Green economy could be kick-started by 2-per-cent investment

Nov 16, 2011, 22:02 GMT

Washington - The world could be 'kick-started' into a green economy with the investment of just 2 per cent of global gross domestic product, a UN panel said Wednesday.

The authors of a UN report, released in Beijing, said it challenged 'the myth that there is a trade-off between the economy and the environment.'

'With smart public policies, governments can grow their economies, generate decent employment and accelerate social progress in a way that keeps humanity's ecological footprint within the planet's carrying capacity,' the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said in a statement about the study.

The report comes as climate negotiators prepare to meet in Durban, South Africa, from November 28 to December 9, where they will grapple with the impending end of the Kyoto Protocol on global warming - an international agreement that sets targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Unless the European Union and a handful of other countries are willing to push forward with an extension, the agreement is slated to expire in December 2012.

The United States and China together emit 40 per cent of carbon emissions blamed for global warming, but China is exempt from making reductions because it is still considered a developing country. The United States never ratified the Kyoto accord.