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Washington, D.C.----As
global unemployment continues to rise and job opportunities remain
scarce, especially for youth, the creation of a green economy might hold
the answers to addressing some of today's most critical challenges.
Global unemployment reached an estimated 205 million in 2010, up from
177 million in 2007, according to the Worldwatch Institute's recently
released report, State of the World 2012: Moving Toward Sustainable Prosperity. The report highlights the need for a green economy to address current social and economic woes.
The Earth's ability
to absorb waste and pollution is increasingly challenged by the rise in
resource consumption and the corresponding throughput of energy and
materials. Stress on ecosystems is evident in many ways, from species
loss and deforestation to the overuse and pollution of critical
resources like water. A study published in Nature estimates
that, by 2009, nine critical environmental thresholds either had already
been crossed or were on track to be, pushing beyond the planetary
boundaries upon which all life depends.
Critical
environmental issues are too often pushed aside in pursuit of
short-sighted economic goals. But to effectively address the ongoing
economic crisis, environmental concerns must take center stage. By
transitioning to a green economy that values both development and
sustainability, societies can work to simultaneously alleviate the
economic, environmental, and social concerns that threaten stability.
Both industrialized and developing countries must play a role in----and benefit from----the move toward a green economy and toward sustainable prosperity that meets the needs of all people, present and future.
Unlike the
conventional pattern of economic competition that produces winner and
losers, the quest for a green economy needs to focus on win-win outcomes
that render economic activities sustainable everywhere. In relative
terms, the poor have to win more in a green economy than the rich do, so
as to reduce and eventually overcome the stark differences in claims to
the planet's remaining resources. Environmental sustainability is
ultimately impossible without social equity.
Creating stable
livelihoods is one of the most important tasks for a sustainable
economic system. "Green jobs provide immense opportunity----but unfortunately, jobs that are in accord with environmental needs remain limited," said Michael Renner, State of the World 2012
project co-director and a senior researcher at Worldwatch. "We need a
'green for all' strategy that combines technical and structural change
with social empowerment, with new approaches to everything from energy
provision and transportation to housing and waste management."
In Chapter 1 of State of the World 2012, "Making the Green Economy Work for Everybody," Renner discusses four proposals to achieve sustainability with equity:
- Green Innovation Centers: New cooperative
models should be developed for green research and development, so that
green innovations can be spread as widely and quickly as
possible. When it comes to technologies that can help save the planet,
competitive advantage is of limited value if others continue to rely on
unsustainable ways of producing and consuming.
- Global Top Runner Program: For a range of
consumer products, Japan's Top Runner program makes the most efficient
model the standard that every manufacturer has to match. Adopting such
an approach on a global level would promote sustainability. Paired with a
social top runner policy for wages, it could also promote greater
equity.
- Green Financing: An important undertaking
in transitioning to a green economy is to make green products more
affordable. A green financing program could offer preferential interest
rates and loan terms for green products.
- Economic Democracy: Irrespective of how
countries are governed, their economic spheres often function in an
undemocratic manner. In the United States, corporations are now entitled
to the same free-speech rights as individuals, while the majority of
the population has no say in how such corporations operate. A more
participatory model, where each worker has greater involvement in
corporate decision making and day-to-day processes, could help better
align corporate actions with urgent social and environmental needs.
Worldwatch's State of the World 2012, released in April
2012, focuses on Rio+20, the 20-year follow-up to the historic 1992
Earth Summit that was also held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The report
analyzes the steps that must be taken to make progress toward
sustainable development.
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