New York, N.Y., November 30, 2012 – As the latest round of United Nations climate negotiations proceed in Doha, Qatar, newly released papers in the peer-reviewed journal Energy Economics aim to shed light on the viability of various strategies to promote green growth and green jobs.
National governments, global institutions and the business community face the challenge of finding greener paths for economic growth and commercial activity. Yet solid economic research, weighing the costs and benefits of various policy approaches around green growth and green jobs, especially in international markets, has been largely lacking.
The new series of papers, published as a special supplement to the latest issue of Energy Economics and available at www.green-dialogue.org, aims to correct this, shedding light on many aspects of the green-growth debate. Commissioned by the educational arm of the United States Council for International Business (USCIB), the new research, from more than a dozen respected scholars, promises to inform business planning and the development of public policy around the green economy worldwide.
“As business leaders, we saw a real need for solid, empirically based analysis on the most effective green-growth policies,” said USCIB President and CEO Peter M. Robinson. “Mobilizing the private sector with the right mix of policies and incentives will be critical. For this to happen, we need sound economic research that reflects business realities as a basis for moving forward. We are delighted that so many respected authorities stepped forward to lend their expertise to this effort.
Appearing as a special supplement to Energy Economics under the heading “Green Perspectives,” the papers were commissioned as part of USCIB’s International Business Green Economies Dialogue project (www.green-dialogue.org). They provide views and perspectives on a wide range of green economy topics of importance to companies operating in global markets and to society as a whole.
Richard Schmalensee of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Richard N. Cooper of Harvard University and Charles Schultze of the Brookings Institution are among the noted experts who contributed to the special series. The ten papers in the “Green Perspectives” supplement address the following topics:
- green growth
- green jobs
- green finance
- green economic development
- green energy options
- green consumer information
- green supply chain management.
“Individually and as a collection, these papers bring forward a major foundational academic contribution to the field,” according to Brian P. Flannery, Ph.D., chair of the Green Economies Dialogue project. “They can help to inform business decision-making and policy development as efforts continue to develop a greener, more prosperous world.”
The Green Economies Dialogue project is an initiative of the United States Council Foundation, USCIB’s educational and research arm, with support from an array of companies and private-sector organizations. More information and links to the “Green Perspectives” papers are available at www.green-dialogue.org. Learn more about the United States Council Foundation at www.uscouncilfoundation.org.
Publication of the “Green Perspectives” papers completes the second major phase of the Green Economies Dialogue project, which was launched in 2011 to foster discussion and develop broad consensus around appropriate green-growth policies, including at the UN’s Rio+20 summit held earlier this year. In the project’s first phase, dialogue sessions involving business leaders, government officials, leading academics and other stakeholders were held in Washington, Paris, Tokyo, Beijing and Brasilia.
About USCIB:
USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and regulatory coherence. Its members include U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of our economy, with operations in every region of the world. With a unique global network encompassing the International Chamber of Commerce, the International Organization of Employers and the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment. More at www.uscib.org.
