Expert talk: ‘Green economy needs to be opted to improve social equity’

Barbara Unmuessig calls for immediate shift from fossil fuels.

Green economy is needed more than ever but it needs to be embedded in social and democratic procedures.

This was the crux of an expert talk by Barbara Unmuessig, President of the Heinrich Boell Stiftung (HBS), on Friday.

The event titled “Green Economy - The New Magic Bullet” was jointly organised by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and HBS on Unmuessig’s visit to Pakistan, said a press release.

Unmuessig was of the view that to combat climate change, it is crucial to switch from a fossil-fuel based economy to a more efficient model run on renewable energies.

“One has to realise that we live in a resource finite world and there is need for more efficient and innovative production and consumption patterns,” she said. “New model moreover also needs clear social guidelines and distribution measures. A green economy should benefit the majority of the population and allow democratic governance as well as social participation,” she added.

According to Unmuessig, de-carbonising the global economy is a declared objective of all protagonists of green economy. “However, not everything that is carbon-free is socially sound. So, before rushing into it, the concept of green economy has to be checked against reality,” she went on to add.



Commenting on concept of green economy, she said that it still remains vague as the stakeholders at Rio+20 could not agree on a final definition.

She said, “The concept emerging from UNEP and OECD was initially framed in a limited way and it has been understood very differently among States and within civil society.”

Pointing towards consumption patterns and behaviors, she stressed upon the socio-political and cultural transformation particularly in developed countries for protection of environment and preservation of nature.  She said that efficiency is not enough and there is a need to focus on sufficiency, upon which unfortunately the Rio+20 has also failed to deliver.

Echoing disappointment with the Rio+20, Shafqat Kakakhel, member board of governors SDPI, said, “All the gains on environment framework have been abandoned and there was no tangible progress at Rio+20 .”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 9^th, 2013.