Istanbul (Turkey), 9
May 2011- With their low-carbon profile,
rich natural assets and promising policy
initiatives, the world's 48 least developed
countries are well-positioned to jump start
the transition to a green economy, according
to a new UN report released today at the
start of the Fourth UN Conference on Least
Developed Countries (LDC-IV).
The joint report, issued
by the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP), the United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the UN
Office of the High Representative for the
Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing
Countries and Small Island Developing States
(UN-OHRLLS), points to the economic and
human development opportunities of a green
economy transition for the world's least
developed countries (LDCs).
While developed and
emerging countries face substantial costs
of 'decarbonization', as well as costs linked
to retiring inefficient fossil fuel-based
technologies, the report suggests that LDCs
can avoid these hurdles by maintaining and
expanding sustainable economic activities
they are already utilizing. For example,
low-carbon, labour-intensive agriculture
and community-based forestry are sustainable
practices that have existed for decades
in these countries, and they will be central
elements in greening these sectors.
In addition, the report,
Why a Green Economy Matters for the Least
Developed Countries, finds that new opportunities
offered by a green economy will help LDCs
meet their Millennium Development Goals.
Structural constraints,
including dependence on fragile agriculture,
limited access to energy and low economic
diversification, which have previously prevented
LDCs from significantly reducing poverty
and achieving higher rates of development,
resulted from investments and policies that
undervalued the importance of the economic
sectors most relevant to the livelihoods
of the poor.
In their foreword to
the report, Achim Steiner, Under-Secretary
General of the United Nations and Executive
Director of the UNEP, Supachai Panitchpakdi,
Secretary-General of UNCTAD, and Cheik Sidi
Diarra, Under-Secretary-General of the United
Nations and High Representative for UN-OHRLLS,
stress that "refocusing policies and
investments to target sectors and areas
including renewable energy, agriculture,
forestry, tourism and enhanced ecosystem
services can lead to the economic empowerment
of low income populations, be more conducive
to inclusive growth and jobs and make a
significant contribution to achieving the
Millennium Development Goals in the poorest
countries".
Governments have a central
role to play in putting in place strategies,
targeted public expenditures, policy reforms
and regulatory changes to promote further
investment and initiatives by the private
sector and civil society. Already, decision
makers in a number of LDCs are taking bold
measures that can set the course for this
transition to occur.
"LDCs face unprecedented
vulnerabilities across a range of challenges.
UNEP is committed to assisting them to reduce
these risks, while growing their economies
and achieving their sustainable development
objectives," said Mr Steiner. "The
shift to a global green economy can put
LDCs in an opportune position if the right
enabling policies are put in place nationally
and internationally - ones that accelerate
their development rather than constraining
it, ones that value, invest and re-invest
in natural assets and low-carbon industries
alongside human well-being and social equity."
Dr Supachai of UNCTAD
added: "There are at least four key
elements that need to be addressed for LDCs'
successful transition to a green economy.
First, identifying new sources of funding
that can be directly applied to transitional
efforts; second, creating an enabling environment
that is conducive to private investment
in green economy markets; third, taking
advantage of trade to create global markets
for LDCs' green goods and services exports;
and fourth, designing new and effective
mechanisms to transfer green technologies
to LDCs."
Numerous examples highlight
progress being achieved in a range of economic
sectors, from energy to agriculture, through
government, private sector and civil society
initiatives.
Despite being an LDC
far from its major export markets, Uganda
more than quadrupled its exports of organic
agricultural products between 2003 and 2008,
tapping into a global market of US$ 60 billion.
Farm gate prices of organic pineapple, ginger
and vanilla were 300%, 185%, and 150% higher,
respectively, than conventional products
in 2006, making sustainable forms of production
highly profitable for producers and local
communities.
