countries are taking steps towards green growth; much more determined ef forts are needed to integrate environmental priorities into economic agendas Four years on from release of the Green Growth Strategy, governments have taken steps towards green growth. Most countries have implemented some measures to start to price pollution and provide incentives for efficient resource use, such as pricing instruments, regulatory measures and subsidies. Around a third of OECD countries and a number of OECD partners have adapted, or are adapting, the Green Growth Strategyâs indicator framework, to help evaluate and monitor progress towards national green growth objectives. Much more concerted efforts are needed to meaningfully align economic and environmental priorities. To drive green growth, governments must embed environmental challenges at the heart of economic policy making, by linking environmental and economic reform priorities in a consistent set of objectives. Finance and economic ministries have a major role to play. A number of countries have taken relevant measures, including developing green growth strategies and interministry committees coordinating elements of green growth policy. There are several examples including green growth policies in the United States that emphasise the advantages of technology leadership, and Chinaâs 12th 5-year plan that focuses on green development. Portugalâs Green Growth Commitment sets out 13 quantitative green growth goals to be reached by 2020 and 2030. Irelandâs framework for sustainable development focuses on transitioning to a resource efficient, low-carbon and climate resilient future, and the Nordic Prime Ministerâs Initiative for Green Growth aims to improve regional green growth infrastructure and increase market size. Yet, no country has comprehensively linked environmental and economic reform priorities. Measurability also remains a challenge. Many countries lack data over sufficient time periods to enable effective assessment of policies. OECD advice since 2011 demonstrates that the transition remains a work in progress. Since 2011, green growth considerations have been integrated into the OECDâs core policy advice to countries. The most commonly identified challenges relate to implementing market instruments to price pollution and natural-resource use; orienting tax systems to advance green growth; designing environmentally relevant subsidies; and gearing sectoral policy towards green growth. They are set out in Figure 1. The challenges are not exhaustive and will not necessarily apply to all countries, but demonstrate where main opportunities to improve the effectiveness of green growth policy implementation lie across countries.
Much more work is needed to demonstrate economic opportunities and trade-offs associated with green growth
Much better understanding of the opportunities and trade-offs of green growth policies is fundamental for progress. If governments do not have a clear grasp of the economic opportunities created by environment policy â or the potential feedbacks of environmental damages on GDP growth â it is difficult to articulate how economic and environmental priorities can be aligned to establish green growth objectives. Important analysis has emerged since 2011, but much more work is needed to demonstrate economic opportunities as well as improved environmental outcomes of policies designed to enhance green growth.
Governments should
depart from business as usual policies that leave environmental costs unaccounted for and implement green growth policies in recognition that, in the long-run, economic and environmental performance is inseparable advance understanding of the complementarities and trade-offs between economic and environmental goals, to better inform economic and environmental reform priority setting.
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