Friday, December 12, 2003

China to adopt a green GDP index to measure economic growth:

"Development should be balanced and sustainable. It should pursue harmony between cities and rural areas; between regions; between society and the economy; between man and nature; and between domestic and external economies" (Wen Jiabao, China premier).

At 8% GDP growth per year for the past 25 years, the environmental cost of expansion in China has been huge. The Yellow River often runs dry, 90% of cities suffer serious water pollution, the atmosphere is often choked with smog, wildlife is scarce and the desert is advancing. Adopting a green GDP index is a step toward sustainable development: the index would be calculated by subtracting values for resource depletion and pollution from gross domestic product. "We might end up with a green GDP figure that is negative" (Financial Times)
"Communication is a universal right, not a priviledge" says the chairman of Nokia at the opening of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva. The WSIS, hosted under the auspices of the United Nations, brings together Heads of State, United Nations agencies, NGOs, civil society entities, industry leaders and media representatives to promote the urgently needed access of all countries to information, knowledge and communication technologies for development. A good reason to work for a socially responsible Finnish company .. :-)