International bodies to step up measurement of progress toward green growth

08/04/2013

Developed and developing country governments trying to green their economies need to know how to measure progress. Indicators on green growth and green economy can alert governments and citizens to pressing issues where policy action and societal responses are needed to address environmental challenges. They can also help the public to understand how they can contribute to green growth.

The Global Green Growth Institute, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the United Nations Environment Programme, and the World Bank are ramping up efforts to establish a common basis for measuring progress towards green growth. “Moving towards a Common Approach on Green Growth Indicators,” a new joint paper to be released at the Green Growth Knowledge Platform (GGKP) Annual Conference on 4-5 April at the OECD in Paris, is a first important step.

It says that while there is no single green growth or green economy model and each country must tailor its own strategies, the following areas are central to monitoring progress towards green growth:
– environmental and resource productivity and innovation,
– natural assets (including biodiversity) and their cost-effective management,
– the environmental quality of life (including access to basic services such as clean water),
– related green growth policies, economic opportunities and social context of green growth,
– monitoring sustainability of overall economic developments, for example through comprehensive wealth accounting.

The report was produced under the auspices of the GGKP’s program on green growth measurement and indicators. The GGKP is a global network of international organisations and research institutes focused on identifying and addressing major knowledge gaps in green growth theory and practice. This report is a concrete example of GGKP’s overall objective of providing practitioners and policymakers with the policy guidance, tools and data necessary to support a green economy transition.

This report will help to bridge the experience of governments and the private sector on reporting and measuring for green growth and green economy. It can contribute to aligning government and corporate information on environmental impacts and to identifying obstacles to economic opportunities and growth.

Moving towards a Common Approach on Green Growth Indicators:
http://www.oecd.org/greengrowth/GGKP%20Paper_common%20approach%20to%20green%20growth%20indicators.pdf

About the OECD: The OECD is the global economic policy forum. It provides analysis and advice to its 34 member governments and other countries worldwide, promoting better policies for better lives.
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