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About the Book A number of initiatives for a “green economy”, “Green Deal” or “Green New Deal” have been advanced at national, regional and international levels with the stated aim of putting more environmentally friendly economic arrangements in place. Such plans would see policies being crafted to, among others, respond to climate change and other global environmental crises. Depending on how these response measures are designed and implemented, they may have positive or unintended and adverse economic and social consequences for developing countries’ economies, most often for the poorest and most vulnerable sectors of those economies. Understanding the economic and social consequences of such actual and potential response measures is thus very important for all developing countries. Their positive effects may arise from measures that support improved access to energy, health care, poverty reduction, and decent and quality employment in developing countries. On the other hand, they could have negative effects, particularly if they result in transferring the burden of reducing or avoiding greenhouse gas emissions onto developing countries or result in disproportionately and inappropriately altering national and social conditions. These negative and adverse impacts of response measures would hence be an additional burden that developing countries should not have to bear as these could impair their economic and social development and poverty eradication efforts. These adverse impacts are also contrary to the practical implementation of the principles of the UN climate treaty about equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. In going “green”, therefore, there is a need to consider equity as well as economic and environmental considerations. Within such a framework, developed countries should support, not impede, developing countries’ efforts to make their economies more environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient, including through provision of financial and technological assistance. VICENTE PAOLO YU III is a Senior Legal Adviser of the Third World Network, Visiting Research Fellow at the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), and Associate Fellow at the Geneva Center for Security Policy. Contents 1. INTRODUCTION 2. DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES 3. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND POVERTY ERADICATION AS IMPERATIVES 4. GREENWASHING ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS 5. “GREEN” ECONOMIC POLICIES AS CLIMATE CHANGE RESPONSE MEASURES A. Need for Assessing the Impact of Climate Change Response Measures B. Border Adjustment Measures C. Subsidies D. Standard Setting and Technical Regulations E. Liberalization in Environmental Goods Trade F. Intellectual Property Rights G. “Green” Conditionalities 6. ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION IN THE CONTEXT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND POVERTY ERADICATION IN THE SOUTH 7. CONCLUSION: DEVELOPING AN EQUITABLE “GREEN NEW DEAL” FOR THE SOUTH Notes
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