, with both public- and private-sector support. We also need to adopt policies to protect the vulnerable as their economies make this transition, and to ensure that the benefits of the green economy are fairly and equitably distributed.”
“In the Asia-Pacific region, the twin tracks of investing in sustainable inclusive infrastructure and the sustainable management of critical ecosystems to support future economic development can make a huge impact on the welfare of the poor – in both urban and rural settings,” said Bindu N. Lohani, Vice-President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development, Asian Development Bank (ADB).
“Regional institutions must galvanize efforts by governments to create the right enabling policies and channel financial resources into inclusive green growth – the kind of growth that benefits the developing countries and the poorer members of their populations.”
The report calls on delegates meeting for the Rio+20 Summit to consider “five critical building blocks” towards an inclusive green economy. These can maximize the benefits for the poor of a green economy, and foster a shared policy agenda between developing country governments, developed country partners and other stakeholders.
- National Economic and Social Policies: Fiscal policies, tax regimes, and ‘green’ social protection policies and programmes can strengthen a pro-poor transition;
- Local Rights and Capacities: Ensuring poor people have rights and tenure over their natural resources backed by the means and the incentives to sustainably manage and benefit from them;
- Inclusive Green Markets: New business models are needed to build and expand the poor’s access to inclusive markets and supply chains for green products and services, together with access to micro-credit and business development services for small and medium-scale enterprises;
- Harmonized International Policies and Support: Higher-income countries need to provide coherent aid, trade and other policies to enable low-income countries to succeed in a green economy transition; and
- New Metrics for Measuring Progress: Going beyond the narrowness of GDP to a broader indicator of economic, social and environmental progress and human well-being: this is a key issue on the table at Rio+20.
The publication has been prepared by staff from Asian Development Bank, Australia (AusAid); Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Germany’s GIZ; the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED); the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN); the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); the UN Development Programme (UNDP); the UN Environment Programme (UNEP); the World Bank; the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the World Resources Institute (WRI).
Source: UNEP.
