Green industrial policies can be instrumental in helping countries stay within their planetary boundaries while creating employment opportunities. This is one of the conclusions of a new report, “Green Industrial Policy: Concept, Policies, Country Experiences” launched by UN Environment and the German Development Institute on Saturday, 16 December 2017, in Beijing. The launch event, which took place on the sidelines of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED), highlighted the role of green industrial policy in China’s shift towards sustainable development.
Erik Solheim, Head of UN Environment, emphasized that green industrial policies are already being implemented around the world, quoting case studies from the book, such as the Moroccan Solar Plan and the German ‘Energy Transition’.
Green industrial policy can also be a tool to create jobs, reduce economic migration and mitigate against rising inequality, stressed Justin Yifu Lin, Director of the Center for New Structural Economics and former chief economist of the World Bank. Therefore, especially in developing countries, access to technology and investments are key for effective green industrial policies.
Wang Jinnan, Director General of China Academy of Environment Planning, gave an outlook on green industrial policy in China. To achieve one of China’s main goals, the establishment of an ecological civilization, green industrial policy can play an important role. Eco-civilization, China’s vision of its society in the future, redefines the relationship between nature and humans in a systematic, comprehensive, and scientific manner to save natural resources and protect the environment.
As a co-editor of the publication, Claudia Assmann, Programme Officer at UN Environment, presented the report’s main findings and a case study showing the measures and policies that China took to advance the sector of electric mobility and promote automobile industry upgrading.
The report is the most up-to-date and comprehensive overview of green industrial policy available, and showcases how and in what ways countries can benefit from a green transformation. With examples from Morocco, Brazil, Germany and China, it presents possible policy options to foster structural change towards environmental sustainability and increased well-being.
The full report can be downloaded here.