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August 16, 2018
16 August 2018, Guayaquil, Ecuador - Siempre es posible cambiar - it is always possible to change, rang out the chorus of the song that opened the closing ceremony of the Fifth Latin America Green Awards (Premios Latinamérica Verde) on August 16 in Guayaquil, Ecuador. This year, PAGE was a key partner for the awards, underlining the role of green economy in Latin America as a key component for achieving environmental protection and prosperity.
The awards drew in 2,733 success stories, 38 countries and 713 participating cities. This was an increase of 324 projects and 44 cities over the in 2017 awards, clear evidence that the ambition and opportunity to develop ideas to protect the planet is growing in the region.
250 experts from 21 countries determined the rankings of the 500 best projects, as well as the finalists in each category of the award. Deciding of the overall winners of this year’s awards was an elite jury comprising: Matilde Mordt, Regional Director for Sustainable Development and Resilience at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); Franco Pizza, representative of Banco Colombia; Gael Almeida, Regional Director for Latin America and representative of National Geographic Society and Hugo Arnal, National Director of WWF Ecuador.
UNDP awarded a special recognition to the project "Conservation and Strengthening of Beekeeping in Biological Corridors of Chiapas, Mexico", for good practices in sustainable development – that is, a project that simultaneously advances people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnerships.
DIRECTV, an official sponsor of the event, chose four projects to be featured in the documentary "Protagonistas", which will be launched next year: Green Galapagos 2050 (Ecuador), Tying it all Together (Atando Cabos) (Chile), EarthSpark International (Haiti) and Healthy Oceans if we Recycle (Mexico). In addition, through its Generación DirecTV program, together with ATT, the Technology for Sustainability Award was presented to the Chilean projects Recylink, Reciclapp and Transvoz. They will receive technology training in the US.
Roberto Manríque, ambassador of the Latin America Green Awards, was encouraged by the presence of high-level participation at the event, including that of the President of Ecuador, Lenín Moreno. The gala closed with an intervention from the President of Sambito (Soluciones Ambientales Totales), Gustavo Manrique, who said, "the best future depends on taking a step to turn your dream, hopes and illusions into a reality. That is Latin America Green Awards, a tribute to the dreamers, to those who have the perseverance, the love, the faith to work in a better planet."
Find out more about the winners for the Latin America Green Awards here.
August 3, 2018
1-3 August 2018, Lima, Peru - In collaboration with the Ministry of Production of Peru (PRODUCE) and the EU-funded project “Inclusive Green Economy Policy Making for SDGs: from Implementation to Evaluation”, Universidad del Pacífico (CIUP) and the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) held a three day capacity building event on the Integrated Green Economy Modelling (IGEM) Tool.
Building on a previous workshop where the IGEM framework was presented to Peruvian government officials and other stakeholders in 2017, the three-day event marked the first phase of the implementation of the IGEM tool in Peru. The training process, aimed at public officials and members of academia, intends to enable the evaluation of green policies in several sectors, including the manufacturing sector, of particular relevance in the context of the greening of Peru’s economic structure.
During the opening of the workshop, Philippe Vanhuynegem, Director of the ILO Office for Andean Countries, acknowledged that Peru has successfully taken on the task of promoting green growth. "In this process, the United Nations has been contributing to the generation of knowledge to incorporate the concept of green inclusive economy in policies and national plans”, he recalled. "Now PAGE is in a phase of consolidation and we’re transferring knowledge, tools and capabilities developed to ensure the sustainability of its actions".
The Integrated Green Economy Modelling Tool (IGEM) will allow Peru to use a range of economic, social and environmental indicators to project the impacts of potential green policy measures and to analyse the effects of existing policies. "Having this information in a timely manner is essential for policy decisions and planning", he added.
Policies evaluated with this tool should help meet the national objectives of sustainable development, improve competitiveness, promote economic growth, diversify the economy and generate green jobs. In this sense, Congressman Pedro Olaechea insisted on the need to use the information generated to "work in the creation of solid markets and incentives that motivate entrepreneurs to invest in green jobs and businesses and, at the end of the day, contribute to reduce informality".
