139. To achieve sustainability, a transformation of the global economy is required. Tinkering at the edges will not do the job. The current global economic crisis, which has led many to question the performance of existing global economic governance, offers an opportunity for root and branch reform and a decisive shift towards green growth, which contributes to sustainable development, not just in the financial system, but in the real economy as well.

140. But the challenge is more complex than simply increasing growth as a way out of the economic crisis. While resumption of growth is, indeed, essential — for reducing unemployment, helping billions of people out of poverty, providing greater opportunities for women and generating the resources necessary for social protection schemes — the reality of social exclusion and environmental constraints means that this process of increasing prosperity risks becoming a victim of its own success unless it is based on genuinely green growth.

141. Green growth has the potential to be an engine for sustainable development across the board. Thus, while energy will remain the lifeblood of the economy, green growth is concerned with promoting energy from low-carbon and renewable sources and ensuring that it is used efficiently. Where traditional growth paths are heavily skewed towards short-term interests, green growth explicitly sets out to take a long view. Where the old growth patterns leave social and environmental costs out of pricing mechanisms, green growth actively seeks to include them, so that prices send accurate signals. And where traditional growth is indifferent to where investment goes, as long as financial returns are satisfactory, green growth is strongly concerned with ensuring that finance is used to lay the foundations for higher sustainable development performance in the future.

142. Enhancing social inclusion requires the promotion of decent employment for women, youth and the poor. Studies have established that countries are more prosperous, and their economies more competitive, where the gender gap is narrowest, youth and the poor have access to education and health care and economic and political participation are fully ensured.

The present section sets out four key areas for policy action:

(a) incorporating social and environmental costs into the regulation and pricing of goods and services, as well as addressing market failures (paras. 143-163);
(b) creating an incentive road map that increasingly values long-term objectives (paras. 164-180);
(c) partnering to leverage new investments (paras. 181-197);
(d) establishing a common framework for measuring progress (paras. 198-202).