A Green Economy in the Context of Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication: What are the Implications for Africa?

How can Africa’s vast natural resources create more wealth for the African people in a more resource-efficient and beneficial manner? What are the pathways to industrial growth which can create greater employment, produce higher outputs with lower inputs, and enhance competitiveness for African economies? How can vulnerabilities created by climate change, desertification and external shocks in the world economy be tempered, if not eliminated? What challenges will African countries face in the transition to a green economy and how could such challenges be overcome? What experiences within and outside Africa offer lessons that could be built upon? These are questions that this report seeks to address. The report is meant to stimulate further discussion, aiming to contribute to articulating African views and perspectives on the theme of green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in 2012.