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Decoupling Growth from Resource Consumption, 3rd to 4th February 2014

Kirsten Jörgensen attends the second meeting of the Indo-German Expert Group on a Green and Inclusive Economy in New Delhi.

News from Feb 03, 2014

Indo-German Expert Group on a Green and Inclusive Economy

Green Economy has been recognized as “one of the important tools available for achieving sustainable development” in the outcome document of the Rio+20 Summit. It is further emphasized that Green Economy should “contribute to eradicating poverty as well as sustained economic growth, enhancing social inclusion, improving human welfare and creating opportunities for employment and decent work for all, while maintaining the healthy functioning of the Earth's ecosystems”. Such transition towards a green and inclusive economy requires major efforts both on a national and international level, and cooperation and exchange of experiences is key to support and facilitate the process.

India and Germany are major players in this transition. During an expert workshop on a Green and Inclusive Economy in Delhi, India in November 2012 organized by GIZ and TERI and supported by the German Ministry for the Environment, Nuclear Safety and Nature Conservation (BMU), the experts involved agreed that a platform for continuous exchange could prove very useful for both countries. Against this backdrop, an interdisciplinary working group of renowned experts from leading research institutions/political think tanks in India and Germany has been be set up to enhance mutual understanding and collaborative learning, contribute to informed decision making in both countries and feed into the international debate on a Green and Inclusive Economy. A list of members is attached below.

Following several rounds of consultations with the institutes involved, the first meeting of the Expert Group took place in Berlin from November 25-26, 2013 and was co-chaired by Prof. Ambuj Sagar from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and Prof. Dirk Messner and Dr. Tilman Altenburg from the German Development Institute. Key points of discussions were frameworks and challenges for a green and inclusive transformation, the pathway towards a shared perspective on this transformation, green technology development in India and Germany as well as the topics and mode of work for the next two years. Key topics for the next meetings will be natural resources and decoupling growth from resource consumption, sustainable lifestyles, green and inclusive cities and the transformation of the private sector including technology and innovation. The second meeting will take place back to back with the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit in India in February 2014.

The expert group has an initial work stream of two years during which four in-person meetings will be held. In addition, joint policy papers will be developed and the results of the joint work will be made available to policy makers as well as a broader audience. The work of the expert group is facilitated by the GIZ Environmental Policy Programme in Berlin and the Indo-German Environment Partnership in Delhi, and supported by BMU.

Contact:

Sabine Preuss, Head, Environmental Policy Programme Berlin:
sabine.preuss@giz.de

Katharina Kuehn, Advisor, Environmental Policy Programme Berlin:
katharina.kuehn@giz.de

Ashish Chaturvedi, Senior Technical Advisor, Indo-German Environment Partnership (IGEP):
ashish.chaturvedi@giz.de