Monday, March 14, 2011

[EQ] Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication - A Synthesis for Policy Makers

Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication
- A Synthesis for Policy Makers

 

United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP 2011

 

Available online PDF [52p.] at: http://bit.ly/e7Brja

 

UNEP’s key contributions to the Rio+20 process and the overall goal of addressing poverty and delivering a sustainable 21st century.


“……The report makes a compelling economic and social case for investing two per cent of global GDP in greening ten central sectors of the economy in order to shift development and unleash public and private capital flows onto a low-carbon, resource-efficient path.

Such a transition can catalyse economic activity of at least a comparable size to business as usual, but with a reduced risk of the crises and shocks increasingly inherent in the existing model.


New ideas are by their very nature disruptive, but far less disruptive than a world running low on drinking water and productive land, set against the backdrop of climate change, extreme weather events and rising natural resource scarcities.


A green economy does not favour one political perspective over another. It is relevant to all economies, be they state or more market-led. Neither is it a replacement for sustainable development. Rather, it is a way of realizing that development at the national, regional and global levels and in ways that resonate with and amplify the implementation of Agenda 21.


A transition to a green economy is already underway, a point underscored in the report and a growing wealth of companion studies by international organizations, countries, corporations and civil society. But the challenge is clearly to build on this momentum.

Rio+20 offers a real opportunity to scale-up and embed these “green shoots”. In doing so, this report offers not only a roadmap to Rio but beyond 2012, where a far more intelligent management of the natural and human capital of this planet finally shapes the wealth creation and direction of this world….” Achim Steiner

UNEP Executive Director

 

“…..UNEP defines a green economy as one that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. In its simplest expression, a green economy can be thought of as one which is low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive. In a green economy, growth in income and employment should be driven by public and private investments that reduce carbon emissions and pollution, enhance energy and resource efficiency, and prevent the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services………..”

 

 

Content:

Introduction

From Crisis to Opportunity

An Era of Capital Misallocation

What is a Green Economy?

How Far are we from a Green Economy?

How to Measure Progress towards a Green Economy

Towards a Green Economy


Key Findings

A Green Economy Recognizes the Value of, and Invests in, Natural Capital

A Green Economy is Central to Poverty Alleviation

A Green Economy Creates Jobs and Enhances Social Equity

A Green Economy Substitutes Renewable Energy and Low-carbon Technologies for Fossil Fuels

A Green Economy Promotes Enhanced Resource and Energy Efficiency

A Green Economy Delivers More Sustainable Urban Living and Low-carbon Mobility

A Green Economy Grows Faster than a Brown Economy over Time, while Maintaining and Restoring Natural Capital


Enabling Conditions

Establish Sound Regulatory Frameworks

Prioritize Government Investment and Spending in Areas that Stimulate the Greening of Economic Sectors

Limit Government Spending in Areas that Deplete Natural Capital

Employ Taxes and Market-based Instruments to Promote Green Investment and Innovation

Invest in Capacity Building, Training and Education

Strengthen International Governance

Financing the Green Economy Transition


Conclusions


Annexes

Annex I: Annual Green Economy Investment (by sector)

Annex II: The Threshold 21 (T21) Model

Annex III: Impacts of Allocating an Additional 2% of GDP towards Greening the Global Economy Relative to 2% in Business as usual.

  *      *     *

This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate

information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic

health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;

Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues.  [DD/ KMC Area]

Washington DC USA

“Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is". Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings

and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American

Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members”.

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[EQ] Creating a global health policy worthy of the name

Creating a global health policy worthy of the name

Development Policy Forum (DPF)

Available online PDF [36p.] at: http://bit.ly/hr8Je6

 

“….The Development Policy Forum (DPF) is a partnership between the Brussels based think-tank Friends of Europe, the United Nations, the World Bank, the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), with the support of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and in association with the European Commission’s Directorate General for Development and Relations with ACP States.

The aims of the DPF are to:

• raise awareness of development issues;

• promote debate on topical and interlinked political, economic and social matters;

• bring together political authorities, members of national, international and European development organisations, commentators and business representatives to discuss and debate development questions…”

 

“…….The health policy landscape has changed dramatically over the last decade. Health has become globalised, with more and more governments recognising that health is a global issue and not just a domestic problem; global health has a profound and growing influence on national public health policies and is also becoming a foreign policy priority. Globalisation means increasingly that a nation’s security and prosperity reflects and relies on events abroad: poverty, food shortages and climate change in the developing world are all factors that threaten international security. By the same token, disease and poor health undermine economic growth…”

 

Table of Contents

Summary.

