Green Economy Transformation

Project description

Title: Green Economy Transformation in Cooperation with the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) – Synergies between Low-carbon Pathways and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) as part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI)
Country: Global
Overall term: 2018 to 2021

Context

Climate change can only be stopped through the global transformation of the economy and lifestyles. Corresponding goals have already been anchored in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Climate Agreement. However, the ensuing commitments present a challenge for many countries and require comprehensive solutions.

The inclusive and sustainable economic model known as the Inclusive Green Economy (IGE) provides concrete approaches here. It links the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in a way that enables both objectives to have a positive influence on one another. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) developed the concept in 2008, and the UN alliance Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) has been promoting it since 2013. In view of the need for a green recovery as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is high up on the international agenda.

Objective

The project uses green economy approaches to strengthen the capacities of key public sector actors to implement SDGs and NDCs more systematically. The experiences made are communicated internationally and have a signal effect.

Approach

Building on two predecessor projects, the project supports ongoing transformation approaches in selected partner countries. This currently includes Argentina, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Peru, South Africa and Uruguay. The project is linking up national efforts with international networks, thus promoting knowledge exchange and transformation partnerships. It places a particular emphasis on financial policy approaches that create financial incentives for a green economy. Building on existing IGE solutions, the project is committed to the implementation of a green recovery.

On behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), the project is being implemented in cooperation with UNEP. Alongside PAGE, the international cooperation partners include the Green Growth Knowledge Partnership (GGKP), the Green Fiscal Policy Network (GFPN) and the UNEP/UNDP initiative ‘Poverty Environment Action for SDGs’.

Results

• The project is supporting BMU and PAGE in implementing political processes such as the orientation of the third PAGE Ministerial Conference in South Africa in 2019 and the establishment of the PAGE Green Recovery Fund. This further established IGE as a strategy for achieving SDGs and NDCs and strengthened Germany’s role as a global partner.
• To this end, the project is promoting the implementation of national IGE approaches in the partner countries. In Uruguay, public sector officials and representatives participated in a long-term series of workshops to anchor IGE within their organisations. With the support of the project, Peru has approved a ‘Green Protocol’ for more sustainability in the financial sector. In South Africa, employees of national and municipal authorities have developed their skills in the areas of circular economy and green bonds in a series of training courses.
• Together with UNEP and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the project is supporting the Green Fiscal Policy Network. At international conferences, the network has positioned environmental taxes and the reduction of environmentally harmful subsidies as an important climate finance approach in the international debate. Since 2019, the project has been advising the finance ministries of Costa Rica and Indonesia on the implementation of green fiscal policy.
• The project played a significant role in forming the Partners for Inclusive Green Economy, which aims to pool resources more effectively and thus accelerate global and regional economic transformation. To this end, the partners presented a joint position paper in July 2019 offering guidance for a long-term structural transition. In June 2020, a document detailing the priorities for green recovery from COVID-19 was published.
• To strengthen international knowledge exchange, the project supported a GGKP series of web seminars in 2020 on the topic of ‘Sustainability after COVID-19’. It also teamed up with GFPN to organise a seminar on ‘Fiscal Policies to Green the Recovery’ and a further seminar on green workplaces in South Africa and Argentina. In a virtual storytelling process, people from four partner countries shared personal stories of shaping a green economy in their respective environment.

Last update: December 2020