The Sixth Green Growth Knowledge Platform (GGKP) Annual Conference took place on 27-29 November 2018 in conjunction with the OECD's 2018 Green Growth and Sustainable Development Forum (GGSD) in Paris, France. It focused on the theme of "Inclusive solutions for the green transition: Competitiveness, jobs/skills and social dimensions".
Background
Global momentum toward sustainable development has been renewed by the success of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and Paris Agreement on climate change. The latest findings by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warn that current efforts to tackle rising temperatures are dangerously off track, while a growing body of evidence shows that accelerating climate action can bring strong, sustainable and inclusive growth. OECD work indicates that if we combine growth enhancing policies and climate action, global GDP in 2050 could be nearly 5% higher from boost in investment and avoided climate damage. Recent work by New Climate Economy and ILO suggest that bold climate action could yield direct economic gains.
At the same time, political priorities have placed inequality, living standards and the fate of ‘leftbehind’ communities at the top of the global agenda. While macro average figures point to a positive growth story of an innovative green future, averages mask the fact that there are pockets of society and regions that face real or perceived negative impacts on competitiveness, jobs and household budgets. Countries and regions need to proactively address such concerns and devise more socially inclusive solutions in order to accelerate the transition to a greener, low-carbon and circular economy. How can a well-managed green transition become a strong driver for job creation, competitiveness and more inclusiveness?
Objectives
The Forum was aimed at creating a new narrative around green growth and national competitiveness, and examined examples of successful “transition management strategies” that offer inclusive solutions for green growth. It consisted of panel discussions among policy makers, business, labour and civil society representatives and academia, as well as presentations of latest research contributed by the OECD, other GGKP partners and beyond.
Scientific Committee
To generate research on the topic, the GGKP and the OECD issued a call for papers in May 2018. Papers were reviewed by a Scienfitic Committee comprised of the following experts:
- Nicholas Stern (London School of Economics)
- Tilman Altenburg (German Development Institute)
- Pranab Baruah (Global Green Growth Institute)
- Olivier Deschenes (University of California, Santa Barbara)
- Antoine Dechezleprêtre (London School of Economics)
- Marianne Fay (World Bank)
- Carolyn Fischer (Free University, Amsterdam)
- Cameron Hepburn (University of Oxford)
- Ian Parry (International Monetary Fund)
- Steven Stone (UN Environment)
- Kevin Urama (African Development Bank)
Monday 26 November 2018
Tuesday 27 November 2018
2:00 pm - 3:30 pm Opening Session
- Rodolfo Lacy, Director, OECD Environment Department
- Ban Ki-Moon, President of the Assembly & Chair of the Council of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) by Video Address
- Nicholas Stern, IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government, Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics (presentation)
- Kumi Kitamori, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Fulai Sheng, UN Environment
- Montserrat Mir Roca, Confederal Secretary, European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)
- Pierre Vincensini, Senior Adviser, International Organization of Employers (IOE)
- Alain De Serres, Deputy Director, OECD Economics Department
3:30 - 4:00 pm Coffee Break
4:00 - 5:30 pm Session 1: Jobs and skills transition management: Strengthening green human capital
- Steven Stone, Chief of UN Environment's Geneva-based Economy and Trade Branch
- Olivier Deschenes, Professor of Economics, University of California, Santa Barbara
- Stéphane Carcillo, Head of Division, OECD Employment, Labour and Social Affairs
- Samantha Smith, Director, Just Transition Centre, ITUC
- Eva Nordmark, President, Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees
- Catherine Saget, Senior Economist, International Labour Organization (ILO)
Wednesday 28 November 2018
9:00 am - 9:30 am Welcome Coffee
9:30 am - 11:00 am Session 2: Green Growth and Competitiveness: firms who win, firms who lose
- Radolfo Lacy, OECD Director of the Environment Directorate
- Carolyn Fischer, Professor of Environmental Economics, Free University, Amsterdam (presentation)
- Norbert Kurilla, State Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Slovak Republic
