Theme 2012 Green Economy: Does it include you? WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2012

World Environment Day (WED) is a day that stimulates awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and public action. It is on 5 June. It was the day that United Nations Conference on the Human Environment began. The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment was from 5–16 June 1972. It was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972. The first World Environment Day was on 1973. World Environment Day is hosted every year by a different city with a different theme and is commemorated with an international exposition in the week of 5 June. World Environment Day is in spring in the Northern Hemisphere and fall in the Southern Hemisphere.

Theme 2012 Green Economy: Does it include you? The UN Environment Programme defines the Green Economy as one that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. In its simplest expression, a green economy can be thought of as one which is low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive.

Practically speaking, a Green Economy is one whose growth in income and employment is driven by public and private investments that reduce carbon emissions and pollution, enhance energy and resource efficiency, and prevent the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. These investments need to be catalyzed and supported by targeted public expenditure, policy reforms and regulation changes.

But what does all this mean for you? If the Green Economy is about social equity and inclusiveness then technically it is all about you! The question therefore asks you to find out more about the Green Economy and assess whether, in your country, you are being included in it

A green economy is one that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities - United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) (2010). A green economy is an economy or economic development model based on sustainable development and a knowledge of ecological economics.

Its most distinguishing feature from prior economic regimes is direct valuation of natural capital and ecological services as having economics value

Karl Burkart defines a green economy as based on six main sectors:

Renewable energy (solar, wind, geothermal, marine including wave, biogas, and fuel cell)

Green buildings (green retrofits for energy and water efficiency, residential and commercial assessment; green products and materials, and LEED construction)

Clean transportation (alternative fuels, public transit, hybrid and electric vehicles, carsharing and carpooling programs)

Water management (Water reclamation, greywater and rainwater systems, low-water landscaping, water purification, stormwater management)

Waste management (recycling, municipal solid waste salvage, brownfield land remediation, Superfund cleanup, sustainable packaging)

Land management (organic agriculture, habitat conservation and restoration; urban forestry and parks, reforestation and afforestation and soil stabilization)

The three pillars of sustainability.

The Global Citizens Center, led by Kevin Danaher, defines green economy differently from the use of pricing mechanisms for protecting nature, by using the terms of a "triple bottom line," an economy concerned with being:

Environmentally sustainable, based on the belief that our biosphere is a closed system with finite resources and a limited capacity for self-regulation and self-renewal. We depend on the earth’s natural resources, and therefore we must create an economic system that respects the integrity of ecosystems and ensures the resilience of life supporting systems.

Socially just, based on the belief that culture and human dignity are precious resources that, like our natural resources, require responsible stewardship to avoid their depletion. We must create a vibrant economic system that ensures all people have access to a decent standard of living and full opportunities for personal and social development.

Locally rooted, based on the belief that an authentic connection to place is the essential pre-condition to sustainability and justice. The Green Economy is a global aggregate of individual communities meeting the needs of its citizens through the responsible, local production and exchange of goods and services.

The Global Green Economy Index published annually by consultancy Dual Citizen Inc., measures and ranks the perception and performance of 27 national green economies. This index looks at 4 primary dimensions defining a national green economy as follows:

Leadership and the extent to which national leaders are cha_economympions for green issues on the local and international stage

Domestic policies and the success of policy frameworks to successfully promote renewable energy and green growth in home market

Cleantech Investment and the perceived opportunities and cleantech investment climate in each country

Green tourism and the level of commitment to promoting sustainable tourism through government

You can take part in a student project to define the Green Economy in the run-up to the Rio+20 conference on the Green Economist website

SOURCE : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_economy