Towards sustainability in the "green economy": theoretical review

The paper analyses the concept of “sustainable growth“ in the context of “green economy“. The concept is a recent one, emerging in literature since 2008. The new concept of economic development has emerged in recent years as necessary in the conditions of the economic crisis, when the prevailing model of economic growth failed to meet the increasing demand for consumption of limited resources and also as a result of a limited capacity of the ecosystem. Since this is a genuinely new approach to economic development, it is not surprising that there is not enough literature in this area yet. Consequently, there is no unique and generally accepted definition of green economy nor of the strategy of sustainable growth. This is reflected in the variety of economic policies concerning the green growth pursued by certain countries, ranging from those that deem it a priority goal to those that do not focus upon it at all. In answer to the lack of an integrated approach to these issues, the Green Growth Knowledge Platform (World Bank, 2012) was adopted. It is meant to serve as a starting point for research and understanding to what extent the new concept of sustainable growth within green economy has come into effect. In addition to the assessment of the results achieved, it is also to determine the guidelines for further development of the green growth concept. Shortly upon its adoption, the Platform was promoted at the United Nations Summit, in mid-2012 (UNCSD 2012). Despite the efforts made by the international community to promote a new approach to economic development, the extent to which it will come into effect will depend on the governments of certain countries whose responsibility is to create conditions for sustainable growth on the path to a green economy. Namely,the transition to a green economy will vary considerably from one nation to another, as it depends on the specifics of each country’s natural and human capital and on its relative level of development (UNEP,2011). The first part of this chapter offers a short overview of the definitions of sustainable growth and green economy. This review of literature is to help understand the new concept of economic growth, but also its importance and what it is expected to be achieved through it. The subject of the following segment will be the review of how sustainability, equity and private sector in the “green economy“ have been developed