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The document positions India's MSME sector as a critical engine for inclusive and green growth, noting its role in employing 60 million people and contributing 45% of manufacturing output. It highlights significant barriers to growth, including a severe skill gap where only 2% of workers are formally skilled and limited access to institutional finance. While the Union Budget 2018 provided tax cuts and credit support, the brief argues that there is insufficient focus on 'greening' MSMEs to meet climate targets, suggesting a need for targeted investment in sectors like decentralized renewable energy and waste management.

The Santa Cruz Declaration, issued by the Green Economy Coalition, asserts that micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and addressing climate vulnerabilities. The declaration highlights that SMEs constitute 95% of the world's private enterprises and 60% of private sector employment, positioning them as the primary engines for disruptive innovation and social transformation. It calls on governments, civil society, and academia to partner with green SMEs to build sustainable livelihoods and rethink systems that hinder sustainable business models.

The logistics note outlines the schedule, dress code, and practical arrangements for a field trip to the Green Market in Santa Cruz on November 1, 2017. It specifies transportation from the Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre, provides guidance on electricity voltage (110 Volts), and notes that meals will be provided by CANARI.

The document examines the failure of traditional humanitarian aid in Ethiopia, which often undermined local resilience by displacing local businesses and decimating farmer herds. It highlights a 2016 experiment by Mercy Corps that used subsidies for traders to maintain livestock prices and vouchers to support local veterinary and forage businesses, allowing pastoralists to preserve their core breeding stock and strengthen local economies during the 2016/7 drought.

The Green Economy Coalition defines a green economy as one providing prosperity for all within the planet's ecological limits. The document argues that a successful transition requires moving beyond narrow technocratic policies toward an inclusive social movement that values nature, tackles inequality, greens economic sectors, reforms financial systems, and implements new governance metrics.

EcoPost, founded by Lorna Rutto in 2009, converts discarded plastic from Nairobi's streets into durable building materials, reducing the demand for timber and mitigating deforestation. The company employs approximately 250 plant workers and 2,000 casual collectors, providing health benefits and salaries above the national average.

The GEC Steering Group discussed a strategic proposal to map Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to a capitals model to provide a macroeconomic framework for green and fair economies. The group approved commissioning research from the Oxford Martin School to investigate the substitutability of different capitals and the limits of natural capital. Additionally, the group welcomed the Scottish Wildlife Trust as a new partner and noted upcoming events in Germany and Trinidad.

The 2017 Green Economy Barometer reports a dual reality: while renewable energy capacity is growing and green technologies are hitting mass markets, the 'brown economy' remains dominant, biodiversity is in crisis, and financial systems continue to subsidise fossil fuels. The document argues that the transition is gathering speed but risks failure if it does not address the needs of rural economies, informal workers, and the youth unemployment crisis.

A Swiss popular initiative for a 'Green Economy' was rejected by voters by a margin of nearly 2:1, with only the canton of Geneva voting in favor. The proposal sought a constitutional mandate for sustainable natural resource use by 2050 via a circular economy strategy, including product regulations and a new resource tax policy. The Swiss Government opposed the measure, arguing the 2050 goals were unrealistic and preferring voluntary provisions over coercive measures. The document identifies key lessons from the defeat, noting a lack of trust in left-of-center groups to manage economic reform, divided business support, and insufficient youth voter turnout.

The Green Economy Barometer 2016 reports that while the transition to green economies is accelerating—marked by record investments in renewables and a maturing international policy architecture—it remains insufficient in depth and breadth. The report highlights a significant shift in investment toward developing countries and the emergence of ambitious national sectoral targets. However, it argues that structural reform is lacking, as most national plans ignore the informal economy and the needs of the poorest populations. The document concludes that the green economy remains politically fringe and requires a more inclusive narrative to achieve large-scale societal transformation.

The UNEP Financial Inquiry argues that while global financial assets are abundant, investment flows are misaligned with sustainable development due to systemic failures and ineffective pricing. It identifies five key financial areas for alignment—banking, bonds, institutional investment, central banks, and systemic risk assessment—and proposes a performance framework based on effectiveness, efficiency, and resilience to measure the scaling of sustainable finance.

