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9 January 2019, Cape Town, South Africa - Has national ‘wealth’ has been miscalculated for decades? Could some countries be wealthier than previously understood because of their natural and social assets? What will happen to our economies if we do not reverse environmental degradation? 

Now governments and corporations are starting to account for wealth in rather different terms. For the first time, natural capital and social capital is being quantified alongside productivity. This new approach is revolutionising what it means for a country or a business to be wealthy and profitable. It has the potential to overhaul historic divisions between rich and poor countries, or profitable and unprofitable companies, as credit rating agencies and investors shift behaviour.

In this context, the Green Growth Knowledge Platform, Green Economy Coalition (GEC), and the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) convened a panel discussion to explore the question “What is Wealth?” at the 2019 PAGE Ministerial Conference  in Cape Town. On 9 January 2019, a panel of experts gathered for the High-level Media Debate, What makes your country wealthy?, broadcast live on CNBC Africa.

The panel featured Kumi Naidoo (Secretary General, Amnesty International); Nozipho January-Bardill (Chairperson, UN Global Compact Local Network SA and Non-Executive Director, Anglogold Ashanti, Credit Suisse Securities, and Mercedes Benz SA); Professor Cameron Hepburn (Director of the Smith School, University of Oxford); and Honourable Dr Mary Goretti Kitutu (Minister for Environment, Uganda).

Nozipho Mbanjwa (CNBC Africa Financial Anchor and Fellow of the African Leadership Institute) moderated the debate, keeping panellists on their toes with thought provoking questions, including, perhaps, the most pressing question: “If not GDP, then what?”

The debate started with a stocktake of where we stand in terms of how we account for wealth and related implications for the environment and society.

“We are locked into an existing status quo that has not worked for humanity,” said Kumi Naidoo.

“Some businesses are only beginning to learn the discourse of sustainable development. It is not a conscious, ideological thing that they have in their heads. Most businesses do business to make money, they do not do business to save the environment,” said Nozipho January-Bardill.   

Discussions then shifted to focus on the value of nature to economies.

"27% of [Uganda's] GDP comes from agriculture. Our agriculture is rain-fed and the rainfall comes from the wetlands and the forests – 40% of it. You will find that nobody has ever valued that contribution,” said Hon. Dr Mary Goretti Kitutu.

“The challenge with not valuing, not pricing nature, is that it doesn’t get factored in to decisions. Whether you like it or not we live and operate in a capitalist economy, where people are free to trade, and if you don’t put a value on the things that you actually care about then they’re going to be ignored, and they’re going to be trashed, and that’s exactly where we are,” said Prof. Cameron Hepburn.

 The audience included students from South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) Youth Programme, who continued to challenge the panel.

“How are we going to prevent the 4th industrial revolution from becoming another threat like climate change?”, said Akhona Xotyeni, representing the SAIIA Youth.

Finally, moderator Nozipho Mbanjwa asked the central question of the debate, “What makes your country rich?”

“What makes my country rich is really the people,” said Nozipho January-Bardill. “I think the people are going to get South Africa back on its tracks, because they have a lot of resilience, they know exactly what to do, they just need to go out and do it.”

“Sustainable use of natural resources has made us rich, but more than that: the quality of education,” said audience member Kimmo Tiilikainen (Minister of the Environment, Energy and Housing for Finland). “What do you see as the role of education in an inclusive Green Economy?” 

The discussion wrapped up with unanimous agreement on the value of nature for economies, and emphasis on the opportunities that lie ahead and the urgent need to move things forward.

“Climate change offers us an opportunity,” said Kumi Naidoo. “An opportunity to break down the divisions between north and south, east and west, developed and developing, because we have to realize, we get this right as rich and poor countries acting together”.

“It's not easy, but it is possible. I think we're failing if we don't try,” said Prof. Cameron Hepburn.

“In Uganda, everyone knows [the] environment should be protected if the economy has to grow,” said Hon. Dr Mary Goretti Kitutu.

The event was held in the wake of the GEC Annual Meeting, Giving Everyone A Stake in the Green Economy, and on the eve the eve of the Third PAGE Ministerial conference, Advancing Inclusive and Sustainable Economies.

