September 2014: The UN Environment Management Group (EMG) has published a ‘Stocktaking Report on Green Economy Knowledge Products by UN Agencies and Partners,’ which compiles toolkits, best practices, lessons learned and assessment methodologies that support learning and capacity building on green economy.

The publication’s objective is to: provide government officials, experts and professionals with an overview of existing green economy knowledge products by the UN system and its partners; catalogue their contents to guide governments and other stakeholders on how and when to use which toolkit or resource; and analyze their specific contribution to the pool of knowledge on inclusive green economy. This report consists of three distinct parts: a main report focusing on 122 knowledge products on green economy, green growth and low-carbon development, which have been submitted by EMG members; an annex with a full list of the products submitted; and an excel spreadsheet, which provides a user-friendly way for users to search, filter and sort the data available presented in the annex.

This report features 25 selected items to illustrate the range of existing knowledge products, most of which target national governments and intergovernmental practitioners. Over half the products feature best practices, including select case studies, while policy analysis and assessment tools form another common type. Finance and investment, environmental and natural resources, and fiscal policy are the three most common policy areas, while social inclusiveness is only featured in less than a third of reviewed products. The importance of the water-food-energy nexus is well reflected in the key sector focus, with energy, water and agriculture being the top three key sectors identified.

Almost half of the products are developed for global application, although most focus on Asia, Latin America and Africa. The report identifies existing knowledge gaps, including in private sector capacity building, and products focusing on green economy implementation at the local level. It also concludes that social inclusiveness is underrepresented among existing knowledge products, and information is lacking regarding coordination and collaboration among UN agencies and partners in knowledge product development, which has resulted in a duplication of coverage. The study also addresses how these knowledge gaps could be filled.

The report was prepared as a response to the 18th EMG meeting, which tasked the EMG’s Issue Management Group on Green Economy to undertake a stocktaking exercise on existing UN system-wide web-based green economy platforms and resources.

The EMG is a UN system-wide coordination body, which enhances inter-agency cooperation on environmental issues and is hosted by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). [EMG Publications Webpage] [Publication: Green Economy Knowledge Products by UN Agencies and Partners: Stocktaking Report Prepared by the UN EMG] [Green Growth Knowledge Platform Press Release]