Green economy blogs
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How to green Africa from the grassroots
4 January 2021As COVID-19 prompts rethinks, investing in renewable energy, regenerative agriculture and skills could help Africa handle future crises
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Carbon offsetting: who’s really winning?
7 July 2020To tackle climate change and poverty, we need to look past win-win solutions and start asking tough questions
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Business with purpose in the era of COVID-19
18 May 2020The coronavirus pandemic has delivered a profound shock to the world economy. IIED's Laura Kelly argues that businesses must commit to more responsible and inclusive practices as part of their efforts to build recovery
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Allyship not ownership: how NGOs can back social movements
17 March 2020The Green Economy Coalition's Ben Martin continues our series exploring the importance of public climate movements and what this could mean for organisations working on sustainable development. He argues that NGOs are best placed to take a supportive back seat role, not to be backseat drivers
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Jobs, nature and the Green New Deal: lessons from the global South
30 January 2020A new article in the 'Journal of Philosophical Transactions B' explores how experiences from large-scale social protection programmes in the global South could help us link two important elements of ideas for a Green New Deal, creating local jobs for a just transition while increasing ecosystem stewardship
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Wanted: corporate global citizens to deliver the SDGs
24 January 2020Businesses are global citizens too – and have a prominent role in collective achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, explains guest blogger David Croft
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Is Davos signalling the end of business as usual?
21 January 2020As world leaders in politics and business gather in Davos, IIED director Andrew Norton considers progress on the event’s ‘business with purpose’ agenda and asks how a progressive sustainability manifesto can omit climate change
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Ten reasons why we have to rewrite the sustainability rule book, and now
8 December 2019Companies are lagging behind when it comes to action on climate change. Mike Barry shares his tips on becoming the sustainable business leaders of tomorrow
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When investors go green
18 November 2019Pernille Holtedahl unpacks the growing appetite for green bonds and suggests this is a movement driven by the broader public – not just business
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Business as usual – or business with purpose?
17 April 2019As we launch our new strategy, Laura Kelly, director of IIED’s Shaping Sustainable Markets research group, considers how the private sector can respond to development and environmental challenges – and how IIED can support business to deliver positive change
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Time to turn the PAGE?
17 January 2019The Partnership for Action on Green Economy is an international alliance of UN agencies, partner organisations and governments working together for a transition to a green and sustainable economy. The alliance's third ministerial conference aimed to showcase innovation and experience, but IIED's Laura Kelly felt a key ingredient was missing
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Green lessons for the blue economy
11 December 2018Laura Kelly discusses how lessons from the past can help ensure everyone benefits from our ocean, seas and coasts
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Transitioning towards a plastic free world
30 May 2018Discarded plastic is one of the biggest threats to our oceans. IIED's Essam Yassin Mohammed says we must do more to tackle the problem of plastic pollution
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The economics of mass extinction
29 May 2018A recent UK newspaper column asserted that economic approaches to natural protection are flawed. In this blog, originally published to mark the International Day for Biodiversity, four academics argue that, on the contrary, "without nature, no other value is possible"
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Automation, the changing world of work, and sustainable development
17 August 2017Technological change, especially automation and digital innovation, are likely to have a profound impact on jobs in developing countries. Countries should act now to refocus their economic and social policies to make them more sustainable
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Highs and lows of the transition to an inclusive green economy
31 March 2017Paul Steele reflects on the highs and lows emerging from this week's UN PAGE conference in Berlin, as leaders in sustainable development gathered to tackle what it takes for a global shift to economies that are fair and green.
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Why social inclusion matters for green growth
11 August 2016From wetland protection in South Africa to scrapping fossil fuel subsidies in Indonesia, the best climate policies are pro-poor
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Towards an inclusive blue economy
1 June 2016Action in policy and practice is needed to ensure the many benefits from oceans, seas and coasts are available to all
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Photo exhibition highlights varied and vibrant informal economies
18 March 2016Photos exhibited at a recent conference on informal economies and green growth show people working in the informal sector in eight countries
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Green grows the informal economy
10 March 2016An event on the informal sector and the green economy established six principles for a new policy agenda on inclusive green growth
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Lessons from the informal sector
24 February 2016Could the informal economy provide the way forward for the green growth agenda? Ahead of an IIED event on 25 February, Mao Amis looks at lessons that can be learned
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Does green growth miss the majority?
18 February 2016On 25 February IIED is hosting an event on the informal sector – we want to better understand how it can contribute to creating a greener and more inclusive economy
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Workers in informal economy need say in global environmental agendas
7 December 2015The green economy will benefit from better relations between urban authorities and informal workers and enterprises. Guest blogger Donald Brown examines ways to achieve this
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What should a no-carbon democracy look like?
13 July 2015Halting planetary warming is fundamental. But as we find safe and affordable solutions to our future society's energy needs, how could we build a world that is more equal and more democratic?
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Are Kazakhstan's plans for a greener future at risk?
31 October 2014A major recent government restructure could present obstacles as well as opportunities for Kazakhstan's transition to a green economy