New paper on green economy reinforces Commonwealth people’s call for comprehensive deal in Copenhagen

Road to recovery: mapping a sustainable economy is the result of a consultation with leading Commonwealth civil society figures in environment, development and finance. Commissioned by the Foundation and compiled by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) the paper challenges conventional thinking around consumption and development, and calls for moral and practical leadership from within the Commonwealth to accelerate the transition to sustainability.

Dr Mark Collins, Director of the Commonwealth Foundation, sees the paper as an important input that will help feed the views of Commonwealth experts into the Copenhagen discussions: "The Commonwealth offers real potential for accelerating the transition to sustainability and for communicating solutions to the rest of the world. At the recent Commonwealth People's Forum in Trinidad and Tobago, participants called on their leaders to agree a comprehensive climate change deal in Copenhagen, but in the wider context of an equitable and sustainable recovery from recession,  and this paper provides a sound basis for that."

Steve Bass, IIED Senior Fellow and principal author, said 'There is growing consensus from all those that we engaged in this process that we need resilient economies - not the debt-fuelled, consumption-driven economic growth that is stressing planetary boundaries and failing to deliver real wellbeing. Two aspects of a resilient economy - tackling climate change and installing low-carbon energy and infrastructure - are at a critical point in negotiations in Copenhagen next week."

But Dr Collins and Mr Bass caution against Copenhagen neglecting two other areas. One: investing in the soils, water bodies, forests and other 'natural capital' that can sustain health and satisfying livelihoods, especially for poorer groups. And two: creating conditions to unleash the power of the legitimate informal economy, social enterprise and civil society to help ordinary people to cope in times of difficulty. Getting a greener economy is not just a question of putting the banks and big business back on a stable footing, they emphasise.