Topic 3 Why is Green Economy important?

Green growth policies are an integral part of the structural reforms needed to foster strong, more sustainable and inclusive growth. They can unlock new growth engines by:

  1. Enhancing productivity by creating incentives for greater efficiency in the use of natural resources, reducing waste and energy consumption, unlocking opportunities for innovation and value creation, and allocating resources to the highest value use.
  2. Boosting investor confidence through greater predictability in how governments deal with major environmental issues.
  3. Opening up new markets by stimulating demand for green goods, services and technologies.
  4. Contributing to fiscal consolidation by mobilizing revenues through green taxes and through the elimination of environmentally harmful subsidies. These measures can also help to generate or free up resources for anti-poverty programmes in such areas as water supply and sanitation, or other pro-poor investments.
  5. Reducing risks of negative shocks to growth due to resource bottlenecks, as well as damaging and potentially irreversible environmental impacts.

Watch this video by OECD on why we must grow green economies