UN Books on ‘Green Economy’ for Development

UN agency publishes first in series of books on ‘green economy’ for development

1 March 2011 – The United Nations agency tasked with promoting the development-friendly integration of developing countries into the world economy has published the first in a series of books focusing on “green” economic growth, which entails a low-carbon, resource-efficient approach to sustainable development, while combating climate change and conserving biodiversity.

The volumes are intended to give practical expression to the concept of sustainable development adopted at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in a press release today. At the Earth Summit – unprecedented for a UN conference in terms of both its size and the scope of its concerns – the UN sought to help governments rethink economic development and find ways to halt the destruction of irreplaceable natural resources and pollution of the planet.

“The Road to Rio+20” features 14 articles aimed at highlighting critical topics and stimulate global discussion ahead of next year’s UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, also known as Rio+20. That conference’s main theme will be “green economy” in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication. {continued}