April 2011: The UN Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) has called for papers for its upcoming conference on “the green economy and sustainable development and impact on social dimensions.” The conference will take place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 10-11 October 2011, and will seek to inform policy discussions ahead of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20).

The UNRISD conference is in line with the need, identified by the UNCSD preparatory process, for further independent research on the potential social impacts of green economy and for information and analysis on the range of policy options, including social policies.

UNRISD has called for papers on: the social impacts and distributional consequences of policies and processes associated with green economy, including the consequences of the restructuring of production, services, finance and consumption patterns associated with green economy for the employment, livelihood security and cultural identity of different social groups; the potential and limits of structural and institutional change of green economy policies, as well as the transformation of structures, institutions and social relations that reproduce or reinforce inequality and vulnerability; and the agency and social mobilization for institutional and policy change. Abstracts are requested by 15 May 2011. [UNRISD]