OUR PLANET THE NEW BIG DEAL1
OUR PLANET
The magazine o the United Nations Environment Programme -
February 2009
GREENECONOMY
The New Big Deal
2OUR PLANET THE NEW BIG DEAL
Geofrey Lean,
Our Planet
’s Editor...... describes Silicon Valley’s vigorous pursuit o green prot.
silicon uture - page 30
José Sergio Gabrielli deAzevedo,
CEO o Petrobras... ... describes an oil and gas company’s primeresponsibility or the environment.
challenging commitment - page 24
Janet Ranganathan
Vice-President o Science& Research at the WorldResources Institute and
Polly Ghazi
its writer/editor...... outline how to replace sub-prime developmentwith measures that simultaneously reducepoverty and restore natural services.
natural development - page 26
Girma Wolde Giorgis,
Presidento Ethiopia...... shares his experience o planting onebillion trees with Satinder Bindra, Director o Communications and Public Inormation at UNEP.
transorming Ethiopia - page 18
Su Kahumbu,
Managing Director o FoodNetwork East Arica Ltd. and a pioneer Kenyanorganic armer...
organic growth - page 32
... describes how chemical-ree armingis taking hold in the country and says itis essential or uture survival.Pro.
Jayati Ghosh,
Proessor o Economicsand Chairperson o the Centre o EconomicStudies and Planning, Jawaharlal University,New Delhi...... says that the economic crisis oers a uniqueopportunity or a new deal prioritizingdevelopment and resource conservation.
chance or change - page 11
OURPLANET
alsopage 3 reectionspage 10 peoplepage 17 awards and eventspage 22 productspage 23 wwwpage 28 verbatim and numberspage 29 books
Our
Planet
, the magazine o theUnited Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)PO Box 30552Nairobi, KenyaTel: (254 20)7621 234Fax: (254 20)7623 927e-mail: uneppub@unep.orgTo view current and past issues o thispublication online, please visitwww.unep.org/ourplanetISSN 101 - 7394
Dect f Pbcat:
Satinder Bindra
Edt:
Georey Lean
Cdats:
Naomi Poulton & David Simpson
Assstat Cdat:
Anne-France White
Speca Ctbt:
Nick Nuttall
Dstbt Maae:
Manyahleshal Kebede
Des:
Amina Darani
Pdced by:
UNEP Division o Communications and Public Inormation
Pted by:
Phoenix Design Aid
Dstbted by:
SMI BooksThe contents o this magazine do not necessarilyreect the views or policies o UNEP or theeditors, nor are they an ocial record. Thedesignations employed and the presentationdo not imply the expressions o any opinionwhatsoever on the part o UNEP concerning thelegal status o any country, territory or city or itsauthority or concerning the delimitation o itsrontiers or boundaries.* All dollar ($) amounts reer to US dollars.
Van Jones,
President o GreenFor All and author o
The GreenCollar Economy
...
green collar jobs - page 8
... describes how connecting the people whomost need work with the work that mostneeds to be done is the key to economicgrowth and recovery.
Juan Somavia,
Director-General o theInternational Labour Organization...
silver lining - page 4
... describes the new perspective thatgreen jobs oer amid economic crisisand shows how they should be acrucial element o any recovery plan.
Zhengrong Shi,
Founder, Chairman andCEO o Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd...... describes how China is usingclean energy as a driver o neweconomic growth.
solar solution - page 6
Hal Harvey,
President and CEOo ClimateWorks...
right track - page 14
... outlines policies that have already been provento work in combating climate change and creatinglow-carbon prosperity.
Pavan Sukhdev,
a senior banker with DeutscheBank and project leader o UNEP's GreenEconomy Initiative...
green breakthroughs - page 20
... outlines how the nancialcrisis could lead to a globalGreen New Deal or a betterand sustainable world.Indian social activist, actor andsportsman
Rahul Bose
...
renaissance man - page 34
... describes development as “anopportunity to achieve – or all”.
OUR PLANET THE NEW BIG DEAL3
reflections
by Achim Steiner,U.N. Under-Secretary-General andExecutive Director, UNEP
UNEP promotesenvironmentally sound practicesglobally and in its own activities.This magazine is printed on 100% recycledpaper, using vegetable -based inks and othereco-riendly practices. Our distribution policyaims to reduce UNEP’s carbon ootprint.