The training also served to refine the process of implementation, monitoring and reporting of some of the Sustainable Development Goals to which the country has committed. "Only by working together can we achieve [the 2030 Agenda]", said Stefan Pauwels, Head of the European Union Cooperation Section in Peru. "The green economy and the circular economy are tools that allow progress in that direction", he insisted.
Adapted from story first published on ilo.org, August 2 2018. Read the original here (in Spanish)
August 1, 2018
1 August 2018, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso - A significant milestone has been reached in Burkina Faso’s transition to an inclusive green economy. Last month, the government’s draft National Strategy for Green Economy was validated by national stakeholder groups. The validation workshop took place as part of SWITCH Africa Green’s National Policy Dialogue on the 27th of July 2018 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The workshop brought together representatives from different government institutions and provided them with the opportunity to review the strategy and validate its action plan.
Burkina Faso joined PAGE in 2014, and, since then, PAGE has been supporting the development of the National Green Economy Strategy. The strategy serves as the backbone of the country’s transition to a green economy and will contribute to Burkina Faso’s National Plan for Economic and Social Development (PNDES 2016-2020). Several macroeconomic and sectoral assessments were conducted to inform this Strategy, including the Green Economy Assessment, which identifies sectors for green investments.
The strategy highlights several main axes of operation including action on green jobs, sustainable consumption and production, sustainable trade, green finance, combatting climate change, and national capacity building on green economy.
PAGE has been supporting the process of elaborating and validating this strategy in a number of different ways:
- Conducting research and analysis on the macroeconomic and development context in Burkina Faso, and using this information to provide guidance on low-hanging fruits and areas and sectors with the most potential to deliver economic growth, green jobs, environmental protection, and social inclusion;
- Providing expert feedback on strategy drafts, in consultation with local experts, business leaders, community leaders, academics and civil-society organizations;
- Conducting workshops to improve the capacities of stakeholders to take advantage of upcoming green economy opportunities, and to build in sustainability to existing economic practices.
The draft National Strategy for Green Economy will now move through the process for official adoption.
July 31, 2018
30-31 July 2018, Accra, Ghana - National stakeholders convened in late July to provide feedback on PAGE’s draft study on access to green finance for businesses in Ghana. Green – or sustainable – finance can be loosely defined as finance resources generated to target positive social, economic and environmental outcomes or business practices.
The meetings took place after an initial consultation, held on July 13th, which provided an opportunity for representatives from the financial sector, representatives from the Bank of Ghana and the Ministry of Finance, and representatives from other ministries that serve on the PAGE Ghana Steering Committee to review and provide feedback on an initial draft of the study.
This most recent meeting served as a forum for obtaining feedback on the study from a wider selection of stakeholders including representatives from business and industry associations, rural lenders, academia, media, UN agencies, bilateral donors, and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation. It also provided an opportunity for participants to share information about the challenges businesses face in obtaining green finance and provided insights into the criteria lenders apply in deciding whether to grant loans in support of green objectives to businesses. The participants also divided themselves into small groups to brainstorm around key topics: policy levers to drive green finance lending, development of a green finance programme and capacity building requirements.
The feedback gathered from participants over the course of the two consultations will be used to further develop the PAGE study on access to green finance in Ghana. This study is intended to help policymakers address encumbrances to access to green finance and simultaneously generate demand from businesses for such financing. The feedback from the second consultation will also inform a green finance capacity building programme also supported by PAGE that will be implemented by a national learning institution. The institution will be chosen through a competitive bidding process administered by PAGE.
July 18, 2018
18 July 2018, Lima, Peru - Peru, one of PAGE’s first partner countries, is currently updating its National Green Jobs Plan. Based, in part, on inputs from PAGE, the Green Jobs Plan has identified mining, forestry, tourism and solid waste as sectors that hold enormous potential for environmental reform and promoting green jobs.
In addition to the support of PAGE in sectorial policy reform, SOCIEUX+, an EU programme dedicated to improving social protection, labour and employment, began providing technical assistance to the Peruvian Ministry of Labour in April this year, with the overall objective to strengthen its capacities for green jobs promotion. To capitalize on the momentum this complementary programming is providing, PAGE expanded upon a SOCIEUX+ mission of experts into a broader event in April: the National Green Jobs Forum.
