Governance of International Trade for the Green Economy¹

Principles Guiding Practice: A Case Study Analysis of the Principles of Sustainable Agriculture for Diverse Farms

“…In contrast, the "greening the economy" approach argues for incorporating environmental accounting into classic economic measures to achieve sustainable economic performance and growth (Bartelmus, 2010). Proponents of greening the economy address policy, governance, and investment components of a green economy (Graham & Bertels, 2008;Gupta & Sanchez, 2012;Martins, 2013;Meléndez-Ortiz, 2011) and more operational considerations like green jobs and sustainable consumption (Akenji, 2014;Cai, Wang, Chen, & Wang, 2011;Seyfang & Longhurst, 2013;Tiley & Young, 2009). Although better represented in the sustainable agriculture literature than the degrowth perspective, direct application of the key concepts of the green economy approach have not been addressed.…”

“…The degree to which elite-serving value chains exacerbate social injustice globally by allowing practices like child labor or driving agricultural production for export to the U.S. and Europe instead of meeting food needs at home is now part of the sustainable agriculture agenda (Berlan, 2013;Bolwig, Ponte, du Toit, Riisgaard, & Halberg, 2010). Attention has also turned to the impacts of the conventional food production system on farm laborers and their families (Dorward, 2013;Fridell, 2007;Wilson & Curnow, 2013) and on rural communities globally (Crowell & Sligh, 2006;Meléndez-Ortiz, 2011;Wilkinson, 2009;Varul, 2008). Others have focused on gender and ethnic disparities in both natural resource conservation and destruction (Brady & Monani, 2012;Hecht, 2007;Robinson, 2011).…”

Environmental justice and conceptions of the green economy

“…Occupying a middle ground between the Thick and Thin Green approaches, the Moderate Green Economy perspective recognizes that a purely market based approach is insufficient for securing global environmental sustainability and social justice. However, it rejects a wholesale abandonment of the prevailing economic system arguing that, with some significant reforms, the system is durable and sufficiently resilient to accommodate environmental and social justice concerns (Abaza, Saab and Zeitoon 2011;Ahmed 2013;Meléndez-Ortiz 2011;UNEP 2011).…”

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development: Forty Years in the Making

“…Economic issues always occupied an important position on the conference agendas and also received considerable attention from the Brundtland Commission. Going into the UNCSD, many policy advocates and at least some countries, mainly European, hoped to see better integration of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Bank, and other economic organizations into the very center of the sustainable development agenda (Clémençon, 2012b;Meléndez-Ortiz, 2011). As part of this, they called for fundamental shifts in IGOs and macroeconomic policy instruments relating to the structures and principles of international trade and finance (Najam and Selin, 2011).…”