October 2011 Newsletter

Contents

• Zero Draft Text
• Feature Article: How planetary science can inform economics
• Joining the dots
• 5th Global Meeting
• Secretariat news
  

A week ago the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cut the economic growth forecasts for Europe, the US, and Japan; and even predicted low growth for China and India. Shortly afterwards, the US Federal Reserve released a stark warning on the state of the American economy. The prospects for our global economy are looking bleak.

Our dismal economic prospects have prompted commentators to stress the need for policies that ‘generate growth’ and that are supported by ‘international co-operation’. However, for the most part, the conversations are failing to cite the transition to a green economy as a route back to prosperity.

For those of us who have been tracking the progress of our global economy for some time, a transition to a green economy is one that offers a new and different pathway to growth. It is a vehicle for sustainable development. As such, Rio 2012 presents a unique opportunity for us to make the following case; a green economy can help us generate a practical policy framework towards economic and societal revival.

So let us talk about Rio: Is it going to be a success? Is it worth the effort from your organisation?

I was in a meeting with some financiers the other day. One of them asked ‘What is Rio 2012? I have never heard of it’. Underlying his question was clearly the sentiment; ‘If, I, an important person in the economy have not heard of this event then surely it can’t be important’. He had a point. Increasingly, inter-governmental processes are struggling to communicate beyond the walls of the UN system. They are failing to permeate the very power circles that - like it or not - define the political agenda.

Let us cast our thoughts forward to Rio 2012 and imagine the possible scenario. There will be lots of very harassed environment ministers arriving from around the world. Their presidents, prime ministers, treasury, finance and business ministers will likely stay at home trying to resuscitate their flagging brown. Those environment ministers will be under clear instructions ‘not to agree to anything that will hinder our economic prospects’.

So is there an alternative to Rio 2012?  For example, could the World Economic Forum’s process in Davos provide the kind of leadership that is required to deal with the problems that we face as global community? Potentially, given the profile of people and leaders that it attracts. However, unfortunately, the overt political agenda of the Davos process is set by influential actors who want to preserve and protect their own powerbase.

So the question is clear; how can we bring UN Rio 2012 in contact with genuine progressive economic power?

For me, the link between these two worlds is one that is already being forged: It is the green economy. A green economy offers a way of tackling the big questions facing all governments today regarding jobs, tax, public spending and growth. A green economy provides a framework for bringing sustainable development into core economic decision-making. A green economy is the way that we can bring those financiers to sit at the same table as the governments, civil society and practitioners to ensure that we are all working towards common goals – the needs of people and the planet.

So, let us re-imagine what Rio 2012 can do as an opportunity for bringing UN and economic power together. Perhaps, it is time to be bold and positive. Let us use Rio 2012 to explore what a green economy offers as a way out of the bleak prospects that we face. We could use those days together to coordinate a multi-stakeholder trade fair for a green economy. We could invite every progressive company, bank, social business and green-tech provider to come and show their wares. This may persuade the trade and finance ministers to come to Rio with the questions posed in their heads: Would this work in my country? Would this create growth and jobs? What policies would support this, nationally and internationally? They could then take those thoughts into the UN process and agree how to kick start a global green economy.

Oliver Greenfield
Convenor
Green Economy Coalition

Zero Draft Text

As you know, the deadline for the Zero Draft text is now fast approaching. All submissions need to be in by 1st November, 5pm, Easter Standard Time. UNDESA have produced a guidance note for submissions, the ones most relevant to our community are as follows:

The submission should;

• Outline what we would like to see come out of Rio 2012, including concrete proposals;
• Provide comments on existing proposals including a green economy roadmap, framework for action, sustainable development goals;
• Provide views on how to actually implement the policies, particularly focusing on the role of government, Major Groups, UN system, IFIs;
• Specific to the green economy, the submission should have specific focus on the role of a green economy in tackling poverty, describing some of the experiences to date, opportunities, challenges and possible elements of an agreement in outcome document.

Over the summer, the GEC’s Policy Working Group began to collate some of the policies, recommendations and commitments that we would like to see come out of Rio 2012 as a coalition. We presented our initial thinking at a very well attended side event at the UNDPI conference in Bonn. The feedback from the session was wide ranging and positive.

The draft for Bonn provides a good baseline of demands across the coalition. However, we would really like to see the draft strengthened, improved and enhanced. We would like it to be as progressive and far reaching as possible.

Over the next two weeks we are hoping to speak to as many coalition members as possible to get their input into this draft. Please do get in touch if you would like to provide input into the draft.

Feature Article
How planetary science can inform economics

One of our ambitions as a coalition is to help ensure that discussions of a green economy do not get spun, green-washed or diluted. For us, the current economic paradigm is based on false economic assumptions and a lack of scientific evidence. So, we are not interested in merely tinkering with the fringes of the economic system, but rather, we want to transform the foundations on which economic decisions are made with the needs of people and the environment in mind.

In one of the latest articles in our online Know How section, Oliver Greenfield puts two such economic assumptions on the table; the assumption that when something is valuable, and when it is free, it tends to infinity. And, when something is exhausted, or too expensive, a substitute is almost certain to be found.

The article takes us on a short journey through planetary science to see if such economic assumptions can be supported by our natural resource base. What supports the life cycles on which we depend? How can we create a productive and green infrastructure capable of supporting both the economy and society? The article puts forward six big ideas to answer these questions.
 

Joining the dots

One of the biggest problems that we face as a global community is the tendency to ‘work in silos’. The problem is not just particular to governments - where ministries so often struggle to communicate, let alone work together - but it is a problem faced within and across organisations, sectors and disciplines.

It was exactly this problem that brought together the Green Economy Coalition. All of our organisations recognised that, whilst we all have very different agendas, we were all seeing similar problems caused by the current economic paradigm. We recognised that by sharing our experiences, our knowledge and our agendas, we could begin to build a multi-dimensional picture of how to move forward.

While we have moved a long way together within the coalition, we now want to see how some of our ideas and positions fare amongst wider economic, scientific, financial and political communities. We want to try to join the dots across different disciplines.

So, over the next three months the Green Economy Coalition is going to be seeking the opinions of economists, scientists, financiers, and politicians on a green economy. We will be getting their feedback on our Zero Draft Text submission. We will also be asking them to contribute to the big picture.

We will keep you posted on all of our activities via the website, but if there are particular big thinkers within our respective communities and networks that you would like us to approach who could bring value to the discussions, then please do get in touch.

5th Global Meeting

Our 5th Global Meeting is now set for 14 – 16 November in London.

This is a really important opportunity for the coalition. Rio 2012 is rapidly approaching and the pressure for innovative and progressive thinking on a green economy is building. Increasingly, the Green Economy Coalition is being sought for their perspectives and practical suggestions on how to accelerate the transition to a fair and green economic system.

So, we want to use our time together to share our plans as individual organisations and to decide on our collective presence at Rio 2012.  We also want to showcase the work of the coalition to a broader audience in a public event or panel discussion. Do get in touch if you would like to provide some input on the event. 

Space is limited for the Global Meeting. So please do RSVP to Kate Lines as soon as possible if you are able to attend.

Secretariat news

As Rio 2012 approaches, so the invitations for the Green Economy Coalition to attend global meetings are now piling up.

In the coming month, Oliver Greenfield will be attending the Global Green Growth Forum in Copenhagen (11-12 October); he will also be attending the Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly panel on the green economy in Switzerland (19 October). Emily Benson will be attending the Global Transition dialogue hosted by the New Economics Foundation and Stakeholder Forum in New York (12 October). We will keep you posted on these events in upcoming newsletters.