- Stephan Sicars, Director, Environment Branch, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
- Tilman Altenburg, Head of Sustainable Economics and Social Development, German Development Institute (DIE); Chair of GGKP Research Committee on Competitiveness
- Donal O’Riain, Managing Director, Ecocem Materials Ltd, Ireland
11:00 am - 11:30 am Coffee Break
11:30 am - 1:00 pm Parallel Sessions (in English only)
- The greening of jobs in Germany: First evidence from a text mining based index and employment register data (paper) (presentation)
Markus Janser, German Institute for Employment Research - Characterising green employment: The impacts of 'greening' on workforce composition (paper) (presentation)
Eileen Tipoe, University of Oxford - Climate Policies and Skill-Biased Employment Dynamics: Evidence from EU countries (paper) (presentation)
Francesco Vona, OFCE Sciences Po, and Giovanni Marin, University of Urbino, Italy
- Distributional consequences of coastal risk management policies under sea-level risk: a survey of OECD country approaches (presentation)
Lisa Danielson, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) - Climate Change Adaptation in the Philippines: Case and Policy Analysis of the People's Survival Fund (paper) (presentation)
Maria Angela Zafra, Ateneo de Davao University - The Social and Environmental Dimensions of China's Spatial Planning System (paper)
Christina Wong, Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Political Economy Determinants of Carbon Pricing (presentation)
Sebastian Levi, Free University of Berlin - Too much Energy: The Perverse Effect of Low Fuel Prices (paper) (presentation)
Giorgio Presidente, World Bank Group - Energy Pricing and competitiveness: Firm level evidence from Indonesia (paper)
Jun Rentschler, World Bank Group - Social effects of carbon taxes on households: impacts, consequences, solutions (original paper in French)
Mathilde Clément, Ministry of Ecological and Inclusive Transition of France
- Green Investment and Organizational Performance: Evidence from the Nigerian Pulp and Paper Industry (paper) (presentation)
Joseph Adelegan, University of Venda, South Africa - Nordic businesses on climate transition, competitiveness and growth - An interview study among leading businesses in the Nordics
Nils Westling, Haga Initiative - How does going green affect firms’ profitability and valuation? Evidence from a global firm level dataset (presentation)
Tobias Kruse, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
1:00 pm - 2:30 pm Lunch Break
2:30 pm - 4:00 pm Session 3: Social impacts of the green transition
- Marianne Fay, Chief Economist for Sustainable Development, The World Bank
- Ian Parry, Principal Environmental Fiscal Policy Expert, International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- Theresa Griffin, MEP for the North West of England; EU Observatory on energy poverty
- Benjamin Gestin, Director General, Water, City of Paris
- Nicholas Howarth, Energy Transitions & Environment, KAPSARC, Saudi Arabia
- Kevin Chika Urama, Professor, Senior Advisor to the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), formerly the Inaugural Managing Director of the Quantum Global Research Lab
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Coffee Break
4:30 pm - 6:00 pm Parallel Sessions (in English only)
- Impacts of Green Growth Policies on Labour Markets and Wage Income Distribution: A General Equilibrium Application to Climate and Energy Policies (paper)
Jean Chateau, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) - Presentation by Moustapha Kamal Gueye, International Labour Organization (ILO) and Stelios Grafakos, Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI)
- Green Jobs in the Forest Sector / Trends in Green Forest Jobs: An analysis of green forest jobs’ trends and their implications for the sector (paper)
Alicja Kacprzak, UNECE Food and Agriculture Organization
- Role of SMEs in the green and "inclusive" transition in Africa (paper) (presentation)
Alice Kaudia, Eco-Entrepreneurs Ltd. - Scaling up and Mainstreaming Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production in Small and Medium Enterprises: achievements and lessons learned in the European Union’s Eastern Partnership Region (paper)
Stephan Sicars, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) - Micro and Small Enterprises - Striving towards a greener economy (paper)
Anshul Bhamra, Development Alternatives Group
- The Effect of Environmental Provisions in Trade Agreements on International Trade (paper)
Clara Brandi, German Development Institute - Is an accelerated mitigation strategy compatible with a competitive and equitable transition?
