Eradicate Poverty Through the “Green Economy”

Experts stress use of ‘green economy’ to end poverty

December 21, 2010 - Economy experts of the country have urged policy makers to eradicate poverty through the “Green Economy”.

Pakistan must confront the developmental challenge through getting “ahead of the curve” and “riding the waves” of upcoming Green Economy, urged Dr Tariq Banuri, Director of the United Nation’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) at the Division for Sustainable Development. “Our task is to anticipate what the solution is and be ahead of that solution, not behind the solution”, he said. Dr Banuri was speaking at an event marking the 40th Anniversary of Canada’s Inter-national Development Research Centre (IDRC), organised by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) at the Best Western Hotel, in Islamabad on Monday.

Dr Banuri noted that a number of Pakistan’s neighbors are already putting the Green Economy at the centre of policy planning, including China and India, and urged that Pakistan should not be left behind in eradicating poverty through Green Economy growth. “We cannot live without growth and we won’t live long if we continue with this kind of growth,” Banuri said, referring to environmental catastrophe that awaits the globe if carbon emissions are not dramatically reduced. {continued}