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Issue 2014-4 12 May, 2014
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The GGKP has produced a new video introducing users to, and walking them through the GGKP web platform and its various functions. Launched in January 2014, the GGKP's new web-based knowledge platform aims to provide a growing green growth community of practice with easy access to the policy analysis, guidance, information and data necessary to support a green economy transition. Key features of the web platform explored in the video include: the searchable resource library with over 650 policy and technical publications; the collection of over 25 sector and theme pages drawing together information on relevant resources, projects and blogs; and the country dashboards available for 193 countries with key information on national-level data, projects, resources and policies. The video can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjN62YdfTFA
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The Green Growth Knowledge Platform (GGKP) is a global network of international organizations and experts that identifies and addresses major knowledge gaps in green growth theory and practice. By encouraging widespread collaboration and world-class research, the GGKP offers practitioners and policymakers the policy guidance, good practices, tools, and data necessary to support the transition to a green economy.
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In recent years, Kenya has adopted several green economy-related approaches and policies, including embedding sustainable natural resource utilization into its 2010 Constitution and mainstreaming green economy in its Second Medium Term Plan (2013-2017). In this context, UNEP has produced a new Green Economy Assessment Report for Kenya, which assesses the economic benefits and challenges of investing in priority economic sectors in support of Kenya's transition to a green economy. The study examines investments under "business-as-usual" (BAU) compared to green economy scenarios in four key sectors that are critical for the country's green growth, namely: agriculture, energy, manufacturing and transport.
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"Environmental Policies and Risk Finance in the Green Sector", by the OECD, aims to better understand the drivers and characteristics of risk finance in the green sector. The paper provides a detailed description of risk finance in the green sector across 29 OECD and BRIICS countries over the period 2005-2010 and identifies the role that policies might have in shaping high-growth investments in this sector. The results suggest that both supply-side policies and environmental deployment policies, designed with a long-term perspective of creating a market for environmental technologies, are associated with higher levels of risk finance relative to more short-term fiscal policies, such as tax incentives and rebates.
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The International Institute for Sustainable Development and the Global Subsidies Initiative have produced a new report focusing on the wind and solar PV sectors in India. "India's Green Industrial Policy: Assessing Green Industrial Experience" reviews the Indian policy framework for increasing the share of renewables in the energy mix within the context of multiple social, economic and technological objectives. The paper concludes that while support to the industry has come at a relatively low cost, development has been slow and many policies have been found wanting when evaluated against the originally proposed goals. The report suggests that 'green' rather than 'industrial' elements have been best supported by policy to date. Marrying the two elements more completely will allow the benefits of a renewable energy manufacturing sector and environmental protection to be successfully realized.
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In their new paper, "Close to home: Subnational strategies for climate compatible development", CDKN and ICLEI explore successful strategies and measures for climate resilience and low carbon development that communities and leaders have pursued at the subnational level. The authors find that opportunities exist at the subnational level because local decision-makers often have a sound understanding of climate trends in their area, based on first-hand experience and local and indigenous knowledge. They have a good sense of solutions that are effective in the local context and they have the ability to mobilize local resources for implementation, including people's time and knowledge. The paper draws on the practical experiences of CDKN's project partners and the broader ICLEI network.
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Countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion are relatively well-endowed in natural capital, but alongside rapid rates of growth and market development, the region's natural capital is showing signs of stress. Given the importance of natural capital stocks and ecosystem services in the region, many countries have started to examine how green growth could contribute to the resilience of their economies and societies. A new report from the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, "Green Growth in the Greater Mekong Subregion", analyses these green growth policy considerations, outlines barriers to progress, and makes recommendations for moving the agenda forward.
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"Green Bonds for a Green Economy: Considerations for Ontario", a policy paper from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, examines the potential for green bonds as a policy tool in the transition to a green economy. The paper provides a brief overview of green bonds issued outside of Ontario, identifies potential problems with Ontario's green bonds, which could undermine their potential, and recommends a number of steps that the Government of Ontario could take to make its green bond program a success for Ontarians and the environment.
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"Climate Resilience in Development Planning: Experiences in Colombia and Ethiopia", a new paper by the OECD, discusses the current state of knowledge on how to build climate resilience in developing countries. It argues that climate-resilient development requires moving beyond the climate-proofing of existing development pathways and considering economic development objectives and resilience priorities in parallel. Achieving this will require political vision and a clear understanding of the relation between climate and development, as well as an adapted institutional set-up, financing arrangements, and progress monitoring and evaluation. The report also discusses two priorities for climate-resilient development: disaster risk management and the involvement of the private sector. Two country case studies, Ethiopia and Colombia, are discussed in detail.
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The GGKP held its second Regional Practitioners' Workshop, 2-3 April 2014, in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The workshop, titled "Pathways to Green Growth in Africa," brought together over 120 participants from close to 30 countries with the aim to facilitate knowledge sharing amongst green growth practitioners in Africa. Hosted by the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the workshop was funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and organized by the World Bank in collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). More information, including presentations, photos and video can be found at: http://www.greengrowthknowledge.org/event/ggkp-practitioners-workshop-pathways-green-growth-africa
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