The Oregon Environmental Council (OEC) divested its $700,000 endowment fund from fossil fuels using a hybrid strategy of negative screening and shareholder activism. By partnering with Segue Point and UBS Financial Services, OEC employed 'negative screening' and a 'best-in-class' approach, utilizing ENSOGO Analytics to evaluate mutual funds. To avoid losing internal influence over polluting industries, OEC retained 20% of its endowment in a shareholder activist fund managed by Trillium Investments, which uses share ownership as leverage to influence corporate management.

The Green Economy Coalition (GEC) argues that while the green economy narrative is gaining traction, it requires a shift toward moral and economic storytelling, local 'heroes', and systemic financial reform to become mainstream. The document identifies key narrative 'storylines'—such as economic revival, community empowerment, and financial crisis—and emphasizes that emerging economies are currently adopting these frameworks more enthusiastically than developed nations. It specifically calls for the reform of central banks and monetary policy to address systemic risks like 'stranded assets' and 'carbon bubbles', suggesting that civil society must lead this change to overcome political apathy in the North.

The report argues that there is no single blueprint for a green economy, but rather multiple pathways driven by local communities. It critiques 'green growth' for focusing on GDP and resource efficiency while often ignoring social justice, structural power asymmetries, and the needs of the poor. The document emphasizes the need to connect international financial and policy mechanisms with ground-level realities, suggesting that developing countries can 'leapfrog' industrialised pathways by investing in low-carbon infrastructure. Key recommendations include 'greening' existing financial flows like Official Development Assistance (ODA), integrating social justice goals from the outset of policy design, and diversifying political narratives to include indigenous and non-Western knowledge.

The GEC Strategy 2014-2017 focuses on shifting the narrative of the green economy transition from technical language to a compelling story centered on equity and environmental limits. The coalition aims to establish global dialogue hubs, develop an ethical framework for natural capital valuation, and influence financial system reform. Key priorities include strengthening the role of SMEs, improving economic measurement to include planetary boundaries, and increasing the network's presence and representation in developing countries and the BRICS nations.

The Green Economy Coalition (GEC) supports the UN High Level Panel's proposal for a single, unified global development agenda based on sustainable development principles. While praising the focus on transformative change and the inclusion of diverse perspectives, the GEC argues for more rigorous targets regarding global inequality, fossil fuel subsidy reform, and the regeneration of the natural resource base. The GEC specifically advocates for a shift away from 'growth as usual' and the adoption of alternative GDP metrics and integrated corporate reporting to better track progress toward global goals.

The Green Economy Coalition (GEC) met in February 2013 to establish its 2013-2015 strategy. The coalition aims to counter 'green growth' narratives that ignore equity and ecological limits by engaging with the G20, World Economic Forum, and national governments. Its work plan consists of three core activities—dialogue, knowledge sharing, and collective influence—and five thematic projects: Measuring What Matters, Financial Sector Reform, Greening Economic Sectors, Investing in People, and Managing Natural Systems. The GEC intends to transition into a network of collaborating partners, expanding its membership to include more developing countries and private sector entities.

The Green Economy Coalition outlines a vision for a global economic transition that prioritizes ecological limits and social equity over traditional GDP growth. It emphasizes that economics is the 'language of power' and must be used to influence treasuries and boardrooms. The briefing identifies five critical action areas—natural systems, people, economic sectors, financial flows, and governance/measurement—and discusses the role of Rio+20 as a stepping stone toward this transition. It also addresses the tension between the need for economic growth in developing nations and the imperative for resource contraction in developed nations, proposing concepts like the circular economy and 'beyond GDP' metrics to resolve the impasse.

The authors critique the Green Economy (GE) for its anthropocentric, market-based approach that treats nature as 'natural capital' and argues that such a framework is incompatible with the goal of protecting the intrinsic rights of Nature. They contrast the GE's reliance on economic valuation and Payments for Environmental Services (PES) with a bio-centric perspective that recognizes nature's right to exist independently of human utility. The paper highlights Ecuador as a pioneer in constitutionalizing the rights of Nature and proposes practical global measures, including the strict protection of 10% of all ecoregions and a transition to 100% organic food production.

The global trade union movement criticizes the Rio+20 Summit Declaration for lacking targets, timelines, and a strategic vision for planetary justice. The statement argues that the summit failed to provide a new model of development to address unemployment, poverty, and environmental destruction, while noting a significant lack of public trust in government economic decision-making.