Green growth is an increasingly important aspect of sustainable development and environmental policy, with many countries developing national strategies or taking part in global initiatives dedicated to fostering the green economy. These strategies typically aim to increase the proportion of green products, services and activities in the economy, while simultaneously improving the economic efficiency of production processes and protecting the environment.
While green growth has been a major concern in recent years, there is still a great deal of work to be done. The OECD is a global leader in this area, working with its member countries to develop policies and practices that promote green growth while avoiding environmental damage.
The OECD’s green growth strategy harnesses knowledge and best practices to create policies that promote economic growth while protecting the environment. Its goals include reducing energy use, improving water management, implementing cleaner production methods and promoting social inclusion.
Achieving green growth is a complex undertaking, involving both the economy and the environment. It is crucial to focus on the linkages between the two. Moreover, it requires changes in the business model of firms, enabling them to produce products that do not require natural resources and to redesign processes and infrastructure to be more efficient.
Increasing the quantity and quality of green products, services and technologies will help to achieve green growth. However, it will also require a significant shift in the business model of firms to reduce their resource consumption and make products that can be repaired or recycled when necessary.
Greening the growth path will differ according to a country’s level of development, social structures, resource endowments and particular environmental pressure points. It is imperative to ensure that greening the growth path is part of a country’s overall economic and social policy, particularly its human capital investment and employment promotion efforts.
As the demand for greener products and services increases, a more diversified supply of natural resources will be required. The key to sustainable green growth, then, is to ensure a sufficient supply of resources through the effective management of their life cycles from extraction through to production and waste disposal.
This is essential for developing a circular economy, which can lead to the reduction of environmental impact and resource depletion. In addition, green growth strategies must be accompanied by well-designed tax/transfer redistribution systems to ensure equitable access to resources for all.
The OECD works to help nations develop their own strategies on green growth, while offering guidance for how to implement these in the broader economy. It also helps to promote global green growth standards and measures, as well as research on the impacts of green technologies and the environment.
Despite the growing attention on green growth, little is known about its impact on economic development performance. This paper aims to fill this gap by assessing the impact of green growth measures on economic development in high-income, upper-middle-income, lower-middle-income and low-income economies, considering the latest classifications of these economies (based on Gross National Income per capita).