ABSTRACT

A major outcome of the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), is the international community’s recognition that a green economy is a tool for achieving sustainable development. Countries attending the conference emphasized that any green economy intervention should simultaneously contribute to the following three goals: sustaining economic growth, enhancing social inclusion and maintaining the healthy functioning of the earth’s ecosystems (United Nations Environment Programme [UNEP] 2011; United Nations 2012). The Green Economy Report produced by UNEP (2011) asserts that the transition towards a green economy contributes to achieving sustainable development. The sustainable development goals that countries formulated at Rio+20 speak to these same objectives.