With an ever increasing gap between rich and poor, and the increasing number of people living below a minimum standard of living, there is a need for new solutions and a complete reassessment of the problems and what really counts and implementing sustainable development. The Green Economics Institute is at the forefront in helping governments, institutions and individuals find solutions to the current crisis which will bring long term and real prosperity to people, nature and the planet and its systems.

Green Economics Institute Training Course at Oxford University: PictureBogusia Igielska Poland

Our team with the womens budget group. Outside No 10 Downing Street,the home of the Prime Minister of the UK

This is international womens day- not only have we been taking part in a national government school day for senior women leaders - we are now calling for one of our team - a woman to head up the UNFCC- as there is a vacancy and the new team put together by gordon brown - does not contain any women- We wish to put forward Graciela Chichilnisky for this important climate team- please support our campaign which we are taking to the highest level! email if you agree with us -women need to be included in climate talks ! greeneconomicsinstitute@yahoo.com Write to all the Ministers and UN people you know and let everyone know we wont take this lying down!For the full text see womens economics tab above !

Cherry branches heralding spring. Picture: Miriam Kennet

We are now calling for papers and taking bookings for our First Ever Green Economics Institute Conference in Venice April 22nd -25th 2010 at Venice International University, Venice, Italy and also calling for papers for our 5th Annual Green Economics Conference at Oxford University, July 29th 30th 31st 2010 at Mansfield College Oxford University.Both are filling up fast- please email as soon as possible greeneconomicsinstitute@yahoo.com to reserve your place or request a speaker slot. ( Pictures of previous events can be seen on our flickr site- under the photos tab above).

The Green Economics Institute is a not for profit organisation and Trust and one of the largest green networks in the world operating in about 47 countrie. We run The International Journal of Green Economics-- the world's first green economics double blind peer reviewed academic journal.

We provide advice, information, expertise and training in all aspects of economics and green issues, as well as consultancy to businesses and governments. We hold lively green economics and sustainable development economics conferences. We publishe books, journals and briefings on all aspects of innovation to do with social and environmental justice and sustainable development and green economics.

The Institute specialises in providing training and consultancy in all aspects of green issues, economics, and sustainable development and has worked with governments. Recent country consultancy and lecturing has been in the UK, France, Spain,Poland, Germany and Montenegro, and Ireland as well as being invited to lecture all round the world in official events, deleguations and universities in countries spread from Abu Dhabi,Turkey, Dubai to China and Brazil and the Russian Federation. Last month we worked in Ankara Turkey and Skopje Macedonia, as well as the UK and some via webcam and web seminar and video. This month and next we will be in Venice, Brussels and Barcelona.

Forthcoming events

Venice International University, April 22nd -24th 2010 onwards

Green Economics Institute in Venice, Italy. Picture Miriam Kennet

Oxford University July 26th -31st 2010 and Glastonbury on a farm - November 6th 7th 8th 2010 and Cape Town January 2011

. Recent Clients include:

The Italian Government,The British Council, the National Government School, the Hungarian Government, the UK Cabinet Office, the UK Treasury, the Schumacher College UK, the Richmond American University in the UK and the American University in Macedonia, The Irish Government, the Spanish greens, the European Greens in the European Parliament, the Young Greens, Yorkshire Forward, The Department of Transport in the UK, Chelsea Art College, the University of Bath, the Rosa Luxembourg Foundation, the UK Quakers,The Government of the Netherlands, Eurac Research Centre Bolzano Italy, the International Labour Organisation, The Green Jobs Programme and many others, the National Government School, Venice International University, REC Hungary.International University, Slubice Poland and Frankfurt am Oder University Germany, The National Audit Office.

What is Green Economics?An age of global transformation- An age of Green Economics

Green Economics positions economics within a very long-term, earth-wide, holistic context of reality as a part of nature in the longer term and as a blueprint for 21st century economics practice in the shorter term. It moves economics from an emphasis and outcome of military, sex and cars, with Fordist and Taylorist high mass consumption of the 20th century into the economy of the 21th century which has a completely new aim and objective, for provisioning for the needs of all people everywhere, other species, nature, the planet and its systems as beneficiaries rather than throwaway inputs to the ceteris paribus economy of homo economicus and ruling man and his preferences. Economics is no longer about men in business suits- arguing over supply and demand curves and models. Economics is reclaimed as something that everyone and everything on the planet practices as all have impacts and all have needs, all have responsibilities and all have spheres of impact.

