Abstract
Traditional economic growth relies on various types of capital to produce goods and services including human, technological, and natural. However, while growth has produced numerous benefits for human well-being, it has also resulted in the depletion of natural resources and degradation of ecosystems due to a range of non-climatic and climatic challenges. In the light of this the chapter introduces the concept of the green economy and its multiple economic, environment, and social benefits.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Alcamo, J., E.M. Bennett, and M.E. Assessment. 2003. Ecosystems and human well-being: A framework for assessment. Washington, DC: Island Press.
Australian Government Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. 2009. Great Barrier Reef outlook report 2009. http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/3843/OutlookReport_Full.pdf
Brundtland Commission. 1987. Our common future: Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development. UN Documents Gathering a Body of Global Agreements.
Curwell, S., and I. Cooper. 1998. The implications of urban sustainability. Building Research & Information 26: 17–28.
Cuthill, M. 2010. Strengthening the ‘social’ in sustainable development: Developing a conceptual framework for social sustainability in a rapid urban growth region in Australia. Sustainable Development 18: 362–373.
EEA. 1999. Environment in the European Union at the turn of the century. http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/92-9157-202-0
———. 2014. Resource-efficient green economy and EU policies. http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/resourceefficient-green-economy-and-eu
ELD Initiative. 2015. Report for policy and decision makers: Reaping economic and environmental benefits from sustainable land management. http://www.eld-initiative.org/fileadmin/pdf/ELD-pm-report_05_web_300dpi.pdf
Ernst and Young. 2013. Hitting the sweet spot: The growth of the middle class in emerging markets. http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/Hitting_the_sweet_spot/$FILE/Hitting_the_sweet_spot.pdf
Euromonitor International. 2016. What drives demand for natural resources [Online]. http://blog.euromonitor.com/2016/12/what-drives-demand-natural-resources.html
European Commission. 2011. Roadmap to a resource efficient Europe. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52011DC0571&from=EN
FAO. 2016a. State of the world’s forests 2016: Forests and agriculture: Land use challenges and opportunities. http://www.fao.org/3/a-i5588e.pdf
———. 2016b. World deforestation slows down as more forests are better managed [Online]. http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/326911/icode/
GWP. 2012. Water in the green economy. http://www.gwp.org/Global/ToolBox/Publications/Perspective%20Papers/03%20Water%20in%20the%20Green%20Economy%20(2012).pdf
Haughton, G. 1999. Environmental justice and the sustainable city. Journal of Planning Education and Research 18: 233–243.
K-Water Institute and World Water Council. 2015. Water and green growth: Beyond the theory for sustainable future. http://www.worldwatercouncil.org/fileadmin/world_water_council/documents/mailing/mail_wwf7_documents/Water_and_Green_Growth_vol_1.pdf
Kissinger, G., M. Herold, and V. De Sy. 2012. Drivers of deforestation and forest degradation: A synthesis report for REDD+ policymakers. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/65505/6316-drivers-deforestation-report.pdf
Leblois, A., O. Damette, and J. Wolfersberger. 2017. What has driven deforestation in developing countries since the 2000s? Evidence from new remote-sensing data. World Development 92: 82–102.
Lieberherr-Gardiol, F. 2008. Urban sustainability and governance: Issues for the twenty-first century. International Social Science Journal 59: 331–342.
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. 2005. Ecosystems and human well-being: Synthesis. Washington, DC: Island Press.
Mueller, H., D.P. Hamilton, and G.J. Doole. 2016. Evaluating services and damage costs of degradation of a major lake ecosystem. Ecosystem Services 22 (Part B): 370–380.
New South Wales Government Office of Environmental Heritage. 2017. Soil degradation [Online]. http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/soildegradation/
New Zealand Ministry for the Environment. 2017. How climate change could affect New Zealand [Online]. http://www.mfe.govt.nz/climate-change/how-climate-change-affects-nz/climate-change-impacts
OECD. 2011. Towards green growth. Paris: OECD.