This story was adapted from GGKP's on a series of related High-level panels, available here: https://bit.ly/2Twt9Dt

The whole media debate is available here: 

https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2019/01/14/wealth-debate-what-makes-countries-rich-or-poor/

The PAGE Ministerial Conference on 10-11 January 2019 in Cape Town was full of thoughtful discussion, lively debate and innovative solutions for driving the green economy forward to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

These are the insights captured from the policymakers, academics, business leaders and green economy champions at the conference.

Every once in a generation an iconic leader emerges, someone who embodies the principles and the spirit of the times, overcoming adversity and showing how to navigate forward against seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

Nelson Mandela was one such leader, a giant among men.

Against the backdrop of Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela spent the better part of 27 years in prison before emerging as President of South Africa and a beacon of hope to people around the world, ministers and leaders met to navigate forward against another seemingly insurmountable obstacle; to build pathways for greener and more inclusive economies.

The conference opened with a call to arms, a reminder from world human rights leader Kumi Naidoo that the clock is ticking – not  only in terms of an increasingly unstable climate but also in terms of an increasingly unstable inequality; and that to reach the 2030 global goals for ensuring our collective wellbeing - the sustainable development goals – we will need to radically rethink and reshape our economies, our behavior and our wealth.

Image by CNBC Africa

The backdrop was fitting, as Cape Town itself embodies many of the urgent challenges facing the planet, a microcosm of the looming constraints and barriers that we ourselves have created and inherited. Recently faced with an acute water scarcity, signs were everywhere that not a drop could be wasted.

It was also fitting as the world environmental community lost another true leader in 2018, the late minister Edna Molewa from South Africa.

Opening the conference, her successor, Minister Mokonyane, said “I am walking in the footsteps of a giant.”

Image by Department of Environmental Affairs, South Africa

And she is. Like Mandela, Edna Molewa reached across lines seen and unseen to bring people together for a common purpose –  elevating the issue of the environment from a boutique concern of conservationists to an issue that gets to the very core of human well-being and therefore economic policy making.

But here is the thing about giants: though they stand out in crowds and it is easy to see the direction of their footsteps, it is often quite hard to follow them, much less fill their shoes.

How did Nelson Mandela overcome his anger and bitterness of his 27-year imprisonment, and go on and reconcile and unify a deeply divided country?

Overcoming fear, anger, and obstacles imposed from outside and within, these leaders showed us how to build bridges, alliances, and a common purpose to concentrate our minds and unify our actions on one goal: our collective and shared well-being.

These traits are needed more than ever, as the world faces its own looming resource constraints and potential tipping points on climate, nature and the social contract.   

As we gathered in Cape Town, and thanks to a lively debate hosted earlier and carried into the ministerial by our colleagues at the Green Economy Coalition, five principles and pathways emerged for advancing sustainable and inclusive economies.

Image by Adobe Stock

First, it is a journey that must include us all. We cannot enjoy prosperity for the few at the expense of the many. We cannot build walls that would keep out a changing climate or dirty air or water that becomes our common heritage.

Second, it is about walking together. It is only together – building bridges across economic, racial and ideological divides – that we can successfully face the challenges of our generation. Partnerships, like the Partnership for Action on Green Economy, represent a way of scaling our individual and joint actions, distribute them across the many to reshape our world and our economies.

Third, this will require a little bit of humility and a lot of listening. The ability to agree on a common purpose starts with the ability to hear and understand each others’ rich and diverse values and approaches to creating sustainability in our lives.

Fourth, we must build trust. We must learn again to recognize the value in our relationships beyond the transactional. Trust is the social capital that underpins our institutions that shape and guide markets to good economic and social outcomes.

And fifth, it means creating a future that works for all – and in which all can work. One that creates jobs and income, and in which access to education and skills acts to counter wealth-concentrating tendencies that a new generation of information technology and machine learning threatens to propagate.

At the opening of the conference, Guy Ryder, head of the International Labor Organization, quoted Nelson Mandela, saying “everything looks impossible - until it is done.”

It is that same spirit and conviction we need now in our lives and in our world to transform ourselves and our economies to make them fit-for-purpose in the 21st century.

