GGBP report details benefits from the adoption of green growth policies

How can governments transition to a green economy? What policies have been tested? What works best?  These are some of the questions addressed in a new report released today by the Green Growth Best Practice (GGBP)  initiative.

The report, “Green Growth in Practice: Lessons from Country Experiences”, provides tangible examples of ways in which governments and communities are benefiting from the adoption of green growth policies. It’s the first international assessment based on concrete experiences that details effective approaches to design and implementation for green growth.

The GGBP initiative assesses green growth planning and implementation practices around the world, examining what works best and under what circumstances.  A collaborative effort between three organisations – the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), and the European Climate Foundation (ECF), the report is the culmination of over a year’s work by more than 75 green growth practitioners analysing over 60 green growth programs internationally.

“There are thousands of examples around the world of green growth policies in practice: policies that help local communities and national governments both grow their economies and address climate change. By highlighting the best of these, this report allows national and local governments to make informed choices from a deep pool of experience and learning", says Johannes Meier, CEO of the European Climate Foundation.

The report includes the following key findings:

• Green growth can unlock substantial economic, social, and environmental benefits. Green growth strategies enable governments to achieve significant near and long-term benefits in economic growth, environmental protection, and poverty reduction. These benefits can be achieved through improvements in resource efficiency and management, support for green technology and business innovation, and investment in initiatives to diminish the risks and costs of this transition to green development.
• Integrated and robust planning, analysis, implementation, and monitoring are essential. Green growth strategies tend to be most effective where they link robust and credible planning, analysis, implementation, and monitoring processes in a consistent and reinforcing cycle with active stakeholder engagement.
• Broad support for transformative change is required. Green growth plans are most effective when driven by ambitious yet achievable visions with high level and broad government and stakeholder support. They should pursue both near and long-term opportunities for dynamic shifts in resource management, technology use, community development, industrial practices and competitiveness, education and worker training.

The report will be followed by an online living handbook, including supporting case studies available from mid July 2014. Dr. Doddy S. Sukadri from the Indonesia National Council on Climate Change states of the report, “it demonstrates and proves that the green growth is not a luxury. It is something that everyone can achieve."

Read the Green Growth in Practice: Lessons from Country Experiences here: GGKP Resource Libary or learn more about the GGBP at www.ggbp.org.