With PAGE support, the SOCIEUX+ programme recently conducted a capacity building workshop on how to design specific green jobs measures and projects in the solid waste sector. The workshop covered topics including green economy principles, formalization of waste workers, and included site visits to both private and public waste management facilities.
PAGE will continue its synergy with the SOCIEUX+ programme as it expands into further sectors.
July 16, 2018
- Policymakers around the world are trying to reshape their economic systems to more effectively incentivize sustainable businesses and lifestyles
- Financial institutions are acting to shift businesses towards more environmentally and socially sustainable behaviors and priorities
- Entrepreneurs are increasingly putting sustainability and social justice at the core of their business models – going beyond corporate social responsibility to using purpose as their competitive advantage
17 July 2018 – Usually the story goes like this: businesses are taking advantage of loopholes to increase profits at the expense of the environment and local communities, and the policymakers are scrambling to close these loopholes. However, more and more, we’re seeing evidence of the opposite: businesses are taking advantage of the market demand for sustainable and ethical products, and policymakers are trying to regulate to incentivize and replicate these behaviours.
Business-as-usual is still the usual, of course. But policymakers in some countries are working to redesign their whole economic system to weed out perverse incentives in the economy, and design in desired catalysts for greener and fairer workplaces, products and lifestyles.
“There is a major employment dividend to be had from action to protect the planet, from action against climate change,” Guy Ryder, head of the International Labour Organization. “We reckon that 24 million jobs can be had from here to 2030 from action against climate change”.
His words came during an address last night on the side lines of the UN’s High Level Political Forum, at which world leaders gather to assess their progress against the agreed-upon Sustainable Development Goals.
The event, entitled “Transforming our economies and lifestyles: greener and fairer for future generations,” homed in on finance and lifestyles as key drivers for inclusive, green economies. The Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) – a UN program supported by various funding partner countries that helps governments go through precisely this process of reorienting their economies to value sustainability and social equity – hosted the event.
Lena Hök, from Moody’s Investors Service remarked on the role that financial institutions could play in reorienting market incentives. “When financial institutions raise environmental or social demands on their investments, it gets a real leverage in the business world,” she said. “Green bonds and investments signals to companies the need to integrate sustainability processes into their core business, measure their work and be transparent with the performance. By doing so business gets a better understanding of their risks and business opportunities as well as a clearer pathway on how to contribute to the sustainability agenda.”
Some organizations may already be ahead of the pack. “We’re currently witnessing a zeitgeist moment, where consumers want companies to define who they are and what they stand for,” said Lance Gould, co-founder of Silicon Valley Story Lab. According to Mr. Gould, there is a growing emergence of “a model in which companies actually commit to become purpose-driven, and try to make it a competitive advantage of theirs.”
While the mood in the room was upbeat and optimistic, some of the speakers acknowledged that it won’t all be plain sailing ahead. “We have to be honest that there won’t be only “win-win situations”,” said Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter, State Secretary for the Federal Ministry of Environment from Germany, also funding partner of PAGE. “We must therefore ensure the success of structural transformation without causing harsh structural breaks.”
The High Level Political Forum continues this week in New York.
July 1, 2018
July 1 2018, Linden, Guyana - Low-income earners in Guyana now have increasing access decent homes, thanks to a housing project that is embracing the circular economy for economic, environmental, and social benefits.
The project, based in Linden, a mining community, uses the excesses from bauxite extraction which had previously been discarded as its primary building material. The community suffers from a housing deficit, and most affected are low-income earners with no access to commercial loans.
According to Robert Cameron, owner of Linden Bricks, houses built with bauxite blocks have several benefits. The bauxite bricks can automatically interlock, making construction faster and more economical, as many of the traditional binding materials are no longer required. The houses are also cooler, as heat takes a longer time to penetrate the dense bricks. There is also no need to paint, as the brick is weatherproof and visually appealing.
