ASSIGNMENT ON GREEN ECONOMY AND

PROVERTY ERADICATION

BY: VAISHNAVI SHANKAR B.A LL.B ,

FOURTH YEAR

GREEN ECONOMY : INTRODUCTION

 • A green economy is one that results in improved human well-being

and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities -United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) (2010). A green economy is an economy or economic development model based on sustainable development and a knowledge of ecological economics.

• Its most distinguishing feature from prior economic regimes is direct valuation of natural capital and ecological services as having economics value and a full cost accounting regime in which costs externalized onto society via ecosystems are reliably traced back to, and accounted for as liabilities of, the entity that does the harm or neglects an asset.

GREEN ECONOMISTS AND ECONOMICS

•  • "Green economics" is loosely defined as any theory of economics by which an economy

is considered to be component of the ecosystem in which it resides (after Lynn Margulis). A holistic approach to the subject is typical, such that economic ideas are commingled with any number of other subjects, depending on the particular theorist. Proponents of feminism, postmodernism, the ecology movement, peace movement, Green politics, green anarchism and anti-globalization movement have used the term to describe very different ideas, all external to some equally ill-defined "mainstream"economics.

• The use of the term is further ambiguated by the political distinction of Green parties

 which are formally organized and claim the capital-G "Green" term as a unique and distinguishing mark. It is thus preferable to refer to a loose school of "'green economists"' who generally advocate shifts towards a green economy, biomimicry and a fuller accounting for biodiversity

DEFINITION OF GREEN ECONOMY

• Renewable energy (solar, wind, geothermal, marine including wave, biogas, and fuel cell)

• Green buildings (green retrofits for energy and water efficiency, residential and commercial assessment; green products and materials, and LEED construction)

• Clean transportation (alternative fuels, public transit, hybrid and electric vehicles, carsharing and carpooling programs)

• Water management (Water reclamation, greywater and rainwater systems, low-water landscaping, water purification, stormwater management)

• Waste management (recycling, municipal solid waste salvage, brownfield land remediation, Superfund cleanup, sustainable packaging)

• Land management (organic agriculture, habitat conservation and restoration; urban forestry and parks, reforestation and afforestation and soil stabilization)

CRITIQUE OF THE GREEN ECONOMY

    A number of organisations have critiqued aspects of the 'Green Economy', particularly the mainstream conceptions of it based on using price mechanisms to protect nature, arguing that this will extend corporate control into new areas from forestry to water. The research organisation, Etcgroup, argues that the corporate emphasis on bio-economy "will spur even greater convergence of corporate power and unleash the most massive resource grab in more than 500 years." Venezuelan professor Edgardo Lander says that the UNEP's report, Towards a Green Economy, while well-intentioned "ignores the fact that the capacity of existing political systems to establish regulations and restrictions to the free operation of the markets – even when a large majority of the population call for them – is seriously limited by the political and financial power of the corporations." 

POVERY – POVERT ERADICATION

• Poverty is the state of human beings who are poor. That is, they have little or no material means of surviving—little or no food, shelter, clothes, healthcare, education, and other physical means of living and improving one's life. Some definitions of poverty, are relative, rather than absolute, poverty reduction would not be considered to apply to measures which resulted in absolute decreases in living standards, but tecnhnically lifted people out of poverty.

• Poverty reduction measures are those that raise, or are intended to raise, the material level of living. Of course, some people undertake voluntary poverty due to religious or philosophical beliefs. For example, Christian monks and nuns take a "vow of poverty" by which they renounce luxury. Poverty reduction measures have no role in regard to voluntary poverty.

 CAPITAL , INFRASTRUCTURE AND

TECHNOLOGY

• Long run economic growth per person is achieved through increases in capital (factors that increase productivity), both human and physical, and technology.Improving human capital, in the form of health, is needed for economic growth. Nations do not necessarily need wealth to gain health. For example, Sri Lankahad a maternal mortality rate of 2% in the 1930s, higher than any nation today. It reduced it to .5-.6% in the 1950s and to 0.6% today. However, it was spending less each year on maternal health because it learned what worked and what did not. Knowledge on the cost effectiveness of healthcare interventions can be elusive but educational measures to disseminate what works are available, such as the disease control priorities project. Promoting hand washing is one of the most cost effective health intervention and can cut deaths from the major childhood diseases of diarrhea and pneumonia by half.

