Cities and Green Growth: a Conceptual Framework
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Cities and Green Growth: A Conceptual Framework Please cite this paper as: Hammer, S. et al. (2011), “Cities and Green Growth: A Conceptual Framework”, OECD Regional Development Working Papers 2011/08, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5kg0tflmzx34-en OECD Regional Development Working Papers 2011/08 Stephen Hammer, Lamia Kamal-Chaoui, Alexis Robert and Marissa Plouin JEL Classification : O1, O3, Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4, Q5, R1, R4, R5 OECD REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPERS This series is designed to make available to a wider readership selected studies on regional development issues prepared for use within the OECD. Authorship is usually collective, but principal authors are named. The papers are generally available only in their original language, English or French, with a summary in the other if available. The opinions expressed in these papers are the sole responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the OECD or the governments of its member countries. Comment on the series is welcome, and should be sent to [email protected] or the Public Governance and Territorial Development Directorate, 2, rue André Pascal, 75775 PARIS CEDEX 16, France. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- OECD Regional Development Working Papers are published on www.oecd.org/gov/regional/workingpapers --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Applications for permission to reproduce or translate all or part of this material should be made to: OECD Publishing, [email protected] or by fax +33 1 45 24 99 30. © OECD 2011 2 ABSTRACT This report examines the current state of knowledge about green growth in cities and outlines the key research questions and protocols that will guide the OECD Green Cities programme. It builds the case for an urban green growth agenda by examining the economic and environmental conditions that have pushed the green growth agenda to the forefront of policy debate and assessing the critical role of cities in advancing green growth. Section 1 lays the context for the paper, examining why green growth is important and how it can be defined in an urban context. Section 2 focuses on policies and tools that enable the transition to green growth in cities. It concludes with a proposal for a policy framework for an urban green growth agenda that is based on a set of hypotheses of desirable economic scenarios. Section 3 examines the main challenges to advancing an urban green growth agenda. It explores the roles that multi-level governance, measuring and monitoring tools and finance must play in delivering green growth in cities. The report concludes with suggestions for future research, including recommendations on how national policymakers responsible for regional and urban policies can advance an urban green growth agenda. JEL classification: O1, O3, Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4, Q5, R1, R4, R5 Keywords: Climate, Global Warming, Sustainable Development, Government Policy, Planning, Regional, Urban, Cities, Territorial, Regional Economics, Urban Sustainability, Green Growth 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report is part of the series of OECD Working Papers on Regional Development of the OECD Public Governance and Territorial Development Directorate, directed by Joaquim Oliveira Martins, Head of the Regional Development Policy Division. The report has been undertaken within the framework of the OECD Green Cities programme of the Regional Development Policy Division. It was produced and edited by Lamia Kamal-Chaoui, Head of the OECD Urban Development Programme, Alexis Robert (Urban Policy Analyst) and Marissa Plouin (Urban Policy Analyst). The report draws on a number of internal contributions, including from Olaf Merk (urban finance), Tadashi Matsumoto (compact cities) and Xiao Wang (local green growth plans). Statistical data were produced by Monica Brezzi, Head of the Statistical Analysis, Daniel Sanchez-Serra, Mario Piacentini and Konstantin Rosina. Stephen A. Hammer, PhD, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), provided a major contribution to this report. Special thanks are given to Jeremy Rifkin, (President, Foundation on Economic Trends), David Miller (Counsel at Aird & Berlis LLP, former Mayor of Toronto and former Chair of C40 Climate Leadership Group), Remi Dorval (Vinci – Fabrique de la Cité), Pierre-Noel Giraud (Ecole des Mines - Paris) and Fabio Grazi (Agence Française de Développement). We would also like to acknowledge those who have provided valuable comments on the report and relevant background material. In the OECD, they are Jan Corfee-Morlot, Xavier Leflaive, Chris Kennedy and Natasha Crespin (Environment Directorate); Claire Charbit and Aziza Akhmouch (Public Governance and Territorial Development Directorate). The paper has also benefitted from comments of individuals outside the OECD Secretariat, including from Alain Ayong Le Kama (French Ministry of the Environment), Dominique Bureau (French Ministry of the Environment), Paul Cheshire (London School of Economics), Ian Cochran (Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations - France), Patrick Dubarle (Consultant), Graham Floater (The Climate Centre - UK), Nicky Gavron (Member of the London Assembly), Benoit Lefevre (IDDRI/Sciences-Po, Paris), Martine Liotard (Institut d‘Aménagement et d‘Urbanisme de l‘Ile-de- France), Barbara Norman (University of Canberra), Bert Provan (London School of Economics, formerly at the Department of Communities and Local Government - UK), Suzanne Salz (ICLEI- International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives) and Dimitri Zenghelis (London School of Economics). 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS OECD REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKING PAPERS .................................................... 2 ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................... 4 Introduction................................................................................................................................ 8 1. Defining green growth in an urban context ......................................................................... 11 1.1. Why green growth? ....................................................................................................... 11 A concept driven by the global crisis ............................................................................... 11 Global environmental and climate threats influencing the push for green growth ........... 12 The search for a new development paradigm ................................................................... 13 1.2. Defining green growth as a blend of ideas .................................................................... 14 What is ―green‖? ............................................................................................................... 14 What is ―growth‖? ............................................................................................................ 16 1.3. The logic of city scale action ........................................................................................ 18 The unique economic role of cities................................................................................... 18 Cities burdened by externalities ....................................................................................... 19 How cities contribute to climate change ........................................................................... 24 Vulnerabilities to environmental related calamities and climate change ......................... 24 Opportunities for synergies and complementarities ......................................................... 25 How do cities approach green growth? ............................................................................ 27 1.4.The definition of urban green growth ............................................................................ 29 Alternative green growth scenarios .................................................................................. 30 Scenario 1: Baseline - No impact ..................................................................................... 30 Scenario 2: Green sector growth ...................................................................................... 31 Scenario 3: Economic greening ........................................................................................ 31 Scenario 4: Multi-sector growth ....................................................................................... 32 Scenario 5: Sectoral displacement .................................................................................... 32 Urban green growth: the OECD definition ....................................................................... 33 2. Enabling the transition to urban green growth: policies and tools ....................................... 34 2.1. A policy framework for an urban green growth agenda ............................................... 35 2.2. Pro-growth policies ....................................................................................................... 38 Human capital ................................................................................................................... 38 Infrastructure development ............................................................................................... 41 Innovation ........................................................................................................................