Contribution of Cities to a Green Growth Model

Environmental policies that do not also support growth will not be sustainable over the long term. Chapter 5 discusses the role of cities in contributing to a new global green growth model at a time when governments must reduce their carbon footprint while pursuing economic growth and job creation. The chapter highlights the main policy areas through which city and regional governments can contribute to green growth objectives, including developing and maintaining green public infrastructure, improving the eco-efficiency of production, boosting demand by fostering the greening of consumption preferences and facilitating green innovation. Tools need to be developed for assessing the effectiveness of such policies in reaching their objectives of job creation and output growth and the chapter provides a first step through an analytical framework that can orient future research on this crucial issue.