Green Economy – The time to act is now (UNEP)

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) / November 2011

Ahead of the UN conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) held in 2012 representatives from UNEP, academics and business leaders talk about the urgency of a transition to a green economy.

Achim Steiner (United Nations Environment Programme Executive Director and Under-Secretary General of the United Nations) says the green economy is not a new alternative ideology. Rather it aims to scale up and accelerate the work that began at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit (Agenda 21 and Rio principles) on sustainable development.

UNEP believes that “investing 2% of global GDP 10 key sectors can kick-start a transition to a low-carbon, resource efficient green economy”.

Pavan Sukhdev (UNEP Green Economy Initiative) says a green economy is a new source of growth and jobs.

Clips are shown of U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao calling for a green economy.

Lord Nicholas Stern argues the proposal for a green economy demonstrates there are no contradictions between environmental conservation and reducing poverty.

Business leaders recognise the importance of adapting activities to a carbon and resource constrained world. They believe the green economy is an area where companies are now seeking competitive advantage.

Read a summary of the UNEP Green Economy Report

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This summary was prepared by Why Green Economy?. The views expressed have been paraphrased. See the original source for more information.