Green economy

An ecological economics perspective implies a drastic change in the nature of economic production to adapt to ecological limits. A green economy implies that improved human well-being and reduced inequality can be achieved through investments that reduce environmental impacts and promote a transition to sustainable forms of production. While creating a green economy will entail short-term costs, the long-term economic and environmental benefits are much greater. The transition to a green economy will require strong policy action, including increasing investment in renewable energy and regenerative agriculture, eliminating harmful subsidies, retraining workers for green industries, using economic policy instruments such as taxes and tradable permits, and strengthening international agreements that protect the environment. Greening the economy can take the form either of “green growth”, “degrowth”, or a combination of the two through reducing environmentally harmful production while expanding environmentally beneficial production and human services.