Greening the Cook Islands Economy

The report “Greening our Blue World: A Report on Cook Islands National Assessment on Greening the Economy” was completed by Cook Islands consultant Christina Newport this month. The report was commissioned by the Office of the Prime Minister and UNESCAP (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific). TIS made a submission on this report. The report aims to assist the Cook Islands with its national and regional preparations for the Rio+20 Summit in 2012. The report says that across the five Green Growth pathways of sustainable consumption and production the Cook Islands have a number of initiatives in place or under development that are consistent with a Green Growth strategy. These are green tax and budget reform, sustainable infrastructure, green business and markets as well as investing in natural capital. The current Cook Islands government have set a goal of 100% renewable energy by 2020. However, the report warns that while the sector is not restricted by human resource inertia or lack of political will, future Green Growth actions will be limited by absorptive capacity and resourcing unless future activities are well integrated and consistent with other priorities.