Published: Apr 30, 2012
Last modified: Apr 30, 2012 - In less than
two months, world leaders will gather in
Rio de Janeiro for the UN Conference on
Sustainable Development. It is 20 years
since the last Rio conference, and Rio 2012
is an opportunity to assess the progress
made toward sustainable development since
1992 and begin building a Green Economy.
Speaking in Copenhagen
at a conference organised by the ethical
investment research group EIRIS, Jacqueline
McGlade, Executive Director of the European
Environment Agency, today addressed the
subject of ‘Investing sustainably: Rio+20
and beyond’.
A lot has happened in the past 20 years.
The telecommunications and internet revolutions,
the financial crisis, and the rise of the
developing world have radically altered
the foundations of policymaking that existed
in 1992. Is the idea of sustainable development
still relevant in a world where western
countries lack money to invest? Is it relevant
in a world where billions of people seek
to enjoy the comfort of middle class lifestyles,
which so often involve unsustainable consumption?
The answer is yes. Sustainable development
is more relevant now than ever.
The world has certainly become more complex
since 1992. 20 years ago, policy-makers
were only starting to link environmental
problems with development issues. But we
now have ample evidence of just how interlinked
these issues are. Further complexity has
been added by the financial crisis, and
by the growing awareness of our dependency
on a dwindling stock of natural resources.
But this complexity has also brought clarity.
We now know we must address all these issues
together.
The idea of a ‘Green Economy’ is one of
the concepts to have emerged in recent years
as a way of thinking about sustainable development.
Although there are several definitions of
what a green economy is, it has three key
aims:
to maximise resource efficiency, by reducing
our use of water, fossil fuels, and mined
materials as much as possible.
to ensure the ‘resilience’ of our ecosystems
and the services they provide. For example,
forests help absorb carbon and the seas
provide us with fish, but we must use these
resources prudently so they can replenish
themselves.
to provide jobs and opportunities for the
world’s growing population and meet their
expectations of improved standards of living.
By 2050 the world’s population will be 9
billion people, up from 7 billion today.
There will be 3 billion extra middle class
consumers by 2030 and their raised living
standards will put strain on the planet’s
resources. The green economy provides a
framework for our future development in
a world that is facing ever-greater demand
for food, land, water, materials and energy.
The technical challenges in creating a green
economy are great, but they are surmountable.
In fact, the greatest immediate challenge
is financial. Most economies in the developed
world are still reeling from the financial
crisis, and almost all are embarking on
austerity programmes. This climate of retrenchment
is affecting appetite for investment in
much-needed clean-technology. Investment
in clean-tech, already insufficient before
the financial crisis, is now falling even
further.
If we are to create a green economy, we
must overcome these barriers. Governments
must create the right incentives to encourage
the investment needed, while at the same
time re-assessing what public-private partnerships
might help to further the goal of sustainable
development.
Rio 2012 is an opportunity for the world’s
policy-makers to adopt a green economy roadmap
for sustainable development for the next
20 years and beyond. It should contain specific
goals and timetables as well as the policy
actions these goals will require.
If we achieve this, we will be able to look
back on the Rio conference as the point
that the global economy was set on a green,
inclusive and sustainable footing.
