Key Principles of Green Economy :
Green tech, short for green technology, refers to using technology to reduce negative environmental impacts and provide sustainable energy production. This branch of technology involves generating renewable energy, energy efficiency, waste management, pollution reduction, reusing and recycling, and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions like carbon dioxide (CO2).
Green Economy Explained
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) defined a green economy as “low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive. It provides an approach to economic growth and employment opportunities through investments leading to a development that reduces environmental risks and ecological scarcities.”
Another definition for the green economy by the Green Economy Coalition defines a green economy as “a resilient economy that improves the quality and standard of life for all within the environmental limits of the planet.”
Fundamental Principles of a Green Economy
The five principles of a green economy ranging from well-being investments to sustainable practices are as follows:
- The well-being principle
A green economy ensures that all people create and enjoy prosperity. The green economy focuses on people with their best interests at heart. It aims to establish real and collective wealth. Particularly developing prosperity to enable ease. Beyond financial wealth, the green economy drives the full range of human, social, physical, and natural capital.
- The justice principle
The green economy will encourage equity within and between generations. It is inclusive and non-biased. It offers the fair distribution of benefits, costs, and decision-making, benefits fairly; evades elite capture; and advocates women’s empowerment in particular. This principle encourages equity in sharing of opportunities. There are fewer differences between people’s livelihoods and sustainable options for animals and wildlife in the environment to live and thrive. This principle centers on social justice and ties, human rights, and trust. Major participants include minorities, workers, and discriminated people being protected.
- Planetary Boundaries Principle
The green economy restores, protects, and invests in the future. An inclusive green economy recognizes and fosters nature’s diverse values. Hence, this principle states that the green economy is founded on protecting wildlife, ecology, and society’s cultural values. It funds the protecting, growing, and restoration of biodiversity, soil, water, air, and natural systems. It is innovative in managing biological systems, guided by properties such as circularity, and aligned with local community livelihoods based on biodiversity and natural systems.
- Efficiency and Sufficiency principle
This principle emphasizes sustainable consumption and production. An inclusive green economy is low-carbon, resource-conserving, circular and diverse. It supports new economic development models that confront the challenge of creating prosperity within universal boundaries. It recognizes the need for a significant global shift to limit the use of resources toward sustainability.
- The Good governance principle
In this principle, the green economy is steered towards accountability and resilience in governance. This entails public involvement, integration, social communication, democracy, justice, and freedom. Hence, building a financial system for sustainable and collaborative societal good. The distinct attribute of this principle is the involvement of institutions across the private, public, and non-governmental landscape.
