World ministers call for green economy

A meeting of environment ministers in Kenya has called for a 'global green new deal' that will see increased job creation and economic growth.

The meeting, attended by delegates from more than 140 countries at the United Nations Environmental Programme headquarters in Gigiri, Nairobi comes hot on the heels of the global challenges facing various countries in the world including food shortages and the global financial crisis.

The ministers said that a new green economy that would in the long run trigger an employment boom, especially in developing countries, leading to growth in their economies.

President Kibaki, while officially opening the conference, summed it up: "We need to move towards a green and low carbon economy, for this will deliver multiple benefits and ultimately result in achieving sustainable development that benefits all."

President Kibaki however expressed concern over continued environmental degradation particularly in Kenya, saying this undermines the prospects of fighting poverty and the realisation of high economic growth.

He said the conditions of natural habitats and fragile ecosystems had over the years been slowly deteriorating resulting to the decline in productivity of agricultural lands and increased environmental pollution.

"Natural as well as human-induced environmental disasters such as fires, floods, droughts, earthquakes and landslides have become more frequent and continue to cause untold human suffering and economic loss in many parts of the world," said President Kibaki.

"To us and the global community, this is a wake-up call to seriously more than ever before, address environmental issues with great vigour in order to enhance and safeguard our environment for the present and future generations."

President Kibaki said that Kenya, like many other African countries, was still faced with the challenges presented by conflicting demands of economic growth and development on one hand and environmental sustainability on the other.

"We as developing countries must however strengthen our resolve to enhance environmental management capacities and the ability of our nations to invest in new and socially acceptable energy sources such as bio-fuels," he said.

Unep's Executive Director Mr Achim Steiner said even as developed countries struggled to contain the effects of the global financial crunch, this should not be done at the expense of the environment.

'Hundreds of billions of dollars have been mobilised as stimulus packages in response to the financial crisis that have affected various countries. But as we struggle to contain this, we don’t have to put environmental issues on the waiting list," he said.

Currently, governments worldwide are proposing additional spending over the next one to two years to revive the world's economy.

“It is however the manner in which such funds are invested that will have a direct bearing on mitigating other environment and development challenges," said Mr Steiner.

Apart from the green economy, also lined up to be discussed at the conference include climate change and the ongoing talks towards an international agreement in Copenhagen, Denmark in December this year, the policy options for an international response to global mercury pollution and the food crisis.

Also expected to be discussed is the Olympic games and the environment and an overview of key environmental issues including ecosystem management, resource efficiency and environmental governance.