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• Human capital, in the form of education, is an even more important determinant of economic growth than physical capital. Deworming children costs about 50 cents per child per year and reduces non-attendance from anemia, illness and malnutrition and is only a twenty-fifth as expensive to increase school attendance as by constructing schools.

• UN economists argue that good infrastructure, such as roads and information networks, helps market reforms to work. .China claims it is investing in railways, roads, ports and rural telephones in African countries as part of its formula for economic development. It was the technology of the steam engine that originally began the dramatic decreases in poverty levels. Cell phone technology brings the market to poor or rural sections. With necessary information, remote farmers can produce specific crops to sell to the buyers that brings the best price.

EMPLOYMENT AND PRODUCTIVITY

Economic growth has the indirect potential to alleviate poverty, as a result of a simultaneous increase in employment opportunities and increase labour productivity. A study by researchers at theOverseas Development Institute (ODI) of 24 countries that experienced growth found that in 18 cases, poverty was alleviated. However, employment is no guarantee of escaping poverty, theInternational Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that as many as 40% of workers as poor, not earning enough to keep their families above the $2 a day poverty line. For instance, in India most of the chronically poor are wage earners in formal employment, because their jobs are insecure and low paid and offer no chance to accumulate wealth to avoid risks.

• Increases in employment without increases in productivity leads to a rise in the number of "working poor", which is why some experts are now promoting the creation of "quality" and not "quantity" in labour market policies. This approach does highlight how higher productivity has helped reduce poverty in East Asia, but the negative impact is beginning to show. In Viet Nam, for example, employment growth has slowed while productivity growth has continued. Furthermore, productivity increases do not always lead to increased wages, as can be seen in the US, where the gap between productivity and wages has been rising since the 1980s. The ODI study showed that other sectors were just as important in reducing unemployment, as manufacturing. The services sector is most effective at translating productivity growth into employment growth. Agriculture provides a safety net for jobs and economic buffer when other sectors are struggling. This study suggests a more nuanced understanding of economic growth and quality of life and poverty alleviation.

GROWTH VS. STATE INTERVENTION: COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE IN CHINA ,

INDIA , BAZIL

 • A 2011 World Bank research article, “A Comparative Perspective on Poverty

Reduction in Brazil, China, and India,” looked at the three nations’ strategies and their relative challenges and successes. During their reform periods, all three have reduced their poverty rates, but through a different mix of approaches. The report used a common poverty line of $1.25 per person, per day, at purchasing parity power for consumption in 2005. Using that metric and evaluating the period between 1981 and 2005, the poverty rate in China dropped from 84% to 16%; India from 60% to 42%; and Brazil from 17% to 8%. The report sketches an overall scorecard of the countries on the two basic dimensions of pro-poor growth and pro-poor policy intervention: “China clearly scores well on the pro-poor growth side of the card, but neither Brazil nor India do; in Brazil’s case for lack of growth and in India’s case for lack of poverty-reducing growth. Brazil scores well on the social policies side, but China and India do not; in China’s case progress has been slow in implementing new social policies more relevant to the new market economy (despite historical advantages in this area, inherited from the past regime) and in India’s case the bigger problems are the extent of capture of the many existing policies

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• non-poor groups and the weak capabilities of the state for delivering better basic public services.

CONCLUSION

• Globally Asia is leading the way out of recession. The region's three largest countries—the People's Republic of China, India, and Indonesia—have remained buoyant throughout the downturn due in great part to domestic demand. In export-oriented economies, like Taipei,China; Thailand; and Malaysia, which were worst hit by the recession, the governments are promoting new domestically focused service industries. Yet questions remain about whether there has been enough change to set the recovery on a truly environment-friendly and pro-poor course.

CONCLUSION

• At the same time, the crisis provides both an opportunity and an incentive to improve efficiency in the use of energy and eco-friendly materials, and to develop new green industries and business that can benefit both the poor and the environment. Over the longer term, moving toward a low-carbon green economy can also help to reduce poverty, increase energy security, and reduce vulnerability due to climate change. New public and private sector investments will be needed to deal effectively with many of the most pressing environmental challenges

THANK YOU