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Green Economy Platform

Scoping Pathways for a Green Economy Transformation in Africa

Continued resource extraction to produce industrial goods for consumers is based on the idea that high consumption is necessary for economic growth. This leads to environmental degradation and social imbalances. Africa presents a glaring example of this fact. Although African countries are rapidly entering the ranks of the world’s fastest growing economies, estimates predict that a quarter of Africans will remain below the poverty line by 2030*. This is because the fruits of national economic growth are not reaching the poor. A transition to a Green Economy is required to both foster economic growth at a local level while also driving it in a manner that is resource efficient and resilient to climate change effects.

To complement African governments’ Green Economy efforts at the national level, the German Corporation for International Cooperation GmbH (GIZ) is undertaking a project to implement a Green Economy at the sub-national level. This project supports local governments in five of the project’s pilot countries by providing tools and capacity building for designing and implementing sustainable economic plans in these regions. The CSCP assessed stakeholder needs for a knowledge platform and defined pathways for its development and implementation using our Innovation and Transition Labs tool.

Potential for generating jobs through the Green Economy are evident in the energy sector for example. A World Bank study assessed direct employment effects of the expansion of solar thermal power stations in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region. It revealed that the expansion will create 180,000 jobs in a high growth scenario by 2020 (GIZ, 2015**). Using these types of examples, the Green Economy knowledge platform will assist African governments with tools and expertise to launch Green Economy initiatives and thereby create more jobs in Energy, Tourism, Forestry, Fisheries, Cities, Built Environment and other sectors of high economic impact at the local level.

GIZ funded this project.

 

*Source: http://ecdpm.org/wp-content/uploads/DP167-Africas-Middle-Class-Plenty-Extreme-Poverty-October-2014.pdf

** Source: https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/binary/ZNO26ULV5PN22CGE7DHJNHTJIHCC43M7/full/1.pdf

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