Green Economy as approaches for integration and governance of natural capital

Commonwealth member states recognise the need to expand economic opportunities and growth while at the same time address social development and environmental pressures, and ensure they reap the benefits of their natural capital.  There is also recognition that ‘greening’ the growth path of an economy requires policy action across all sectors, not just green or environmental policies or within environment ministries.  Economic productivity can no longer be viewed in isolation from resource management - natural capital is central in the vision of income and employment growth strategies and in designing policy interventions and securing public and private investments required to realise this vision. 

We work with countries to share and enhance their collective understanding of appropriate policy options for green growth and in developing policies for progressing a green economy for sustainable development.

Key activities:

• Research and policy analysis. The Secretariat undertakes research into existing national economic structures, policies and growth to generate a knowledge base that can assist countries in the development of green growth policies for the transformation to low carbon, climate-resilient economies. 

Publications :The Secretariat will produce a number of papers on the Political Transformation to a Green Economy in Small States which will be published in an upcoming book.   These case studies will form the basis of discussions at the Commonwealth second global Biennial Small States Conference 2012.

In preparation for a Commonwealth-Francophone-G20 Development Working Group Outreach Meeting held in April 2012, the Secretariat produced two papers on food security and green growth issues:

• Food Security: Perspectives from the Poorest, Smallest and Most Vulnerable Members of the Commonwealth and the Francophonie.
  
• Green Growth in Poor, Small and Vulnerable States: The Green Economy as a Transformation Pathway to Sustainable Development.
  

• Advocacy and consensus-building. We support countries by building the knowledge-base on green economy issues in the context of international frameworks for sustainable development and contributing to these decision-making processes, so we can ensure that the challenges and needs of Commonwealth countries, particularly of small states and other developing countries, are represented at the international level, for instance, at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20 held in June 2012.  We will provide continued support to countries on the priority issues to be taken forward from Rio+20 by our members  View a short presentation on how the Commonwealth is tackling issues from Rio+20 
• Exchange of experiences and good practice. Through a soon to be established online network, Commonwealth Connects, Commonwealth policy-makers and decision-makers and researchers can share experiences, lessons learnt and good practices on environmental governance issues and integration of natural capital into national strategies and frameworks for sustainable development. Senior environmental professionals have already used this network to discuss the green economy and green growth approaches in the Commonwealth.