Globalisation does not just spread economic ups — and the current deepdowns — rapidly across the globe. It can do the same or compelling andtransormational ideas. As ministers gather in Nairobi or the GoverningCouncil, two concepts being developed by UNEP are emerging as a powerulantidote to the economic gloom: the ‘Global Green New Deal’ and a transitionto a global Green Economy. Together, they oer a way o overcomingshort-term economic woes while setting the stage or sustainable growth inthe 21st century, with markets rewarding nations and companies that investin decent employment, innovation, resource eciency and creativity. The President o the Republic o Korea, Lee Myung-Bak, or example, recentlyannounced 36 ‘Green New Deals’ to “ease people’s pain and create jobs”,eaturing such initiatives as creating high-speed railways and big networkso bicycle tracks and providing two million energy-saving ‘Green Homes’.Power plants powered by gas rom waste and orestry biomass are alsoplanned, as is developing the next generation o hybrid vehicle technologies. The our-year stimulus package will create nearly one million new jobs,contribute to combating climate change and lay the groundwork or urthereconomic growth.China's $570 billion stimulus package also includes a Green New Deal.No new actory or project will be permitted i it is highly polluting, or is aheavy consumer o energy or resources. One trillion yuan ($142 billion) is tobe spent over the next three years on such environmental improvements asaccelerating orest planting programmes and increasing energy conservationand pollution-control. There will also be preerential pricing aimed atincreasing the share o renewables rom 8.3 per cent o energy in 2007 to15 per cent in 2020 and investments to switch commodities and people romroad to rail.Among many other examples, the United Kingdom’s stimulus packageto create 100,000 jobs includes investments in such climate-riendlyprojects as solar, wind and wave power, electric cars and improved energyeciency in homes and oces. Prime Minister Gordon Brown says that: “Theenvironment is not being pushed o the agenda” by the recession, but is“part o the solution”.Importantly, the new President o the United States has made a GreenNew Deal a key oundation o an economic and employment recoveryprogramme. This aims to promote energy rom renewable sources andenergy conservation, including by raising vehicle uel economy standardsand subsidising purchases o plug-in hybrid cars, to ‘weatherise’ one millionhomes annually and upgrade the nation's electrical grid. The package willcreate an estimated ve million jobs and deliver much-needed leadership onclimate change.At the Governing Council we look orward to hearing urther examples o howcountries are embracing a green economic transormation. Collecting anddisseminating shining examples o smart market mechanisms and creativenancial instruments is one o the central goals o the UNEP's new GreenEconomy initiative. Next year we plan to publish a guide and tool-kits orboth Northern and Southern governments, showcasing the kinds o legal andscal changes and reorms that can help accelerate the transition to a moresustainable 21st century global economy. And during this year we also plan topublish policy options on such topics as rural energy and renewables — withothers, such as on ecosystem restoration, sustainable transport and urbaneconomies, in the pipeline. These reports draw on a unique partnership weare building with UN organisations and economic and policy think-tanks.Over the coming months governments will inject hundreds o billions o dollars to stimulate economies. Soon trillions o dollars, now sitting on thesidelines, are likely to be mobilised back into markets by investors. Will thisinvestment go into the old brown economy o the 20th century or the newgreen 21st century one? The multiple crises o 2008 and the ones looming — rom climate change tonatural resource scarcity — require a undamental re-think and re-ocusingo how a globalised world orders its aairs. The Green Economy is an ideawhose time has come — and one that seems to be taking root, capturing theimagination o leaders and civil society around the world.
Cover photo © PETER GINTER / Science Faction / Getty Images. A 'Green Economy' is what we want to see. In this timeo global fnancial turmoil, a warming Earth and inecient energy generation and use, the best path to take, and theone discussed in this issue o
Our Planet
, leads to more jobs, clean energy and a better world or all. The new 'big deal' asoutlined in this magazine, oers hope, opportunity and several solutions.
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Green Economy: The Big new deal
The United Nations Environment Programme's flagship magazine for environmentally sustainable development.
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