Press Conference: New Report Outlines Key Steps for Reducing Poverty in a Green Economy

Speakers

• Achim Steiner, Executive Director, UNEP

• Kitty van der Heijden, Ambassador for Sustainable Development, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Netherlands

• Peter Hazlewood, Director Ecosystems & Development, World Resources Institute (WRI)

Despite global development progress, some 1.3 billion people are living on less than $1.25 per day, with 900 million facing hunger. Efforts to tackle poverty are being compounded by the continued degradation of ecosystems and the effects of climate change, to which poor communities are often most vulnerable.

A new report from the Poverty-Environment Partnership, a network of bilateral aid agencies, development banks, UN agencies and international NGOs, will set out the major opportunities for reducing poverty, promoting economic growth and ensuring environmental sustainability through the transition to a green economy.

Using case studies primarily from developing countries, Building an Inclusive Green Economy for All will outline the key building blocks towards creating a shared agenda for more inclusive and sustainable human development.

Developing and middle-income countries are home to many growth industries such as ecotourism and organic agriculture. The report will demonstrate how strategic investments in these sectors, and in the ecosystem services that account for up to 89 percent of the so-called ‘GDP of the poor’, can reduce social inequity, boost employment and promote environmental sustainability.

Members of the Poverty-Environment Partnership, including the World Resources Institute and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), will present the main findings of the report.

The report will also be presented at the following Rio+20 side events:

Building Inclusive Green Economies: Towards a Shared Policy Agenda

Building Inclusive Green Economies: A New Development Partnership?

For more information on the Poverty-Environment Partnership, visit: www.povertyenvironment.net/pep.