Document: Green Economy in Africa - Success Stories from Countries

Green economy (green growth) is the means by which the current economy can make the transition to a sustainable economy. It involves improving human wellbeing and social equity, promoting growth and development while reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities, minimizing inefficient use of natural resources, maintaining biodiversity among others. It requires further “decoupling” of environmental impacts from economic growth while reducing poverty and improving health and jobs prospects. Countries still do not take full account of the costs of inaction on environmental challenges such as climate change, and inefficient use of energy and resources. Such cost of inaction can be considerable, especially for developing countries, Africa amongst them- whose economies rely more heavily on natural resources and where climate change is already hitting hardest. A new paradigm is needed to ensure that countries take better advantage of the larger potential benefits that can accompany the move towards greener economies. A paradigm which recognizes that to build a prosperous economy, “green” and “economy/growth” can no longer be considered in isolation.