According to the Mayor, Wanaka Arindell, the amount of bauxite excess available in the Linden after more than a century of bauxite mining is enough raw material to have bricks manufactured for the entire country.
“The overburden is waste is of no value, but it has been said, ‘What is one man’s trash is another man’s treasure’,” said Remington Nelson, representative from the Ministry of Communities.
Full story courtesy of the Guyana Chronicle: available here.
June 28, 2018
28 June 2018, Aburi, Ghana – PAGE and the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), held a media training on climate change and green economy entitled “Coverage of Climate Change and Green Economy-Related Sustainable Development Goals in Decentralized Development Work”.
The training gathered journalists and other media practitioners from the southern zone of Ghana, which included the Greater Accra region and neighboring Western, Volta, Central and Eastern regions to deepen their understanding of green economy related concepts, the SDGs and climate change. During the opening remarks for the Southern zone training in Aburi, the Minister for MESTI, whose speech was delivered on his behalf by the Head of Human Resources at the Ministry, underscored the importance of strengthening the awareness and knowledge of the media as change agents and advocates for championing the path of Ghana to a green economy. At the training, participants shared experiences on covering climate change and green economy related news, and now have an improved knowledge base to develop compelling stories that raise awareness among the general public and policymakers.
The training also delved into the process of mainstreaming green economy, climate change and SDGs into Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), enabling media stakeholders to hold public officials accountable and helping foster a productive and healthy media environment. This effort is complementary to the PAGE assessment on “Mainstreaming Climate Change, and Green Economy SDGs into the Development Plans of MMDA’s”, available here.
Additional trainings aimed at media practitioners are expected to take place in July in the city of Kumasi in the Ashanti region, for Ghanaian regions of the northern zone, namely the Upper East, Brong-Ahafo, Northern, Ashanti and Upper West regions.
Media coverage of the training is available at:
June 28, 2018
Jiangsu, China, 26-28 June 2018 – PAGE, together with the Policy Research Center for Environment & Economy and the Jiangsu International Environmental Development Center held a workshop to lay the groundwork for developing a coalition of green industrial parks in Jiangsu.
The workshop brought together green industrial park policymakers, park administrators, and representatives from the private sector, NGOs and academia. The consultations held during the workshop advanced planning for the establishment of the upcoming PAGE Coalition of Green Industrial Parks. Trainings were provided on crosscutting issues, such as on water management and green finance.
Once established, the PAGE Coalition of Green Industrial Parks will support the broader efforts of PAGE and Jiangsu Province towards a green industry transition. As one of China’s major industrial powerhouses, Jiangsu is establishing itself as a leader on green industry and is setting best practice for greening industrial parks in China.
June 22, 2018
22 June 2018, Ouagadougou – As part of PAGE’s work in Burkina Faso, a workshop on inclusive green economy learning needs brought together about fifty representatives from ministries, academic institutions and civil society in Burkina Faso.
June 14, 2018
June 14, Port Louis, Mauritius - The budget speech delivered by the Prime Minister of Mauritius last month reveals the key axes on which his government believes will be critical for transforming Mauritius into a high-income country. The 2018-2019 national budget, entitled Pursuing our Transformative Journey, follows a decidedly green economic model; that is, one that emphasizes strategies that promote inclusiveness and environmental protection as a means for achieving economic growth. At the centre of several of these strategies are key recommendations and insights that are consistent with PAGE’s green economy analyses and assessments.
Subsistence allowances:
Under the Mauritius Marshall Plan for Poverty – a plan that PAGE contributed to developing – a Social Register was developed to indentfy individuals vulnerable to falling into extreme poverty. Under the 2018-2019 budget, the Prime Minister announced that 6,400 individuals who are on the Social Register will receive a monthly subsistence allowance. The government’s decision to provide subsistence payments to individuals on the Social Register is a continuation of a policy embarked upon in the 2017-2018 national budget.
