WORLD BANK / GREEN GROWTH REPORT

A new World Bank Group study debunks the myth that sustainable development is a luxury only rich countries can afford. Assigning monetary value to rivers, forests and other natural resources makes good economic sense for developing countries and for business, according to the Bank's 'Inclusive Green Growth' report, launched at a summit in Seoul, Korea. WORLD BANK

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:01
• Production Date: 8 May 2012
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: WORLD BANK
• Subject Topical: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT; FINANCING; NATURAL RESOURCES; ENVIRONMENT
• MAMS Id: U120508h

Description

STORY: WORLD BANK/ GREEN GROWTH REPORT
TRT: 2.01
SOURCE: WORLD BANK
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: RECENT, WASHINGTON D.C. / FILE

Shotlist

FILE – 2009, LAGOS, NIGERIA

1. Wide shot, traffic

FILE – 2010, CHINA

2. Wide shot, bikes and traffic
3. Wide shot, bikes and traffic

RECENT 2012, WASHINGTON D.C.

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Rachel Kyte, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development:
"It’s a myth that green growth is a luxury that only the rich can afford. Fragile countries, poor countries, fast growing economies from the developing world all face planning decisions today that will either lock in an irreversible use of resources for the long term, or which will free countries from that.”

FILE – 2011, HAITI

5. Wide shot, factory
6. Med shot, workers fixing equipment

FILE – 2011, NEPAL

7. Tilt down, woman pulling on water well
8. Zoom in, woman pouring water into bucket

RECENT 2012, WASHINGTON D.C.

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Rachel Kyte, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development:
“There’s no denying that our current economic system is enormously inefficient because we don’t put a value on resources that are finite. We have today a looming crisis of food security, water security and energy security. And in that context we have to build economic systems that force us, and encourage us, to be more resource efficient.”

FILE – 2010, MOROCCO

10. Pan right, solar plant

FILE – 2010, MALI

11. Tilt down, solar panels

RECENT 2012, WASHINGTON D.C.

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Rachel Kyte, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development:
“We can expect that as resources become more and more constrained, prices will emerge for those resources, at which point it really does matter whether you have a high exposure to things that are going to become more costly over the long term. So, as we’ve said in other areas, we at the World Bank think that green growth, inclusive green growth, is about smart economics, resource efficient economics, but also about smart business.”

FILE – 2010, MOROCCO

13. Wide shot, farmer digging irrigation bed
14. Close up, farmer

FILE – 2011, BRAZIL

15. Med shot, farmers
16. Wide shot, woman watering crops

Storyline

The World Bank today (9 May) released a report urging governments to think green when pursing growth policies, which it says can be inclusive, efficient, affordable and above all necessary to sustain economic expansion in years ahead.

The report debunks the myth that a green growth approach is a luxury most countries cannot afford – pointing instead to political barriers, entrenched behaviors and a lack of appropriate financing instruments as the chief obstacles.

SOUNDBITE (English) Rachel Kyte, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development:
"It’s a myth that green growth is a luxury that only the rich can afford. Fragile countries, poor countries, fast growing economies from the developing world all face planning decisions today that will either lock in an irreversible use of resources for the long term, or which will free countries from that.”

Launched at the Global Green Growth Summit in Seoul, ‘Inclusive Green Growth: The Pathway to Sustainable Development’, lays out an analytical framework that factors atmospheric, land and marine system limitations into plans for economic growth needed to further reduce poverty.

The report challenges governments to change their approach to growth policies, better measuring not only what is being produced, but what is being used up and polluted in the process.

It asserts that assigning value to farmland, minerals, rivers, oceans, forests and biodiversity, and awarding property rights, will offer governments, industry and individuals sufficient incentive to manage them in an efficient, inclusive and sustainable manner.

SOUNDBITE (English) Rachel Kyte, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development:
“There’s no denying that our current economic system is enormously inefficient because we don’t put a value on resources that are finite. We have today a looming crisis of food security, water security and energy security. And in that context we have to build economic systems that force us, and encourage us, to be more resource efficient.”

The World Bank strongly supports incorporating natural capital into national accounts and will be seeking country commitments at the United Nations Rio+20 Summit in Brazil next month.

But World Bank Vice President Rachel Kyte points out that while the report is very much designed to encourage “smart public policy decision making taken by public officials”, there is also a “big piece of this which is about smart business”.

SOUNDBITE (English) Rachel Kyte, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development:
“We can expect that as resources become more and more constrained, prices will emerge for those resources, at which point it really does matter whether you have a high exposure to things that are going to become more costly over the long term. So, as we’ve said in other areas, we at the World Bank think that Green Growth, inclusive Green Growth, is about smart economics, resource efficient economics, but also about smart business.”

At a high-level event held on the sidelines of the World Bank/International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings, other finance ministers expressed growing support for the concept of inclusive green growth.