Transcript Document
Country over-arching strategies for inclusive, green economy approaches Usman Iftikhar UNDP New York Purpose of this session • Understanding the opportunities and challenges in the transition to a green economy including the links to poverty reduction strategies and issues of social equity • Sharing experiences of different countries in formulating strategies, plans and policies and instruments for socially inclusive, low carbon, natural resource efficient economy • Understanding the trade-offs and synergies for the transition to an inclusive green economy and what helps Taking stock of lessons learned on more “inclusive” aspects • sustained economic growth is necessary but not sufficient; • economic growth in sectors that provide employment, production and entrepreneurship opportunities to the poor. – These include sectors where the poor are more likely to find their livelihoods such as agriculture, fishing, forestry and other natural resources; and others where unskilled labour is important. • redistribution of the benefits of growth through public spending in the provision of equitable, quality services for the poor – that helps improve their – and their children’s –skills and productivity. – In turn, the poor boost growth when they are equipped with assets and resources to actively take part in the development process; Taking stock of lessons learned on more “inclusive” aspects • pro-active focus on women, the excluded, and hard to reach population groups who may need special help to gain access to employment and quality services. – These may have important multiplier effects, positively affecting several dimensions of well-being • empowering the poor and marginalized – including women – to play an effective role in the decisions that determine their long term well-being; • providing protection against negative shocks – including those arising from global crises such as those due to high food prices – so as to avoid slowdowns or reversals in poverty reduction. Policy opportunities and challenges for Inclusive Green Economy Strategies • maintain growth and reduce emissions for the economy, while also promoting the creation of jobs and other economic opportunities in sectors that employ the poor; • generate adequate amounts of public revenues to allow investment in quality services with equitable access by the poor; • retain biodiversity and ecosystem services, while seeking to maintain in sustainable supply of food as well as livelihoods of the poor who are dependent on them; • enhance energy and resource efficiency in the economy, including through the equitable access to energy by the poor and the promotion of its efficient use; • ensure resilience to environmental (and other) risks through developing adaptive capacities. Practical opportunities and challenges for an Inclusive Green Economy • Integrated planning - institutional arrangements; coordination structures and alignment for national policy coherence and priorities • Integrated tools/methodologies to link achieving growth, equity, poverty reduction and sustainability and understanding where synergies are possible and where tradeoffs are inevitable • Designing carefully calibrated inclusive green economy policy responses • Costing and budgeting of policy responses and identifying and accessing a variety of financing mechanisms • Developing indicators and measurement frameworks • Identifying and addressing implementation challenges