UNITED NATIONS - Green economy which requires economic development without sacrificing the environment proves to be a critical means to eradicate poverty worldwide, said UN Environment Program Deputy Executive Director Ibrahim Thiaw.
“The environment is one of the major contributors to poverty eradication because the poorest people in the world have assets related to the environment, such as soil, water, fisheries, and forests,” Thiaw told Xinhua in a recent interview.
“We are convinced that poverty eradication may be achieved best when the environment is well protected,” he said.
An annual high-level forum on sustainable development concluded earlier this week at the UN headquarters with an outcome document which calls for the expeditious implementation of a set of global goals to lift millions out of poverty and also conserve the environment as well as achieving social equality.

The document acknowledges that 1.6 billion people still live in “multidimensional poverty,” though extreme poverty has fallen globally; and climate change, as well as land degradation, are posing threats to small-scale food producers, thus leading to possible hunger and poverty. (Xinhua)