John Calixte

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Macro Economic Policy Framework and Sector
Policies for Green Economy

• John Calixte
• Department of Planning and National Development,
• Ministry Of Finance,
• Government of Saint Lucia
• February 2015

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Presentation Outline

• Introduction
• Macroeconomic Challenges
• National Planning Framework
• Sector Polices for a green Economy
• Saint Lucias efforts at Green Economy

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Introduction

• The concept of green economy has become a centre
  of debate in recent years.
• The concept carries a promise of a new economic
  growth paradigm that is friendly to the earths
  ecosystem and can contribute to poverty
  alleviation
• It provides a response to the multiple crises the
  world has been facing recent years-food, climate
  and economic crises.
• The transition to a green economy will entail
  moving away from the system that allowed and at
  time generated these crises to a system that
  proactively addresses and prevents them.

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Definition of Green Economy

• No unique definition for the Green Economy
• UNEP definition-one that results in improved
  human well being and social equality, while
  significantly reducing environmental risks and
  ecological scarcities
• The term underscores the economic dimensions of
  sustainability
• It responds to a growing recognition that
  achieving sustainability rests on getting the
  economy right

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Macro economic Challenges

• what are the macro economic challenges that
  would be considered when incoporating green
  economy principles into a macroeconmomic policy
  frame work

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Macroeconomic Challenges

• Decling growth rates over the last 20 years
• Average growth rate in the region -2.3
• High degree of openness to the global economy
• International trade with goods and services
• International financing, including foreign direct
  investment and sovergn debt
• Worsening Trade balances
• Poor trade performances
• Weakening international competitiveness
• Declining foreign direct invest

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Macroeconomic Performance
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Macroeconomic Challeges

• A high dependence on strategic imports such as
  energy, food, industrial supplies and capital
  goods for agriculture and construction sectors
• Makes it difficult to reduce imports in the short
  to medium term
• Long term macroeconomic vulnerability related to
  sectoral productivity and wider economic growth
• Vulnerability to natural disasters and climate
  variability
• Despite significant investment in the education
  sectors there are issues of access,
  inclusiveness, quality and relevance of the
  sector
• Weaknesses in the labour market reflects long
  term inequalities in the education system that
  fail to prepare students for the demands of a
  modern economy

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Macroeconomic Challenges

• High Unemployment
• Limited fiscal space caused by high debt to GDP
  ratios

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With the current economic situation of low growth
and, as a SIDS justifies to a great extent our
unstained economic growth path ways, with impacts
on environment, resource efficiency, climate
change, risk and vulnerability thus provide few
opportunities of greening few sectorsMoving
towards GE canincrease adaptive capacity and
resilience in the face of mounting global
challenges such as climate change, reduce
unemployment and foster unstainable growth.How?
mainstreaming green growth in National Planning
Framework

• The Need for Greening the Economy

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National Planning Policy Framework

• National vision
• National Development Plan
• Medium Term Development
• Sector plans
• Public Sector Investment Programme
• National Budget
• Agency Budget

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Green Economy Sectors

• ENERGY
• Achieve energy security and independence by
  reducing reliance on fossil fuels and increasing
  the use of renewable energy technologies
• opportunities- solar energy tapping, biogas,
  geo-thermal exploration using investment
  partners, wind mills and even micro hydro power,
  energy saving through the use of LED lights,
  green public buildings etc,
• Use of fiscal incentives to promote transition to
  renewable energy generation

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Green Economic Sectors

• Agriculture
• Diversify the agriculture sector away from banana
  production to increase food security through more
  efficient and less resource intensive production
  of non traditional crop
• Opportunities- Agriculture diversification-water
  harvesting, terrace farming, Niche organic
  products, Composting and integrated crop
  management, expansion of cottage industries,
  mature tourism product to foster linkages,
  ecommerce market, increase in value added
  agriculture products for exports and tourism.

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Green Economy Sectors

• Transport
• Achieving energy efficiency in the transportation
  sector and providing incentives for the use of
  hybrid vehcles
• opportunities- use of energy efficient vehicles,
  remove congestion, better infrastructure,
  alternate water taxi for travel, inter island
  connectivity improvement to reduce transport
  costs, improve public transport through public
  private partnership, increase in airlift through
  negotiations, improve airport facilities,
  improve port facilities

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Green Economy Sectors

• Tourism-
• Providing incentives for investment and
  efficiency in the Tourism Industry
• Highly energy use and emission of greenhouse
  gases ( 70 in St Lucia) Energy audits would be
  required and based on that energy efficiency
  measures can be taken, tourism product
  diversification and preference for properly
  packed local products will boost social inclusion
  of the society in agriculture, creative industry
  and culture

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Green Economy Sectors

• MANUFACTURING-
• To reduce trade barriers and to develop small and
  medium size enterprise by introducing new green
  technologies through appropriate incentive
  regime.
• Mobilisation of entrepreneurs interested in green
  investment business opportunities
• Opportunity-Training and re-skilling of workers,
  introduction of more efficient models of
  production, access to credit

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Fiscal IncentivesAlign fiscal policy
instruments such as tax exemptions, credits and
duty waivers to green economy policiesReduce
unemployment and improve opportunities for
citizens through economic diversification
including green job creation, green industry
growth, training, and construction of green
infrastructure ( mobilization of entrepreneurs
and enterprises, increase awareness, and
networking to increase capacity building and
institutional strengthening, create
infrastructure and bring in green
technologies)Infrastructure and green
TechnologiesBlue EconomyFiscal Incentives

• Other areas

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Institutional Mechanism for Green Economy in
Saint Lucia

• Saint Lucia has undertaken foundational work in
  Integrated Development Planning (IDP), and
  identified a number of principles consistent with
  a Green Economy. A National Development Planning
  process is currently in progress, with a policy
  framework consisting sector-specific policies
  that identify cross-cutting issues, and
  containing unifying points.
• Several bodies have been created, and are
  expected to strengthen the institutional
  framework for Green Economy pursuits. These
  include
• - National Environmental
  Commission (NEC)
• - National Climate Change
  Committee (NCCC)
• - Coastal Zone Management
  Advisory Committee (CZMAC) and
• - National Council for
  Science and Technology for Development (NCSTD)
• - Energy Policy Advisory
  Committee (EPAC)
• Green Economy Steering Commitee
• There are also initiatives geared towards natural
  resource management and conservation ---
  rainwater harvesting, solar energy, collection
  and exchange of spatial data, geothermal energy .

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Challenges

• Some challenges currently faced include problems
  associated with economies of scale, the level of
  political will, under-resourced agencies, and
  overall ownership of the relevant issues.
• Nevertheless, the GOSL is committed to advancing
  national Green Economy plans (including investing
  in key economic sectors and safeguarding natural
  resources to improve livelihoods).

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Thank you
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