Sheltered Farming Scheme
The government intends to provide marketing, technical and financial assistance to set up 100 farms over the next two years under a Sheltered Farming Scheme. This assistance will be given by the Economic Development Board to new ‘agripreneurs’ to market their products both domestically and abroad. The Food and Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (FAREI) will provide technical assistance and mentoring to young graduates and SMEs that are developing agri-projects. Financial assistance from the government will come in the form of access to finance from the Development Bank of Mauritius and Maubkan at a discounted rate, while all income derived from these projects will be exempted from tax for the first 8 years. These three forms of assistance are consistent with recommendations made in the country’s PAGE supported Green Economy Assessment regarding linking sustainable agriculture producers to the markets, investing in research and extension for smart agriculture and developing incentives for conversion of land from conventional to sustainable agriculture.
Other budgetary measures
The government aims to encourage the emergence of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with the introduction of a Certification Scheme to provide technical assistance to SMEs and cooperatives for accreditation to international standards and certifications. As recommended in the Green Economy Assessment, participation in international standards regimes, such as ISO standards, is important to increase the competitiveness of Mauritius’ companies for export opportunities.
Recycling
Financial incentives will be provided to manufacturers to promote the recycling of water bottles. Waste management was identified as an influential sector for greening Mauritius’ economy in the green economy assessment. PAGE has supported policymakers in this sector by conducting an Industrial Waste Assessment that recommends actions for waste management.
Mauritius and PAGE
Mauritius joined the PAGE partnership in 2014 to support the country’s ambition to become an inclusive high-income country by 2030. At the request of the government, PAGE supported a Green Economy Assessment to inform possible pathways for Mauritius’ transition to a green economy. This study examined greening initiatives and opportunities in seven key sectors of the Mauritius economy, such as agriculture, manufacturing and waste, while suggesting potential actions for a green economy transition.
June 13, 2018
Dr. Ganzorig Gonchigsumlaa, originally from Mongolia, studied at the University of Manchester, where he obtained a Master of Science in Environmental Economics in 2010. He gained his PhD in Agricultural Economics at the Georg-August University of Goettingen, Germany in 2016.
Since then, he has become a Senior Lecturer at the Mongolian University of Life Sciences where he teaches three courses: Introduction to Economics, Cost-Benefit Analysis and Development Economics. In addition, he also has experience working with the UN System and the Mongolian government.
During the weeks of 8 September to 10 November 2017, PAGE delivered an e-learning course on green fiscal reform to meet the learning needs and build capacities of national stakeholders.
The interactive and practice-oriented course provided participants from government, business, civil society and academia with an introduction to various approaches and policy instruments for reforming government spending and revenue generation with the goal of supporting the transition to a green economy.
Ganzorig participated in the course and shares with us his experience:
"The GFR e-course was amazingly well-prepared and organized. The course plan, evaluation methods, training materials, online discussions and receiving feedback for my submitted assignments was fantastic. It was my first time taking an e-course, and I understand better now how useful it can be to take an e-course."
In terms of content, Ganzorig says he "gained knowledge related to fiscal and financial aspects of the green economy for a variety of economic sectors including agriculture and transportation."
The most important aspect of the course for him was the "chance to pool out every aspect of green fiscal reform with very practical international case studies and examples."
Among all the new concepts that he learned, one of the key takeaways is that a biggest challenge to fulfill country goals might be the financial gaps, and thanks to the e-course, he grasped this more clearly.
He encourages people who want to learn about GFR in a constructive manner to take the e-course. "The flexibility of taking the course at my pace, reading the training materials, and having homework was a good balance for me. The live discussions through the webinar was also very interesting and essentially allowed me to connect with other participants and talk about the same topic regardless of our geographical locations," he adds.
After taking the course, Ganzorig had a chance to share his knowledge through PAGE at UN Mongolia to develop a course on Green Economy and Modelling among the undergraduate students.
The team of professors at the Mongolian University of Life Sciences, National University of Mongolia, and the University of Finance and Economics in Mongolia developed the course curriculum, and lecture and seminar materials.
"I was in charge of the topics on Green Fiscal Reform: Rationale and related concepts and Green Fiscal Reform: Instruments. The two topics are translated versions of the Module 1 and 2 of the GFR e-course; in addition to, a few more cases focused on the context of Mongolia. This is evidence that the course was beneficial to the participants, like myself, who can later evolve the concepts to reach more people," he concludes.