This year, 2019, marks the fourth anniversary of the sustainable development goals. In July, countries’ leaders will converge in New York to report on and celebrate the themes of inclusive and sustainable growth, and partnerships.

Unsurprisingly, these sit at the core of PAGE and the broader ecosystem of alliances and movements towards sustainability, with partners such as the Global Green Growth Institute.  

And like the Green Economy Coalition, which opened the week with a global discussion of how to make sure everyone gets a stake in the transition to an inclusive green economy?

And they will underpin efforts, kicked off in Cape Town, to fully align PAGE with the 2030 agenda and radically transform its ability to convene countries and share experiences in forging new pathways towards sustainability.

To walk with giants, we must draw from their strength and commitment and ability to overcome - with joy, with good humor, with knowledge - that many obstacles that we ourselves have created.

To walk in the footsteps of giants, we must make ourselves small and humble and rethink what really brings value into our lives.   

To shed the baggage of what E.F. Schumacher called the legacy of 19th century thinking, based on social Darwinism, Newtonian physics as the foundation of economics, and “enlightened” self-interest.

2019 is likely to be, again, one of the hottest years in history, if the current summer ice melt in Antarctica is any indication. So we need to get the gears in motion.

And that means finding new pathways forward. Like the Cape Town Action Pathways, that can lead us forward to 2030 and beyond.   

Thankfully, we have giants to in whose footsteps we can follow.

Friday 14 December 2018, Cape Town, South Africa - From 10-11 January 2019, 500 innovators and leaders from governments, civil society, private sector, development organizations, media and the public will meet in Cape Town for the third global forum on green economy.  Hosted by the Department of Environmental Affairs of South Africa, the third PAGE Ministerial Conference will highlight and celebrate innovation, entrepreneurship and inclusivity as drivers of green industries and as the bedrock for a better and more sustainable future for all.

As an alliance of five UN agencies –UN Environment, ILO, UNDP, UNIDO, UNITAR – the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE), supports countries in meeting their sustainability commitments, particularly the Sustainable Development Goals related to the economy, jobs, industrial development and the environment. It also works with them to meet their national commitments to tackling climate change under the Paris Agreement through inclusive green economy approaches.

The third PAGE Ministerial Conference will focus on how to advance inclusive and sustainable economies for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and targets of the Paris Agreement on climate change. Over the course of two days, participants will zoom in on how we can develop and implement innovative policy solutions to green the economy, how to green the financial system and make it work for the future, how to find solutions that work for everybody and empower the most vulnerable and how to enable and incentivize consuming and producing sustainably.

It’s an ambitious agenda, and one that requires expertise from a diversity of our global community. That’s why PAGE is bringing together a group of similarly ambitious innovators and leaders to guide these discussions.  From Chief Economist of the UN, Elliot Harris, to Kimmo Tiilikaiinan, Minister for Environment of Finland, Pierre Venter from the Banking Association of South Africa, and Kumi Naidoo, Secretary General of Amnesty International – PAGE has gathered the most incisive minds from across the spectrum of social, economic and environmental leadership to work together towards real solutions.

Only limited spaces are still available – register now to secure your place.

For more information on the conference, including a full programme and list of speakers, please visit the PAGE Ministerial Conference 2019 website.

New Delhi, India, 30 November 2018 – Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) held a two-day Inception Workshop in the national capital with multiple stakeholders from UN agencies, Government and other organizations. India, recently welcomed onto the PAGE programme in May this year, is fast becoming one of the largest economies in Asia. With an economic growth averaging 7.4% annually, India faces significant challenges including exploitation of natural resources, rapid industrialization, poverty and unemployment.

The purpose of this workshop was to engage stakeholders such as Government of India, funding partners and UN agencies regarding priority policymaking and capacity building activities that, with the support of PAGE, can make substantial contributions to India’s national targets regarding Inclusive Green Economy, Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) initiatives. The workshop also provided an opportunity to identify sectors under resource efficiency where work on green economy could be mainstreamed. It also helped further refine the terms of reference for foundational work that would set baselines and help shape the scope of PAGE’s work in India.

