The United Nations has issued a Global Green New Deal Policy Brief by economists in the run of  the G20 meeting of world leaders in London in early April.  Among the findings of the brief is the assertion that investing one per cent of global GDP, or around $750 billion, into five key sectors could be the key to a Global Green New Deal.

The report points out the multiple economic, environmental and social benefits of investing a significant amount of the $3 trillion-worth of stimulus packages in five areas.  They are as follows:

* Raising the energy efficiency of old and new buildings
* Renewable energies including wind, solar, geothermal and biomass
* Sustainable transport including hybrid vehicles; high speed rail and bus rapid transit systems
* The planet’s ecological infrastructure including freshwaters, forests, soils and coral reefs
* Sustainable agriculture including organic production

The five sectors could in conjunction with other measures play an important role in reviving the global economy and boosting employment while accelerating the fight against climate change, environmental degradation and poverty.

The Global Green New Deal Policy Brief also supports UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s message that in rescuing the global economy the world must not lose sight of the development agenda and the need to protect vulnerable groups.

The Policy Brief for a Global Green New Deal is aimed at informing members of the G20 meeting in the UK on 1 April and members of the G8 meeting in Italy on policies that can deliver multiple benefits and set the stage for a Green Economy for the 21st century.   The report is the latest in a pipeline of reports supporting the UNEP Green Economy initiative announced in October 2008 and led by Pavan Sukhdev, on secondment from Deutsche Bank and UNEP’s Economic and Trade Branch headed by Hussein Abaza.

The Global Green New Deal Policy Brief is available for download.

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Author: Tracey de Morsella (323 Articles)

Tracey de Morsella started her career working as an editor for US Technology Magazine. She used that experience to launch Delaware Valley Network, a publication for professionals in the Greater Philadelphia area. Years later, she used the contacts and resources she acquired to work in executive search specializing in technical and diversity recruitment. She has conducted recruitment training seminars for Wachovia Bank, the Department of Interior and the US Postal Service. During this time, she also created a diversity portal called The Multicultural Advantage and published the Diversity Recruitment Advertising Toolkit, a directory of recruiting resources for human resources professionals. Her career and recruitment articles have appeared in numerous publications and web portals including Woman Engineer Magazine, Monster.com, About.com Job Search Channel, Workplace Diversity Magazine, Society for Human Resource Management web site, NSBE Engineering Magazine, HR.com, and Human Resource Consultants Association Newsletter. Her work with technology professionals drew her to pursuing training and work in web development, which led to a stint at Merrill Lynch as an Intranet Manager. In March, she decided to combine her technical and career management expertise with her passion for the environment, and with her husband, launched The Green Economy Post, a blog providing green career information and covering the impact of the environment, sustainable building, cleantech and renewable energy on the US economy. Her sustainability articles have appeared on Industrial Maintenance & Plant Operation, Chem.Info,FastCompany and CleanTechies.