Nepal's approach to
Community Forest Management continues to
generate employment and income from the
sustainable harvesting of timber and non
timber forest products. Sustainable forest
management approaches in the country have
contributed to reversing a trend of decline
in forest cover of 1.9% per year during
the 11000s, into an annual increase of 1.35%
over the period 2000 to 2005.
In Laos, the National
Ecotourism Strategy Action Plan, based on
the sustainable use of the natural and cultural
resources and the delivery of measurable
socio-economic benefits to local communities,
has turned ecotourism into a thriving economic
activity accounting for about half of total
tourism revenue. Overall, the number of
international arrivals in Laos has jumped
from 1 million in 2005 to over 2 million
in 2009.
In Mali, farmers supported
through field training have significantly
reduced the use of imported pesticides and
at the same time expanded the use of organic
fertilizers and improved soil amendments.
This resulted in increased production while
reducing input costs.
Bringing electricity to the rural poor is
one of the most important contributions
that a green economy can make to LDC economies,
says the report. Lack of modern electricity
infrastructure in rural regions and access
to the development options that electricity
opens are persistent impediments to economic
development in LDCs where 77% of the population
is without access to electricity. Most affected
are the 71% of the population of LDCs that
live in rural regions, who rely on biomass
burning as the only source of energy.
The successful Grameen
Shakti Programme in Bangladesh highlights
the importance of clean energy solutions
and suitable approaches to financing their
adoption by low income communities. Grameen
Shakti (or Grameen Energy in English) provides
soft credits through innovative financial
packages to make solar home systems (SHSs)
available and affordable to rural populations.
By the end of 2009, more than 320,000 SHSs
had been installed under the programme,
in addition to biogas plants and improved
cooking stoves. Grameen Shakti aims to have
installed over 1 million SHSs by 2015.
The potential for energy
and resource efficiency is large in LDCs,
with important gains possible through energy
saving. In Senegal, a net energy importer,
a 100% replacement of installed incandescent
lamps with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs)
at an estimated cost of US$ 52 million,
would lead to energy savings of 73% and
cost savings of nearly US$ 30 million per
year.
Opportunities to leapfrog
are being seized where they exist. For example,
in the aluminum sector, aluminum smelters
in Africa are among the most energy-efficient
in the world mainly because new production
facilities employ the latest smelting technologies.
Despite their limited
contribution to the problem of climate change,
LDCs are among the most vulnerable countries
to the effects of climate change, making
it critical for the international community
to scale up international cooperation in
support of adaptation to climate change.
Of particular importance is the Least Developed
Countries Fund (LDCF), created to address
the climate change adaptation needs of the
LDCs.
A supportive international
policy framework that responds to specific
challenges facing the poorest countries
will be critical in ensuring LDCs' successful
transition to a green economy. International
sources of financing to support clean technology
adoption and trade-related capacity building
in green sectors are urgently needed.
"Through concerted
national and international action, realizing
a green economy could make a valuable contribution
to enhanced economic diversification, inclusive
growth, poverty reduction and achievement
of the Millennium Development Goals in LDCs,"
said Mr Diarra of UN-OHRLLS. "The outcomes
of the Fourth United Nations Conference
on the Least Developed Countries can provide
a critical foundation and action points
in this direction."
Note to Editors:
The report, Why a Green
Economy Matters for the Least Developed
Countries, can be found on the LDC-IV Conference
website at:
http://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/ldc/lang/en/home/pid/16529
or on the UNEP website at: www.unep.org/greeneconomy/
or on the UNCTAD website at: http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/unep_unctad_un-ohrlls_en.pdf
Since 1971, the United
Nations has denominated "Least Developed
Countries" (LDCs) as a category of
States that are deemed highly disadvantaged,
exhibiting the lowest indicators of socioeconomic
development, combined with the lowest Human
Development Index ratings. Currently, the
list includes 48 countries: 33 in Africa,
14 in Asia and the Pacific, and one in Latin
America. For more information, see: http://www.unohrlls.org/en/ldc/25/