Delivering the keynote address, CK Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change said “Green Economy is a part of the Indian mindset. India is working towards equity and responsible growth and climate justice is at the heart of it. India’s PAGE operational strategy should take into consideration key sectors for intervention in India and the understanding of current sectoral policy regime to bring in visible changes.”

Along with the five UN agencies that form PAGE (UN Environment, UNIDO, UNITAR, the ILO and UNDP), Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is the coordinating Ministry on PAGE. Joint Secretary Nikunja K Sundaray, PAGE focal point, spoke about India’s approach and Additional Secretary Anil Jain spoke about the way forward. Senior representatives from European Union – one of PAGE’s seven funding partners, Ministry of Finance and TERI as well as members of other organizations actively participated in sessions focussing on resource efficiency such as sustainable public procurement, end of life management in emergent sectors, fiscal policies, skill and capacity building for a green economy transition, to name a few.

"I would like to congratulate India on being successful in obtaining PAGE approval. The government is committed and in the process of formulating a resource efficiency roadmap. The PAGE inception workshop is a stepping-stone to identifying green economy initiatives and processes as well as resource efficiency sectors in India which could potentially be a game changer,” said Yuri Afanasiev, UN Resident Coordinator, India.

 The workshop concluded with a robust discussion on green and circular economy with some concrete outcomes:

• PAGE India would bring in transformational shift through global green economy learning forum where in UN Agencies and other international organizations form a conglomerate and offer advice on emerging policy issues
• Through the forum a series of interactive and programmatic high-level regional consultations will be organised that will help finalise PAGE workplan in India, primarily identifying sectors for intervention.

“This is an exciting time to join the Government of India in its search for new pathways to greener and more circular economies.   The focus on sustainable consumption and production builds on a strong tradition of resource efficiency and circularity in India, and the PAGE team is grateful to be a part of this effort,” said Steven Stone, Chief, Resources and Markets Branch, Economy Division, UN Environment.

The Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) was launched in 2013 as a response to the call at Rio+20 to support those countries wishing to embark on greener and more inclusive growth trajectories.

PAGE seeks to put sustainability at the heart of economic policies and practices to advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and supports nations and regions in reframing economic policies and practices around sustainability to foster economic growth, create income and jobs, reduce poverty and inequality, and strengthen the ecological foundations of their economies. 

NOTES TO EDITORS

About UN Environment

UN Environment is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. UN Environment works with governments, the private sector, civil society and with other UN entities and international organizations across the world.

About PAGE

Since 2013, The Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) has grown into an increasingly prominent alliance of UN Agencies, international partner organizations and governments. The partnership is recognized as an innovative and efficient model of excellence for delivering on the 2030 Agenda. Drawing on the expertise of five UN Agencies – UN Environment, the International Labour Organization, the UN Development Programme, the UN Industrial Development Organization, and the UN Institute for Training and Research – PAGE challenges business-as-usual growth and business models, and places sustainability at the heart of economic systems. At the global level, PAGE partners with the donor community, the wider UN system, governments, civil society and the private sector to amplify and accelerate transitions to greener, more inclusive development, and to support future generations and sustainable development pathways.

For more information, please contact:

Jasleen Dhanota Kanwal, UN Environment, Country Office India, jasleen.dhanota@un.org

29 November 2018, Paris, France – The PAGE family is set to grow even larger as the Partnership is inviting applications from new countries to join PAGE. Applications will be accepted until 15 February 2019., Ligia Noronha, head of the Economy Division of UN Environment announced the call for applications and said, “The recent UN-wide reforms have reinforced the usefulness of PAGE’s “one UN” joint-delivery model that is driven by expressed needs of the member states. It is the firm conviction of all PAGE partners that an inclusive and green economic future and Sustainable Development Goals can only be achieved through a collaborative approach that builds on and extends a vibrant network of partnerships - across disciplines, countries and stakeholders from around the globe”.

Since its inception in 2013, the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) has grown into a prominent alliance of five UN agencies, eight funding partners and eighteen countries that work together for transforming economies into drivers of sustainability to foster economic growth, create income and jobs, reduce poverty and inequality and strengthen the ecological foundations of global economy. Thanks to the wide-ranging “specialised’ expertise of the five UN agencies and PAGE partners, as well as a unique model of delivering as “one UN” PAGE is increasingly recognized as a model to deliver comprehensive and coordinated support to countries for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and addressing climate change.

