Towards Green Growth in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia’s booming economy offers tremendous growth potential, but also large
and interlinked economic, social and environmental challenges. The region’s current
growth model is based in large part on natural resource exploitation, exacerbating
these challenges. This report provides evidence that, with the right policies and
institutions, Southeast Asia can pursue green growth and thus sustain the natural
capital and environmental services, including a stable climate, on which prosperity
depends.
Carried out in consultation with officials and researchers from across the region,
Towards Green Growth in Southeast Asia provides a framework for regional leaders to
design their own solutions to move their countries towards green growth. While recognising
the pressures that Southeast Asian economies face to increase growth, fight poverty
and enhance well-being, the report acknowledges the links between all these dimensions
and underscores the window of opportunity that the region has now to sustain its wealth
of natural resources, lock-in resource-efficient and resilient infrastructure, attract
investment, and create employment in the increasingly dynamic and competitive sectors
of green technology and renewable energy.
Some key policy recommendations are that these challenges can be met by scaling up
existing attempts to strengthen governance and reform countries’ economic structure;
mainstreaming green growth into national development plans and government processes;
accounting for the essential ecosystem services provided by natural capital, ending
open-access natural resource exploitation; and guiding the sustainable growth of cities
to ensure well-being and prosperity.
Published on November 11, 2014
In series:OECD Green Growth Studiesview more titles