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Economic mismatch

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Global economic growth over the past 50 years has been accompanied by accelerated environmental decline. From 1981 to 2005, the global GDP more than doubled, in contrast to the 60% of the world's ecosystems being degraded or used in an unsustainable manner. Only a fraction of national income is spent on the environment. The global annual spending on the environment is estimated at best at US$10 billion per year. This is in contrast to the US$60-90 billion needed for those environmental investments that contribute directly to poverty reduction alone.

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Global economic growth over the past 50 years has been accompanied by accelerated environmental decline. From 1981 to 2005, the global GDP more than doubled, in contrast to the 60% of the world's ecosystems being degraded or used in an unsustainable manner. Only a fraction of national income is spent on the environment. The global annual spending on the environment is estimated at best at US$10 billion per year. This is in contrast to the US$60-90 billion needed for those environmental investments that contribute directly to poverty reduction alone. Misaligned incentives work against the environment. Global agricultural subsidies amount to more than US$300 billion a year, but there is a lack of funds for reforestation. Global energy subsidies range from US$240 billion to US$310 billion per year or around 0.7 per cent of global GDP, but there is inadequate support for renewable energy development. A recent assessment by UNEP also concluded that a dramatic phasing-out of fossil fuel subsidies could cut greenhouse gas emissions by some six per cent by boosting energy efficiency. Meanwhile the same assessment concluded that fossil fuel subsidies, often justified as an anti-poverty measure, rarely benefit the urban and especially the rural poor but tend to benefit fossil fuel companies; equipment suppliers and the middle class and well off in an economy.