Green Economy in Focus

A sustaining and advancing economy, which equally promotes environmental and social well-being is an important approach for current and future development policies, green projects and programmes as well as a consistent support for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Although, in many ways, Green Economy objectives simply support the comprehensive approach of sustainability, recent economic developments have initialized new perspectives to this topic. In the past economic policies have not been sufficiently adapted to a sustainable approach, the environmental and social costs of our economic model however become more and more apparent and find a deeper appreciation by governments, civil society, companies and the public. The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) along with many governmental and non-governmental institutions active in development cooperation (GIZ, KfW) are supporting this social and ecological oriented economic approach and it has become the thematic focus of the year 2011. AFC very much appreciates this approach and integrates the green economic development in the implementation of its projects. As Green Economy is a systemic approach, activities need to follow the requirements of the whole system. The key competence of AFC, rural development, agribusiness and financial sector development require a comprehensive ecological and socio-economic approach, the realization of which has always been a main intention of our work. Poverty reduction and economic growth have to follow a sustainable ecological approach, which we take responsibility for. Our main focus for the development of „green economy“ is: Support local value chains Improving conditions for green agriculture production Facilitate investments in energy-efficiency measures (green finance) AFC is active in various professional working groups dealing with the development of green economy solutions. For further information: Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ), Ökologisches Wirtschaften Green Economy, BMZ Informationsbroschüre 2 | 2011 http://www.giz.de/en/profile/eschborn-dialogue.html Selected AFC References focussing on Green Economy: Resource and Energy Efficiency in the Egyptian Food Industry, GIZ, 2009-2012 Support organic agriculture in Serbia, GIZ, 02-12/2010 Training, Technical Assistance and Strengthening of Beneficiaries, Professional Organizations and Service Providers within the Date Value Chain in Selected Oasis Regions, Morocco, MCC, 07/2010 – 09/2013 Credit Line for Energy Efficiency and Climate Protection, The Philippines, KfW, 03/2010 – 03/2012 Promotional Programme for Energy Efficient New Residential Housing in India, KfW, 06/2009 – 04/2010