More than 90 countries, so far, have benefited from PAGE activities and while governments of 18 countries are receiving multiyear support to create evidence-based policies that place sustainability at the heart of economic growth and investment decisions.

“The transformational changes needed for greening the economy and achieving SDGS are unlikely to take place automatically; they often need to be mobilized by public policy, in particular, fiscal and investment policies, monetary and credit policies, trade policies, industrial policies, and pro-active labour policies, in addition to the more familiar rules, regulations, standards and other economic instruments”. said Asad Naqvi, head of the PAGE Secretariat. “PAGE is an effort to break down the old silos and bring the science and economics together to identify win-win-win opportunities, in which we can grow the economy, reduce inequalities, and protect the environment.”

PAGE itself is an embodiment of this principle: an interdisciplinary partnership of five UN agencies specializing in the environment, labour issues, social development, industrial development and capacity building, PAGE know that the challenge of bringing together all the relevant actors is absolutely necessary to address the interconnected challenges that underpin the Sustainable Development Goals.

PAGE provides a range of tools and services, which can be employed in partner countries to inform evidence-based policymaking, understand gaps and challenges, and build coalitions to work across silos. The PAGE programme also emphasizes the value of peer-to-peer learning and south-south and triangular cooperation: the experiences of sharing experiences and knowledge between Kyrgyz Republic and Mongolia was recognized in a recent report highlighting best practices in south-south and triangular cooperation throughout the entire UN system.

The culture of knowledge-sharing and cooperation is also embodied in PAGE’s Ministerial Conferences, at which ministers from PAGE partner countries, PAGE funding partner countries, as well as technical experts, academics, business leaders and innovators gather to exchange ideas and share their expertise. The next PAGE Ministerial Conference will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, on 10-11 January 2019.

The new PAGE countries will be chosen taking into account the PAGE selection criteria described in the PAGE Application Form. Applications close on February 15, 2019.

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More information on applying to the Partnership for Action on Green Economy.
More information about the Partnership for Action on Green Economy
PAGE’s 2018 results
PAGE Resources
Latest PAGE news

22 October 2018, Georgetown, Guyana - Guyana’s inaugural Green Expo and International Small Business Summit was held in Georgetown from the 18th – 21st October 2018.  The event, held under the theme Sustainable economic growth through small business innovation, entrepreneurship and transformative government policies was made possible through the collaborative efforts of the Ministry of the Presidency, UN Environment, Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE), IDB, the African Business Roundtable, and the Small Business Bureau of the Ministry of Business.  

PAGE participated at both events and took the opportunity to enhance public awareness on the Guyana Green State Development Strategy: Vision 2040 and PAGE's work in the country. UN Environment and the Department of Environment presented the first draft of the Strategy to the Government of Guyana International Small Business Summit. 

The Green Business Expo provided small-scale entrepreneurs with an opportunity to showcase their green and innovative products. Patrons also had an opportunity to find out more about PAGE's work in Guyana, including the macroeconomic modelling and green industry assessments undertaken to inform the elaboration and support the implementation of the Green State Development Strategy Vision 2040. The significance of intermingling policy and small business was clear: entrepreneurs cannot make the shift to becoming competitive, green and social enterprises without a supportive financial, legal, regulatory and technical environment. 

Throughout the summit and expo you will see evidence of how small business are innovating in Guyana today, and the success of Government efforts to support them. Public initiatives like the small business procurement programme, the assistance offered by the Small Business Bureau, and the small business tax procedures, all strengthen the enabling environment and help small businesses thrive.

Leo Heileman, Director of the Deparment of the Environment, Guyana

At the International Small Business Summit, the connection between small business and green economy was also in focus. In his keynote address, Winston Jordon, the Minister of Finance, noted that small and medium-sized businesses have a vital role to play in the transformation of Guyana into a green economy. The Summit provided the platform for experts, entrepreneurs, academia, politicians and the other representatives from 16 countries to exchange information and experiences in green economy initiatives.