We are told that «A green economy can be thought of as one which is low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive» (see www.unep.org/greeneconomy). We are also told that It will stop climate change and the extinction of species and in so doing will create high growth rates and millions of jobs: the green economy. It’s seen as a miraculous weapon. Through it, global capitalism will be stabilised. And then it will be sustainable as well.
But what is the green economy? In it, policy parameters are supposed to ensure the flow of capital to make markets and economy «greener» and create «green» jobs. Enterprises are to pay an «appropriate» price for environmental damage. And not least: The state is supposed to orient its public procurements to sustainability criteria and create sustainable infrastructures. As of June2012 in the UN’s Rio+20 conference in Rio de Janeiro, the green economy is to become a new central concept of global policy.
The Rosa Loxemburg Foundation has produced a briochure demonstrating that green economy is a contested term, which can be filled with many different contents – according to different interests. They show where the proposals fall short, seek a too hasty compromise with the ruling forces and suppress alternatives rather than promote them. It is clear that if the green economy does not break with the structures of the old economy and merely serves as a growth programme for the latter, it will quickly lead to disillusionment and lose its sheen.
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