Economics goes back to its roots- as a discipline of household and estate management - oikia- rather than being predicated on greed, profit and price- with its joint roots in ecology.

Economics becomes altogether a more inclusive, much more gender balanced discipline both in terms of who its practitioners are and what its outputs and theories and explanations are. It also incorporates and celebrates 'difference', diversity, equity and inclusiveness within its concepts of society and community. Its philosophy is to manage economics for nature, the planet and people, rather than to manage the environment for business as usual.

Green Economics views the current downturn as partly arising from the clash between ecology and economy in the outdated structures that meant a competition for land for food and land for fuel and the result of the end of the bubble economy, and the Minsky idea of The Great Moderation being actually unhelpful in artificially stabilising the economic system and creating over optimism, and the over complacent all powerful feeling that man had finally conquered the vagiaries of nature and the economy and resource use and so could rule the world without fear. This meant a complete belief in his mastery and invincability and that economics downturns would never return again! In fact as Minksy showed- this was simply creating the very thing they feared- a major meltdown of the economy. But green economics shows that even during this unprecedented spell of a show of invincibility- one fifth of humanity was starving and the spoils were more unevenly disributed than ever before. All this at the same time- depleting and exhausting the planets resources- natural capital and rocking the roots of our civilisation - the climate interglacial on which had ever only been based. There is no blue print for a much warmer climate being able to host our civilisation! We are now into unchartered waters. The world is hotting up and we have wipped out many other species who might have been able to help us! Over consumption and over use of the worlds resources is now in urgent need of correction. This means a complete rethink of how we use the planet our home our house hold and also the relationship of dominion and mastery- a complete false dawn. We are part of the earth and we risk everything if we forget that, and dont do our household maintenance and housework. Economics is part of that- but only a subset.

Economics is going to have to be completely re written. We think that life style changes will be the only answer- doing Different Things- Differently! - Rather than messing about with redefining or measurement or trading or technical fixes any other kind of fudging - the world has changed- and we need to keep up with it- that means we have to change what we do and how we do it ! By combining economics with knowledge from the natural sciences, Economics can now incorporate a much wider, more practical, holistic, and pluralist multidisciplinary range of knowledge than other schools of economics under a heterodox umbrella. Green Economics can offer unique insights into four of the key areas ('eco', intellectual, political and moral) of today's significant and mounting problems and highlights how its novel insights provide new solutions.

The development of this new branch of Economics critiques the main contradictions, deficiencies, assumptions, conventions, and inherent normative concepts found in dominant neo-classical economic thinking, which have accumulated over the past two centuries and reassessing the world undergoing social and environmental change.

It develops these themes further in order to achieve simultaneous social and environmental justice, as inseparable parts of a whole. Green Economics looks for solutions that simultaneously address poverty,( one fifth of humanity), current dangerous runaway climate change and instability and ending the current mass extinction of species ( currently there is the 6th ever on earth mass extinction event going on ) within an equitable and future proofed framework.

Green Economics is extremely forward thinking, long term, hi tech, futuristic, technically competent, ( many of our board have degrees in economics and Phds or other degrees in earth science or physics). Many are also literate in social science, many specialising in new ways of examining -truth and reality in both the social and physical world, using new innovative more up to date methodology. Our project is nothing less than to re-conceptualise the philosophy of economics and its and our place in the world.

As such a particular aspect is to re consider the role of economic growth, the role of GDP, and the role, structure and outcomes in the real economy of production, Foreign Direct Investment, speculation, land use, construction, property, procurement, logistics and supply chains and accounting as well as IT, and computer uses and intellectual property issues. Practises we use include everything on open source, and using slow travel in our work as well as web cams, web seminars and open source publishing. We have one of the largest green websites with free up to the minute global news and information. We also believe in local production for local needs, efficiency for appropriate supply, eg milk and vegetables being produced locally, energy being produced locally where possible and SMART grids being implemented. We are also exploring higher tech solutions. However, climate change will lead to huge areas of the world being uninhabitable or unsuitable for growing food and we are committed to a sharing methodology for all of humanity - rather than a l"and, forest and food grab" of assets by the rich and powerful.

