Intepretation and main aspects of “green” economy

Boboshko Alyona

3rd year student, specialty 051 "Economics"
National Aviation UniversityECONOMICS OF ENTERPRISE AND MANAGEMENT(Ecological economy and sustainable development

Intepretation and main aspects of “green” economy

Today, the existence of humanity requires so many resources that go beyond the capabilities of our planet. The last quarter of a century has seen a 4-fold increase in world GDP, but economic growth is achieved mainly through the consumption of natural resources. If our demands on natural resources continue to grow at the same pace as now, in 2050 the equivalent of the two current planets will be needed to sustain human life, and in 2070 - 2.8 planets. It is obvious that fundamentally new steps are needed, the transition to a concept of development that will solve social, financial, fuel and climate problems comprehensively. This solution, according to scientists, is the concept of “green” economy.

A “green” economy is an economy that aims at reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities, and that aims for sustainable development without degrading the environment. It is closely related with ecological economics, but has a more politically applied focus. The main impetus for the development of the "green” economy was the Cultural Revolution of the 60s of the twentieth century., The ideological basis of which was R. Carson's book "Silent Spring" (1962) used in the report of the Government of the United Kingdom "Concept of Green Economy" (1989) in addressing issues of sustainable development [1].

Greening the economy, seen as a way to promote economic progress while ensuring environmental sustainability and social equality, is seen as a promising way to achieve sustainable development. For this reason, the UN and its Member States are working to include “green” economy approaches in their documents, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At the Seventh Conference "Environment for Europe", held in 2011 in Astana (Kazakhstan), the Ministers of Environment decided to assist in the transition to a “green” economy. They stressed the need to intensify efforts to reduce the dependence of economic growth on environmental degradation by stimulating "green" investment and innovation, promoting sustainable production, increasing energy and resource efficiency. They also stressed the importance of developing human, institutional and economic capacity to support the greening of the economy, in particular through research, education and training [2].

The concept offers smarter management of natural and human capital of the planet, which will change the process of creating material goods and the direction of development of our world in terms of both planned and market economies of individual countries. Conceptual characteristics of the “green” economy:

1) the main element of the “green” economy is the Earth as a given, its existence is the starting point of any theoretical constructions and practical actions;

2) the priority of the “green” economy is determined by the welfare of all people, the conservation of biodiversity on Earth and the planet Earth in general, rather than obtaining simplified quantitative statistics. The hidden destruction, which are commonly called “economic growth” - “Growthism", are exposed, and the definitions of real growth are determined taking into account the use of natural resources and natural ecosystems;

3) axiomatic statements of the theory of  “green” economy (according to B. Burkinsky and T. Galushkina): it is impossible to infinitely expand the sphere of influence in a limited space; it is impossible to demand the satisfaction of infinitely growing needs in conditions of limited resources; everything on the Earth's surface is interconnected;

4) the basic principles of the “green” economy include: equality and justice within one generation and between generations; compliance with the principles of sustainable development; caution about the social consequences and impact on the environment; understanding the high value of natural and social capital, for example, through the internalization of external environmental costs, “green” accounting, cost estimates for the entire life cycle of the product and improved management; resource efficiency, sustainable consumption and production; the need to meet macroeconomic goals in a way to create “green” jobs, increase competition and growth in key industries;

5) theoretical basis: “green” economy takes into account the basic provisions of the ecological economy, but develops it and goes far beyond it, seeking to simultaneously achieve social and environmental justice as separate aspects of the whole. The Green Economy is looking for a solution that simultaneously fights poverty, global climate change, biodiversity loss and species extinction within equity;

6) basic issues: the “green” economy raises and explores the question of how the creation of the deficit began to mean value creation in conditions of limited resources of the Earth and how the theory of growth led to the current economic goal - to increase mass consumption;

7) “green” economy introduces into the traditional economy the factors of ecology, justice, social and environmental responsibility. The development of these ideas is reflected in related areas of economics and philosophy, such as welfare economics, feminist economics, eco-feminism, eco-socialism, environmental economics, and environmental economics, and renews areas such as low-carbon economics and resource efficiency, including recycling. , counteraction to environmental pollution, transboundary pollution, fight against corruption, etc [3].

The “green” economy takes into account political and social aspects, which allows the construction of economic processes within both the natural and social sciences. This leads to a change in approaches to economic modeling in the way of copying natural processes, as well as the inclusion of issues of morality and ethics in political economy. Despite the global nature of  “green” thinking, the “green” economy focuses on the development of local production for local needs, as well as on reuse, reduction, repair, processing, rather than expanding the global expansion of corporations.

Karl Burkart defined a “green” economy as based on six main sectors: renewable energy, green buildings, sustainable transport, water management, waste management, land management. The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) representing global business defines “green” economy as "an economy in which economic growth and environmental responsibility work together in a mutually reinforcing fashion while supporting progress on social development" [4].

In 2012, the ICC published the Green Economy Roadmap, containing contributions from international experts consulted bi-yearly. The Roadmap represents a comprehensive and multidisciplinary effort to clarify and frame the concept of “green” economy. It highlights the role of business in bringing solutions to global challenges. It sets out the following 10 conditions which relate to business/intra-industry and collaborative action for a transition towards a green economy: open and competitive markets, metrics, accounting, and reporting, finance and investment, awareness, life cycle approach, resource efficiency and decoupling, employment, education and skills, governance and partnership, integrated policy and decision-making.

It needs to be recognized that the transition to a green economy promises to enrich the prospects for the international community and all national ones in terms of addressing satisfaction, energy and your security and climate change. This model is seen as an effective response to the financial crisis, which may ultimately contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. At a time when it is necessary to continue further study of the "green" economy, in particular, developing countries and countries with economies in transition.

List of references:

1. Stukalo N., Simakhova A. Social Dimensions of Green Economy, Filosofija. Sociologija. 2019. T. 30. Nr. 2, p. 91–99 doi: https://doi.org/10.6001/fil-soc.v30i2.4015.


2. UNEP (2010), “Green Economy Developing Countries Success Stories”, available at http://www.unep.org/.../greeneconomy_successstories (Accessed 28 January 2013).


3. Green economy. Green investments. Green tourism: materials 2 International. ecol. forum, September 25-26. 2014 / [order. : OS Golikova, AP Kodzhebash, VV Borodin]; Inst of Market Problems and Economics research. NAS of Ukraine [etc.]. - Odessa: Palmyra, 2014. - 248 p.


4. "What is Green Economy? Here's a Simple Explanation". Sociology Group: Sociology and Other Social Sciences Blog. 2020-06-30.

Scientific supervisor: Anastasiia Simakhova,
Doctor of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor,
Professor of Department of Business Analytics and Digital Economy,
National Aviation University