———. 2015. Material resources, productivity and the environment. OECD Green Growth Studies [Online]. http://www.oecd.org/env/waste/material-resources-productivity-and-the-environment-9789264190504-en.htm
———. 2016. Policy guidance on resource efficiency. http://www.oecd.org/environment/waste/Resource-Efficiency-G7-2016-Policy-Highlights-web.pdf
———. 2017. What is green growth and how can it help deliver sustainable development? [Online]. http://www.oecd.org/general/whatisgreengrowthandhowcanithelpdeliversustainabledevelopment.htm
Pelenc, J., J. Ballet, and T. Dedeurwaerdere. 2015. Weak sustainability versus strong sustainability. Brief for GSDR United Nations [Online]. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/6569122-Pelenc-Weak%20Sustainability%20versus%20Strong%20Sustainability.pdf
PWC. 2015. The world in 2050: Will the shift in global economic power continue? http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/the-economy/assets/world-in-2050-february-2015.pdf
Rasul, G. 2016. Managing the food, water, and energy nexus for achieving the sustainable development goals in South Asia. Environmental Development 18: 14–25.
The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity. 2015. Ecosystem services [Online]. http://www.teebweb.org/resources/ecosystem-services/
The Montpellier Panel. 2014. No ordinary matter: Conserving, restoring and enhancing Africa’s soils. http://ag4impact.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/MP_0106_Soil_Report_LR1.pdf
Tim Everett, M.I., Gian Paolo Ansaloni, and Alex Rubin. 2010. Economic growth and the environment. Defra Evidence and Analysis Series [Online]. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/69195/pb13390-economic-growth-100305.pdf
UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. 2014. World urbanization prospects: The 2014 revision, highlights. https://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/publications/files/wup2014-highlights.pdf
———. 2015. World population prospects: The 2015 revision, key findings and advance tables. https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/publications/files/key_findings_wpp_2015.pdf
UNDESA. 2012. A guidebook to the green economy. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/GE%20Guidebook.pdf
UNDP. 2012. Green economy: A transformation to address multiple crises [Online]. http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter/articles/2009/06/25/green-economy-a-transformation-to-address-multiple-crises.html
UNEP. 2011a. Decoupling natural resource use and environmental impacts from economic growth. http://www.unep.org/resourcepanel/Portals/50244/publications/Decoupling_Factsheet_English.pdf
———. 2011b. Towards a green economy: Pathways to sustainable development and poverty eradication. http://web.unep.org/greeneconomy/resources/green-economy-report
———. 2012. About: Green growth [Online]. http://www.unep.org/rio20/About/GreenEconomy/tabid/101541/Default.aspx
———. 2015. Uncovering pathways towards an inclusive green economy. http://web.unep.org/greeneconomy/sites/unep.org.greeneconomy/files/publications/ige_narrative_summary_web.pdf
UNRISD. 2012. Social dimensions of green economy. Research and Policy Brief. http://www.unrisd.org/80256B3C005BCCF9/search/84781D22707BF025C1257A0E0054A320?OpenDocument
Vallance, S., H.C. Perkins, and J.E. Dixon. 2011. What is social sustainability? A clarification of concepts. Geoforum 42: 342–348.
WHO. 2016. WHO releases country estimates on air pollution exposure and health impact [Online]. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2016/air-pollution-estimates/en/
World Bank. 2012. Inclusive green growth: The pathway to sustainable development. http://elibrary.worldbank.org/doi/book/10.1596/978-0-8213-9551-6
———. 2016. Poverty and shared prosperity 2016: Taking on inequality. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/25078/9781464809583.pdf
Yorifuji, T., S. Kashima, M.H. Diez, Y. Kado, S. Sanada, and H. Doi. 2017. Prenatal exposure to outdoor air pollution and child behavioral problems at school age in Japan. Environment International 99: 192–198.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Brears, R.C. (2018). The Green Economy. In: The Green Economy and the Water-Energy-Food Nexus. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58365-9_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58365-9_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-58364-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-58365-9
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)