Giving people a stake in the green economy

A briefing by the Green Economy Coalition (GEC) outlining policy priorities for ministers to create green and fair economies, focusing on financial inclusion, support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and the application of natural capital strategies.

• The Green Economy Coalition argues that the global financial system is structurally inadequate for addressing the environmental crisis and lacks the long-term time horizon required for sustainability. To remedy this, the GEC advocates for the democratization of finance to align incentives with societal interests and the use of monetary, macro, and micro-prudential policies to redirect capital toward green initiatives.
• To ensure inclusive outcomes in the green transition, the GEC emphasizes the need for inclusive policy design processes and the use of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to measure progress in reducing poverty and inequality. They suggest that decentralized, multi-actor delivery is more effective than conventional policy implementation for the scale of the economic transition.
• The document recommends a 'try and see' approach for SME policy interventions, prioritizing small-scale piloting before scaling up. It highlights that start-up SMEs specifically require help accessing markets and 'missing middle' finance, and suggests that SMEs be engaged through local networks to reduce transaction costs and amplify their influence.
• Natural Capital (Nat Cap) approaches are proposed as a means to integrate environmental and economic decision-making and uncover dependencies on the natural world. The GEC suggests that Nat Cap accounting should be challenge-centric—such as focusing on water issues in South Africa—to ensure the tools are effectively used and scaled.

APA

Green Economy Coalition (n.d.). Giving people a stake in the green economy. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/Cape-Town-Global-Meet-2019/GEC-PAGE-policy-priorities_final.pdf

Chicago

Green Economy Coalition. Giving people a stake in the green economy. n.d. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/Cape-Town-Global-Meet-2019/GEC-PAGE-policy-priorities_final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Economy Coalition |title=Giving people a stake in the green economy |url=https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/Cape-Town-Global-Meet-2019/GEC-PAGE-policy-priorities_final.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greeneconomycoalitionndgiving, author = {{Green Economy Coalition}}, title = {{Giving people a stake in the green economy}}, institution = {Green Economy Coalition}, url = {https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/Cape-Town-Global-Meet-2019/GEC-PAGE-policy-priorities_final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }