UN to launch 'Green New Deal'

The Independent writes that top economists and United Nations leaders are working on a "Green New Deal" to create millions of jobs, revive the world economy, slash poverty and avert environmental disaster, as the financial markets plunge into their deepest crisis since the Great Depression.

The ambitious plan will call for a massive redirection of investment away from the speculation that has caused the bursting financial and housing bubbles and into job-creating programmes to restore the natural systems that underpin the world economy. Far from restricting growth, healing the global environment will be a desperately needed driving force behind it.

The Green Economy Initiative - which will be spearheaded by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) – draws its inspiration from Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, which ended the 1930s depression and helped set up the world economy for the unprecedented growth of the second half of the 20th century.

It, too, envisages basing recovery on providing work for the poor, as well as reform of financial practices, after a crash brought on by unregulated excesses of the free market and the banking system.

The new multimillion dollar initiative – which is being already funded by the German and Norwegian Governments and the European Commission – arises out of a study commissioned by world leaders at the 2006 G8 summit into the economic value of ecosystems (previous post: Green Economy could create tens of millions of jobs). It is backed up by a report by the New Economics Foundation, titled: A Green New Deal: Joined-up policies to solve the triple crunch of the credit crisis, climate change and high oil prices.

Over the last quarter of a century, says UNEP, world growth has doubled, but 60 per cent of the natural resources that provide food, water, energy and clean air have been seriously degraded. Restoring these ecosystem services can become the engine of the Green New Deal.

Achim Steiner, UNEP's Executive Director, adds that new research shows that every year, for example the felling of forests deprives the world of over $2.5 trillion worth of such services in supplying water, generating rainfall, stopping soil erosion, cleaning the air and reducing global warming . By comparison, he points out, the global financial crisis is so far estimated to have cost the world the smaller one-off sum of $1.5 trillion:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biochar :: environment :: ecosystem services :: economics :: poverty alleviation ::

Switching direction and concentrating on 'green growth' will not only prevent such catastrophes, but rescue the world's finances.

The new, green economy would provide a new engine of growth, putting the world on the road to prosperity again. This is about growing the world economy in a more intelligent, sustainable way. The 20th century economy, now in such crisis, was driven by financial capital. The 21st century one is going to have to be based on developing the world's natural capital to provide the lasting jobs and wealth that are needed, particularly for the poorest people on the planet. - Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director

Steiner says for example, that it makes more sense to invest in preserving forests, peatlands and soils, which naturally absorb carbon dioxide, than destroying them and then developing expensive technology to do the job.

He points out that the world market for environmental goods and service already stands at $1.3 trillion and is expected to double over the next 12 years even on present trends.

There is an enormous opportunity to ride on this increasing global demand for environmental improvement and turn it into the driver of economic growth, job creation and poverty reduction that is now so desperately needed. And in some places it is already beginning to happen. - Achim Steiner

Mr Steiner will launch the initiative in London a week on Wednesday, October 22nd, with the announcement of three projects, concentrating on how investing in the world's natural systems, in renewable energy and in other green technologies would stimulate growth and provide jobs, and giving examples of where it is already taking place.

Hundreds of millions of jobs can be created, there is no question that traditional industries like steel and cars cannot provide them. But this is a really huge business opportunity. - Pavan Sukhdev, chair of Deutschbank's Global Market Centre, leading the initiative

References:
Biopact: UN report: green economy could create tens of millions of new jobs - September 25, 2008

UNEP: Green Jobs: Towards Decent work in a Sustainable, Low-Carbon World - September 2008.

UNEP: Green jobs initiative.

New Economics Foundation: A Green New Deal: Joined-up policies to solve the triple crunch of the credit crisis, climate change and high oil prices [*.pdf] - October 2008.