The Macro- and Mesoeconomics of the Green Economy

Abstract

Under the influence of the United Nations, particularly the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the concepts of “green economy,” “green growth,” and “global green new deal” have emerged in the global policy debate (Barbier 2010, UNEP 2011a, 2011b).¹ There is no unique definition of the concept of the “green economy,” but the term itself underscores the economic dimensions of sustainability. Thus, UNEP has argued that the concept responds to the “growing recognition that achieving sustainability rests almost entirely on getting the economy right” (UNEP 2011a:2). It also emphasizes the crucial point that economic growth and environmental stewardship can be complementary strategies, thus countering the view that still holds a strong influence that there are significant trade-offs between these two objectives.

This is a revised version of a paper written for the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) as part of the preparations for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20). The author is professor of the School of International and Public Affairs and fellow of the Committee on Global Thought at Columbia University, and formerly undersecretary general of the United Nations for Economic and Social Affairs, executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, and minister of finance of Colombia. I am grateful to Sir Nicholas Stern and David O’Connor for many useful comments, and to Nicole Ngo for her support in the background research.