9 July 2009
A newly published report by the UN environmental agency underscores how environmental investments can get the global and national economies back to sustainable work.
The report launched in Nairobi on Monday said one third of the around 2.5 trillion dollars (N385 trillion) worth of planned stimulus packages should be invested on 'greening' the world economy to assist in powering the global economy out of recession and onto a Green, 21st century path.
The report, A Global Green New Deal, commissioned on behalf of UNEP's Green Economy Initiative, was written by Prof. Edward B Barbier of the University of Wyoming. Its findings, alongside those of the UNEP Year Book 2009, were presented to over 100 environment ministers attending UNEP's Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum in Nairobi. "The 2.5 to three trillion dollars to be mobilised over the next 24 months to tackle the economic crisis are sums almost unthinkable just 12 months ago," said Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director. Spent wisely and creatively they offer the chance to deal with the today's immediate crises and begin focusing and framing a response to those on the horizon from future food shortages, natural resource scarcity, energy security and climate change," he added.
The estimated 750 billion dollars (N11.5 trillion) of green investment, equal to about one per cent of current global GDP, could trigger significant, multiple and potentially transformational returns. Allied to innovative market mechanisms and fiscal policies, these include: stimulating clean tech innovation, stabilizing and boosting employment in decent jobs and protecting vulnerable groups.
Others include cutting carbon dependency and greenhouse gas emissions, reducing degradation of multi-trillion dollar ecosystems and their goods and services and tackling water scarcity .
The Global Green New Deal report, part of the UNEP Green Economy initiative, is being presented to ministers from the North and the South as an anti-dote to the current economic woes. "It represents an opportunity to accelerate towards innovation-led, low carbon, low waste Green Economy societies with decent employment prospects for many more millions of people. "Several economies, such as the U.S.; China; the Republic of Korea; Japan; Germany, Denmark, France and the United Kingdom are already earmarking parts of their multi-billion dollar stimulus packages for environmental investments.
This report is designed to inform a public debate and perhaps assist those who may be unsure how to proceed so they too can turn crisis into opportunity," said Steiner.The report said G20, comprising of the 20 largest developed and developing economies, who next meet in London in April, is the first opportunity to begin shaping a Global Green New Deal.
Such a deal can also set the stage for a successful outcome to the crucial UN climate change meeting later in the year in Copenhagen, Denmark. These are among the findings of the Global Green New Deal report, written in consultation with experts from over 25 UN bodies and external organisations including the OECD, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank."This agenda- this locomotive for sustainable development- is as relevant to developing and emerging economies as it is to industrialized ones," said Steiner.
Greening the economy is as much about greening overseas development aid development; bilateral and multilateral assistance; south-south cooperation and direct foreign investment as it is about national investment," Steiner said.The 154-page Global Green New Deal report outlines a rich array of options and actions available to countries at different points in their economic and developmental paths some of which can be undertaken nationally and others cooperatively at the regional and global level.
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How many will 1 million chase ?
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OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN , HOLY IS YOUR NAME, YOUR KINGDOM COME , YOUR WILL BE DONE, IN EARTH AS IT… [Read Full Text]
This Global Warming Stuff Is A Complete Hoax . Man has so arrogantly told
God, by inference, that God the Creator didn’t Create things quite right. The United
Nations is just another attempt by Satan to build another Tower of Babel .
If you want to know some real truth tune in to Alex Jones’ Infowars broadcast.
You can listen 24 hours a day. It’s live for 4 hours and on continuous re-broadcast for the
other 20 hours. Here’s a link to articles on the Hoax of Global Warming.
[http://www.scroogle.org/cgi-bin/nbbw.cgi]
What is this hype of Global warming… [Read Full Text]