This means global solutions for global problems such as poverty and it means working much harder to prioritise the Millenium Development Goals especially the education and empowerment of women and girls. It has been suggested (McGlade) by the European Environment Agency that educating and empowering women - would alone reduce the population projection down from 9 billion to 7 billion humans. This alone would allieviate huge amounts of hardship. We advocate empowerment of women and girls and the single most important piece of work to be done in the next few years - which will have direct benefits for all of us on the planet. Men currently own 99% of the worlds assets and this patriarchy and accumulation needs to be urgently rebalanced into a more sharing and caring economics practise.Most of the worlds poor are women and many women are poor. Poverty is a highly gendered situation. Many of the main victims of aids HIV today are women and many of the main victims of disasters from the Tsunami and other natural disasters are women being poorer and often more directly dependent on the natural world. Women are still dying in huge numbers in pregnancy and child birth all over the world. There were more slaves, mainly women, in the 20th century than ever before- far from eradication of slavery - it is thriving and has a very gendered aspect and needs urgent re- abolition - this time for good!

Green Economics has also been termed -The economics of sharing -so it addresses now forms of distribution and also the economics of doing- as it is now a major player in many governments around the world, in the race to become green and to use Green Economics and the green economy as the one ray of hope in ending the current economics downturn and setting trends for 21st century economics and provisioning over the century for the needs of all people everywhere, other species, nature the planet and its systems and in fact provisioning for the comfortable survivability of the human and other species. Governments all over the world are falling over themselves to understand this programme and message- do ensure you don't loose out! It aims to innovate in methodology of economics, theory and practice making economics acessible for everyone. We are actively changing the culture of homo economicus and making economics broader and more socially and environmentally just.Our Sustainable Development Economics courses include robust, lively and enjoyable training in development and in women's economics, environmental change and social justice. We do this using participatory methodology.

We want to transform economics to enable it to provision for the needs of all people everywhere, nature, other species, the planet and its systems.We want economics to benefit these groups rather than being throw away inputs in the service of faceless policies.

"We're now on the threshold of a global transformation- the age of green economics" Ban Ki-Moon General Secretary of the United Nations.

The Green Economics Institute advises governments around the world and provides advise about dealing with the current crises in economics, climate and biodiversity as well as poverty and inequality. We help people future proof their economics with an eye on weathering the current economics downturn and laying the foundations of future sustainable prosperity for themselves and their family, their company or their country.

If you would like more information of our work email us at greeneconomicsinstitute@yahoo.com. Don't forget to visit our "News and information" which you can find at: http://www.2tix.net/zone/preview.php?id=9&key=67, where we post current topical daily information. Its the best part of our website.

Rameswarum sunset: India. Picture Miriam Kennet

We also have a photo gallery of some of our recent activities. There are pictures of our activities so you can see some of our activities on the photos tab.http://www.flickr.com/photos/32535080@N00/page3/

and http://www.flickr.com/photos/32535080@N00/3701960571/

Our books series with Gower Publishing and Ashgate Academic Press can be found at : http://www.ashgatepublishing.com/default.aspx?page=3344 We publish books, green economics readers with Oxford University Press and Routledge on a variety of subjects- and have two new chapters in book on teaching pedagogy- one with Routlege- and one with Syracuse University in the USA as well as German chapters in Rosa Luxembourg Foundation books.

Recently the Green Economics Institute was in Turkey speaking at major conferences on Economics in Ankara and Istanbul via webcam saving carbon. We also ran the very first ever Green Economics Speakers Forum at the Glastonbury Festival in Somerset in the UK-see pictures on flikr. The following week we were invited to speak at the Atlantic Cities Conference in Caen in France disucssing the implementation of the Green Economy.

Green Economics Institute offers exciting and award winning Sustainable Development Training and Economics Training or exciting lectures to groups and governments

Our courses are very lively interactive, and extremely well received and enjoyable and can be run in most countries and most locations, and most languages. " We are the only organisation that can actually make economics fun" according to our recent client in Venice!"

For example in 2008 we provided training in Poland, the UK Treasury. In 2009 we provided training and lecturing in many places - these include: Ireland, Montenegro, Campinas University Brazil,Turkey and in 2010 we will be in South China Normal University, Guandong, China and Hafei and Beijing China, Macedonia, and Abuja- Nigeria and many more businesses, government departments, and at Oxford University.

We have a team of specialists in all aspects of green economics to draw on supporting our work. Please email us at: greeneconomicsinstitute@yahoo.com for more details. There is a training brochure with more information on the training green tab on the left of this page.

