16 September 2011: The Green Economy Coalition (GEC) has presented its initial policy thinking for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20). The GEC is a grouping of NGOs, research institutes, UN organizations and trade unions working to accelerate the transition to a green economy while ensuring that stakeholders’ voices are incorporated in the process.

GEC shared its views on a range of policy suggestions in anticipation of the UNCSD, including: public procurement contracts and the need to include specifications for labor and environmental sustainability standards; generating new funds through a financial transaction tax, with such funds being earmarked for environmental goods and services, social protection, poverty eradication and climate change mitigation and adaptation; recognition of the monetary value of ecosystem services within their national accounting systems; developing ways of measuring national welfare, going beyond Gross Domestic Product (GDP); and catalysing a transformation in the poorest countries. [Green Economy Coalition News]