 

How global health policy can improve the lives of many people in the developing world

Andris Piebalgs. p


Global health challenges stretch beyond the Millennium Development Goals

Margaret Chan.

 

It’s still too soon to pass judgment on global health aid

Chunling Lu.


Global health policy lacks common purpose and direction

Ilona Kickbusch.


National interests must give way to the greater goal of global health

Simon Wright.


Managing mutual dependence will be the biggest challenge of the 21st century

Gorik Ooms


Restoring the human factor to the global health equation

Bernd Appelt.


What we need is a new approach to healthcare education

Göran Bondjers


Why equity in global health is not a Utopian dream

Armando De Negri.


Six lessons for global health governance from Indonesia’s avian flu crisis

Olivier Charnoz and Paul Forster.


Connecting global health with other parts of development strategy

Armin H. Fidler

  *      *     *

This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate

information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic

health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;

Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues.  [DD/ KMC Area]

Washington DC USA

“Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is". Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings

and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American

Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members”.

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[EQ] World Social Science Report 2010 - Knowledge divides

World Social Science Report 2010 - Knowledge divides

International Social Science Council (ISSC) and co-published with UNESCO 2010

Available online at:  http://bit.ly/ibzCIT

 

“…..Social science from Western countries continues to have the greatest global influence, but the field is expanding rapidly in Asia and Latin America, particularly in China and Brazil. In sub-Saharan Africa, social scientists from South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya produce 75% of academic publications. In South Asia, barring some centres of excellence in India, social sciences as a whole have low priority….”

“…..review of the state of the social sciences: how social science knowledge is produced, disseminated and used. The situation of and the conditions for the social sciences – the opportunities and constraints regarding training, research and applications – vary greatly across the world. Hence, the leading theme of this Report became knowledge divides: how social science disciplines are coping and evolving in the face of unequal conditions and diverging trends……”

 

Contents

Foreword – Irina Bokova (Director-General of UNESCO)

Foreword – Pierre Sané (Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences)

Preface – Gudmund Hernes (President, International Social Science Council)

General introduction (Françoise Caillods and Laurent Jeanpierre)


Chapters

 

1. Social sciences facing the world

1.1 Social sciences and global challenges

1.2 The view from the regions

2. The institutional geography of social science

3. Unequal capacities

3.1 Dimensions of capacities in social sciences

3.2 Marketization of research

3.3 Brain drain or brain circulation?

3.4 Overcoming the capacity divide

4. Uneven internationalization

5. Homogenizing or pluralizing social sciences?

5.1 Hegemonies and counter-hegemonies

5.2 Tensions between global and local knowledge in practice

6. Disciplinary territories

6.1 Disciplines and their divides

6.2 Crossing disciplinary borders

6.3. Regional variations

7. Competing in the knowledge society

7.1 Global rankings

7.2 Assessment and evaluation of research

7.3 Project funding and agenda-setting

8. Disseminating social sciences

8.1 Social sciences, education and society

8.2 Diffusing and accessing social science knowledge

9. Social sciences and policy-makers

9.1 The political use and abuse of social sciences

9.2 Evidence-based decision-making
9.3 Knowledge brokers and think-tanks

10. Conclusions and future lines of action

            Persistent disparities in research capacities

            Knowledge fragmentation: one social science? Disciplines apart? Worlds apart?

            Knowledge gaps on the state of the social sciences worldwide

            Directions for future action

Annexes

Annex 1. Basic statistics on the production of social sciences

Annex 2. Bibliographical databases and repositories

Annex 3. Supplementary figures and tables


  *      *     *

This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate

information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic

health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;

Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues.  [DD/ KMC Area]

Washington DC USA

“Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is". Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings

and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American

Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members”.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PAHO/WHO Website: http://new.paho.org/equity/

Equity List - Archives - Join/remove: http://listserv.paho.org/Archives/equidad.html


Twitter http://twitter.com/eqpaho





IMPORTANT: This transmission is for use by the intended
recipient and it may contain privileged, proprietary or
confidential information. If you are not the intended
recipient or a person responsible for delivering this
transmission to the intended recipient, you may not
disclose, copy or distribute this transmission or take
any action in reliance on it. If you received this transmission
in error, please dispose of and delete this transmission.

Thank you.