ensure that action is taken to address the sustainability challenges of the nation. This will be outlined through steps as discussed in the green economy in the next section.
becomes a pillar in the transitioning process. For example, improvements possible through a green economy would result in near full recycling of e-waste, which currently is at an estimated level of 15% (UNEP, 2011b).
Resource scarcities and externalised cost constraints need to be managed profitably and for the benefit of society as a whole, and this can be achieved through resource efficiency in production and its economic benefits, and sustainable consumption on the demand side of the equation (UNEP, 2010d).
A green economy includes the many other benefits our environment provides for people, and this includes the adaptation to climate change, poverty alleviation, and the potential to serve as a basis for a sustainable economic model (UNEP, 2010d).
This integration can be achieved by including nature-based solutions to climate change, valuing the many benefits nature provides to people, and including such values in economic decision-making.
To make the transition to a green economy, specific enabling conditions will be required. These enabling conditions consist of the backdrop of national regulations, policies, subsidies and incentives, international market and legal infrastructures, trade, and aid protocols. At present, enabling conditions are heavily weighted towards, and encourage, the prevailing brown economy, which, inter alia, depends on fossil fuel energy (UNEP, 2011b). For example, price and production subsidies for fossil fuels collectively exceeded US$ 650 billion in 2008, and this high level of subsidisation can adversely affect transition to the use of renewable energies. In contrast, enabling conditions for a green economy can pave the way for the success of public and private investment in greening the world’s economies.
At a national level, examples of such enabling conditions are changes to fiscal policy, reform, and reduction of environmentally harmful subsidies; employing new market- based instruments; targeting public investments to “green” key sectors; greening public procurement; and improving environmental rules and regulations as well as their enforcement. At an international level, there are also opportunities to add to market infrastructure, improve trade and aid flow, and foster greater international cooperation (UNEP, 2011b).
Policy and regulation infrastructure is very important when guiding industry towards a
better buy-in from industry, as they provide a platform of understanding that governments through the provision of incentives are keen to support the transition.
Resource efficiency and cleaner production are critical to re-thinking how we transform old industrial zones and centres to new modes of production that are cheaper, cleaner and more efficient. Core to resource efficiency and cleaner production are closing and cascading material flow loops, which means that more efficient use and re-use of critical and scarce resources can be engendered. As such, resource efficiency and cleaner production are critical to actualising transitions to green economic development.
A key concept for framing the challenges we face in making the transition to a more resource-efficient economy is decoupling. As global economic growth bumps into planetary boundaries, decoupling the creation of economic value from natural resource use and environmental impacts becomes more urgent (UNEP, 2011b).
The two core themes expected to define the scope of the RIO+20 conference negotiations in June 2012 were (1) the green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication, and (2) an institutional framework for sustainable development. Institutions and actors are the basic elements of governance and it is essential to explore the appropriate governance framework that may be useful in promoting the green economy in Africa (Afful–Koomson, 2012).
Most economic development and growth strategies encourage rapid accumulation of physical, financial and human capital, but at the expense of excessive depletion and degradation of natural capital, which includes our endowment of natural resources and ecosystems (UNEP, 2011b). The fuel price shock of 2008 and the related skyrocketing food and commodity prices reflect both structural weaknesses and unresolved risks in the global economy. The causes of these crises vary, but at a fundamental level they all share a common feature, namely the gross misallocation of capital.
The first national green economy summit of 2010 held in South Africa committed the country to working together to pursue and explore the opportunities “towards a resource efficient, low carbon and pro-employment growth path” (UNEP, 2013). The shift towards a stable economy supplemented by conditions that ensure distributional
equity, establishes sustainable levels of resource throughput and emission, and provides for the protection of critical natural capital (DEA, 2010).
Strategic goals in moving towards a green economy in South Africa (DEA, 2010), focus on:
increasing the contribution of the Environmental Goods and Services (EGS) to employment and GDP;
reducing the resource intensity of the economy (including energy and carbon);
promoting cleaner technologies and investing in sustainable infrastructure;
and
promoting sustainable livelihoods and building local economies.
In 2011, nine nationally prioritised green economy programmes were agreed upon between the South African Department of Environmental Affairs and United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP, 2013). These include:
Resource conservation and management.
Sustainable waste management practices.
Water management.
Environmental sustainability: greening & legacy, major events & tourism, research, skills, financing, and investments.
Green buildings and the built environment.
Sustainable transport and infrastructure.
Clean energy and energy efficiency.
Agriculture, food production, and forestry.
Sustainable consumption and production.
In the green tech sector, the emergence of decentralised technology options holds promise for resource efficiency and cleaner production opportunities, as global investment in renewable energy grew by more than 60% year on year between 2004 and 2007, and by 200% in solar energy (DEA, 2010).
Therefore based on the national priority programmes set for the green economy in South Africa and which are strongly linked to the strategic goals of the Department of Environmental Affairs, it can be seen that resource efficiency is very high on the agenda as a key driver to pursue sustainability. This can be achieved through the
implementation of more effective sustainable consumption and production practices, and these are discussed in more detail in the next section.