Just 2 percent can do a miracle...

Investing just 2% of global GDP could both alleviate global poverty, set us solidly on the path away from fossil fuels, and cut our collective ecological footprint nearly in half, according to a new UNEP report.

Says Achim Steiner, 'With 2.5 billion people living on less than $2 a day and with more than two billion people being added to the global population by 2050, it is clear that we must continue to develop and grow our economies. But this development cannot come at the expense of the very life support systems on land, in the oceans or in out atmosphere that sustain our economies, and thus, the lives of each and everyone one of us.'

The report sees a Green Economy as not only relevant to more developed economies but as a key catalyst for growth and poverty eradication in developing ones too, where in some cases close to 90 per cent of the GDP of the poor is linked to nature or natural capital such as forests and freshwaters.

It cites India, where over 80 per cent of the $8 billion National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, which underwrites at least 100 days of paid work for rural households, invests in water conservation, irrigation and land development. This has generated three billion working days-worth of employment benefiting close to 60 million households. (But ask some of the grassroots activists for another story!)

Some of the suggestions it gives are to invest in support small-scale agriculture, energy efficient buildings, fisheries protection, forestry, energy efficient transportation, better waste management and recycling, low carbon energy, better water use practices. Discontinue spending 1-2% of global GDP on subsidies that lead to unsustainable environmental practices, prop up fossil fuels, pesticide use, unsustainable fishing practices.

In theory, this could well be right. But in practice, how much political will is forthcoming? That is the biggest hurdle.