Arpad Cseh, Climate Moonshot Initiative - Barriers to Trade in Environmental Goods: How Important they are and what should developing countries expect from their removal (paper)
Jaime de Melo, Geneva University
- Impact of Adaptation to Climate Change on Household Food Security and Incomes in Ferlo Semi-arid Area, Northern Senegal (paper) (presentation)
Saboury Ndiaye, Agriculture Development Project of Matam (PRODAM) Senegal - Social impacts of climate change mitigation policies and their implications for inequality
Sanna Markkanen, University of Cambridge - Barriers to Trade in Environmental Goods: How Important they are and what should developing countries expect from their removal (paper)
Nils Ohlendorf, Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC)
6:00 pm - 7:30 pm Cocktail Reception
Thursday 29 November 2018
9:30 am - 10:30 am Parallel Sessions (in English only)
- Employment Protection, Collective Bargaining, and Labour Market Resilience - The Swedish Transition Agreements
Samuel Engblom, Swedish Confederation for Professional Employees (TCO) - Green industrial path development in Swedish regions: Case of bioeconomy initiatives in Skåne and Värmland
Suyash Jolly and Teis Hansen, Lund University
- Should individuals who are adversely affected by mitigation be compensated? Evidence from a survey experiment in the United States (paper)
Brilé Anderson, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) - Is prioritization possible? Experts’ perceptions of obstacles and responses to staying below 2°C (paper)
Ulrike Kornek, Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC)
- Welfare and Environmental Impact of Incentive Based Conservation: Evidence from Kenyan Community Forest Associations (paper)
Boscow Okumu, University of Cape Town - Greening Industry in Vietnam: Environmental Standards and Resource Efficiency in SMEs (paper)
Dalia Fadly, Philipps University of Marburg - Growth Through Diversification and Energy Efficiency: Energy Productivity in Saudi Arabia
Nicholas Howarth, King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC)
- State-Owned Enterprises and the Low-Carbon Transition (paper)
Dirk Röttgers, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) - Resource Efficient Eco-Innovations for a Circular Economy: Evidence from EU Firms (paper)
Massimiliano Mazzanti, University of Ferrara - Multinational Corporations and the EU Emissions Trading System: Asset Erosion and Creeping Deindustrialization? (paper)
Nils Aus Dem Moore, Leibniz Institute for Economic Research
10:30 am - 11: am Coffee Break
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Session 4: Special Panel Discussion - Green transition in a post-truth world: How to close the gap between perception and empirical evidence?
- Roger Dungan, Deputy Permanent Representative to the OECD, New Zealand
- Cameron Hepburn, Professor of Environmental Economics, SSEE, Oxford University, UK (presentation)
- Edgar Gutierrez-Espeleta, former Minister of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica, former President of the Secon and Third UN Environment Assembly
- Elke Weber, Professor Energy and Environment; Professor Psychology and Public Affairs, Princeton University, USA
- Simon Kuper, Journalist, Financial Times, UK
- Anthony Cox, Deputy Director, Environment Directorate, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
12:30 pm - 1:00 pm Closing Session: Future Collaboration under the GGKP
- Ben Simmons, Head of Secretariat, Green Growth Knowledge Platform
- Masamichi Kono, Deputy Secretary-General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
- Orestes Anastasia, Deputy Head, Office of Thought Leadership and Head of Knowledge Sharing, Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI)
- Ligia Noronha, Director, Economy Division, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
- Stephan Sicars, Director, Environment Branch, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
- Kumi Kitamori, Head of Green Growth and Global Relations Division, Environment Directorate, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Coverage of the conference including press, blogs and social media can be found below:
- Call for Papers: Inclusive solutions for the Green Transition: Competitiveness, Jobs and Social Dimensions
- Insights blog: How does today's low-carbon transition compare with past industrial restructuring?
- Insights blog: How to sell the case for action against climate change, by Simon Kuper
- Insights blog: Policies for reducing but not outsourcing industrial carbon emissions, by Carolyn Fischer
- Insights blog: Why SMEs Matter for Green and Inclusive Growth, by Shashwat Koirala
- Insights blog: How to Save the Planet While Protecting Jobs and Prosperity, by Nicholas Evans
- News Release - 2nd Global Forum on Green Economy Learning targets policymakers
- Research highlights from the Sixth GGKP Annual Conference - Q&A with Nicholas Howarth
- Research highlights from the Sixth GGKP Annual Conference - Q&A with Maria Safra
- Research highlights from the Sixth GGKP Annual Conference – Q&A with Christina Wong
- Research Highlights from the GGKP’s Sixth Annual Conference – Q&A with Ulrike Kornek
- Research highlights from the GGKP’s Sixth Annual Conference – Q&A with Tobias Kruse
- GGKP Welcomes UNIDO to the Steering Committee
Photo coverage of the conference is available here.
Video coverage of the conference is available here.
Follow the GGKP on Twitter for updates. The event hashtags are #GGKP6 #GGSD, and are taking place in the context of #ParisWeek and #NatCapWeek.