Expert Dialogue on the Quality of Growth

The United Nations has entered a period of engagement with governments and other stakeholders as it works towards the formulation of a development agenda beyond 2015 and initiates the implementation of the outcomes of the Rio+20 conference. In addition to stressing the need for balanced integration of economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, “The Future We Want” mandates the development of
sustainable development goals. It also recognizes the need for broader measures of progress to complement GDP in order to better inform policy decisions.

During the last two decades, Asian and the Pacific countries have lifted more than 660 million out of extreme poverty - a tremendous achievement. However, economic growth and development strategies have been far less effective at ensuring shared prosperity or environmental sustainability. Conventional growth strategies are also increasingly ill-adapted to a new economic reality of growing resource constraints, rising inequality, jobless growth and unsustainable fiscal deficits. Economic growth strategies based on cheap labour and abundant natural resources
must evolve in order for the aims of sustainable development to be achieved.

The UN General Assembly, through Resolution 65/10 invites regional commissions of the United Nations to facilitate discussion on sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth for poverty eradication and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. In response, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is convening a series of forums, including an expert group meeting on improving the quality of growth that took place in December 2011. Decoupling growth from environmental pressures, enhancing the impact of economic growth on poverty reduction through more and higher quality employment and improving financial stability and resilience were identified as some of the most challenging issues. This meeting indicated that these issues are rooted in the way markets, communities and governance function, and challenged international organizations to enhance their capacity to provide relevant and integrated policy advice.

The upcoming Expert Dialogue on the Quality of Growth is being organized by ESCAP in collaboration with the Australia Commonwealth, Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) to follow up on that discussion. It will take a closer look at the economic system changes necessary to improve the quality of growth as an integrative strategy for sustainable development. The Dialogue will:

(1) Discuss and identify the connections, trade-offs and synergies between the environmental, social and economic quality of growth.

(2) Identify key strategies for improving the quality of economic growth through integrating the three pillars of development.

(3) Discuss the major economic system changes necessary to improve the quality of growth and achieve sustainable development.

(4) Discuss framework for green growth indicators and for developing modeling capacity to integrate the three dimensions of sustainable development.

The third day of the dialogue (Friday 16th November 2012) will be dedicated to a special session on green growth indicators and modeling capacity.