Green growth is growth aimed at the transition toward a sustainable economy. Last year the OECD issued a series of three extensive reports advocating green growth. In Kyoto in 1997 all countries accepted the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities.” In that spirit, many countries launched programmes to promote green growth.
Worldwide there is an increasing diversity of emission trade systems. It is not very likely that the countries in Los Cabos or in Rio de Janeiro will agree on a concrete “Green Growth Deal”.
The differences of interest and opinion among the countries are still too large. Over the past 20 years, the main impetus of the movement for sustainable development and green growth has shifted from the public sector to the private sector and civil society. From these two non-governmental sectors an increasing amount of influence is wielded on public bodies in order to realize the idea and ideal of a sustainable world. That too underlines the actuality and urgency of the G20 summit and Rio+20.