Global Green Growth for Human Development

Abstract

The world is not on track to achieve climate stabilization: a global mean temperature between 1.5⁰C to 2⁰C above pre-industrial levels no later than 2100—the goal of the Paris Agreement. The paper illustrates the opportunities and challenges posed by the development of a global green growth program: a worldwide program whose core is to invest between 1.5 percent to 2 percent of global GDP per year in raising energy efficiency standards and expanding the clean renewable energy supply. This could realistically within 20 years bring global emissions down by 40 percent relative to today while still supporting healthy economic growth rates. The paper analyses the industrial and financing policies that countries should implement to favour the development of energy efficient programs, and it shows how the green growth investments will create new opportunities for alternative ownership forms, including various combinations of smaller scale public, private and cooperative ownership. The paper highlights that, even though the energy efficient program will generate large scale increases in job opportunities, during the transition period, countries will have to implement policies to support workers and communities now depending on the fossil fuel industry.