December 2010: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has released a Green Economy publication titled “Driving a Green Economy Through Public Finance and Fiscal Policy Reform,” which prioritizes the need to reform environmentally harmful subsidies in the agriculture, energy, fisheries, forest and water sectors.

The report emphasizes that, without a rapid transformation in the energy and land use sectors, the global economy is at serious risk from climate change. It underscores that harmful subsidies in the agriculture, energy, fisheries, forest and water sectors fuel unsustainable economic activity and are fiscally expensive. It further highlights the key role of direct expenditure in promoting more sustainable economic growth through cleaner infrastructure provision, and support for research and development in environmental technologies. The report concludes that both fiscal policy and public finance can be key drivers of a country’s transition to a greener economy. [Publication: Driving a Green Economy Through Public Finance and Fiscal Reform]