Aims and Philosophy of the Green Economics Institute

The Green Economics Institute has been formed to bring together thinkers, activists, practitioners, academics and policy makers, people in business wanting to work for a real change in outcomes, economists and campaigners, writers and opinion formers in order to educate and exchange information and ideas and to provide the tools for beneficial change to occur.

The Green Economics Institute is also a Research Institute and undertakes, encourages and supports International Research into Green Economics issues, perspectives, methods, tools and instruments, economic theoretical discourses and disciplines in order to facilitate change in the way people are affected by the economy and their relationship to it. It will seek out and encourage best practice and innovation in Fair Trade and sustainability and exchange ideas and examples and cases.

Aims of the Green Economics Institute

The aim is that as a result more people enjoy a better quality of life. There is a focus on corporate activities and the globalisation process and their impacts on a range of stakeholders including indigenous peoples, minorities, women, people in less developed countries and non human species and the biosphere and also the conventional wisdoms of trickle down theories, growth and development.

The culture of consumerism will be critically assessed and the Institute will aim to underpin an economic discipline which serves more people's needs than simple discussions of supply and demand. Green Tools and Instruments including the role of the citizens income, land value tax, local production for local needs, will be presented and thoroughly analysed and discussed from a variety of perspectives.

The Institute aims to reformulate, rework and re-orientate mainstream economics

The Institute aims to create a new discipline of Green Economics which is better able to address today's problems.

Recent events and conferences

Saturday 16th May 2009 - Reading International Solidarity Centre,Reading, Berkshire.UK training in Green Economics, introduction to economics, social and environmental justice, social justice in Africa, womens economics, and the costs of biodiversity, understanding discounting methodology. This training has a particular focus on Ethiopia.

Oxford University Annual Green Economics Conference Conference 2009 July 31st - 1st August 2009 Mansfield College Oxford University, UK

National Government School, UK, Miriam Kennet is part of a team of trainers on Sustainable Development, lower growth economics and its Redefining Prosperity programme across the UK government departments. This training has already taken place in Admiralty Arch, the UK Treasury, GCHQ, The Department for Transport amongst others.

Glastonbury Festival of Music and Dance, Somerset UK- The Green Economics Institute for the first time ran its own stall and speaker forum at the festival.

To find out more please look at our newsletter 2010 and also Diary Dates 2010 and the Calendar 2010 - with dates and venues- please have a look on the left hand side of each page.

Later in 2009 South China Normal University Miriam Kennet lectures on Green Economics

In May 2009 The Green Economics Institute provided Sustainable Development training to the Dutch Governments Sustainable Development Programme and the government and its officials of Montenegro

Publishing with the Green Economics Institute

The Institute also publishes a regular refereed academic journal International Journal of Green Economics in association with large international academic journal publisher- Inderscience. The journals own website is www.inderscience.com.ijge

We especially encourage new authors, people from minorities and less developed countries and also experienced authors and many of our writers are Professors exploring the cross over from other disciplines and also economists and practitioners at all levels. The main requirement is an open and enquiring and curious mind to innovate and to think in completely new ways.

We have several book series. We are working with several publishers- our flagship series is with Gower Management and Ashgate Academic Press on Green Economics and Sustainable Growth and Miriam Kennet is the series editor.

Our Womens Unequal Pay and Poverty book will consist of chapters by leading ministers, writers, campaigners and change makers and is a contributed volume, if you would like to write a chapter please contact us as soon as possible- greeneconomicsinstitute@yahoo.com.

Plan for the Planet by Ian Chambers- published by Gower Management Publishers is available in 2009 about business methods and saving the planet

Greening the Academy discusses teaching methods by Syracuse University Press is out in 2009

Heterodox Economics teaching by Professor Jack Reardon is published by Routledge in 2009 which we have contributed to

Dr Magnus Chidi of our Nigerian department is producing a book about Green Economics and Africa in 2009

Clive Lord is producing a book about the basic income in 2009

Wolgang Hoerschele has written The Economics of Abundance for Gower Publishing as part of our series on Green Economics, this will be published in 2009

We presented at the Green Summer University, straddling Poland and Germany, eastern and western Europe, in a building which sits at the cross roads of both East and Western Europe, in Frankfurt Am Oder, in Germany and Poland, in August 2008 at the annual summer school.

Our Third Annual Green Economics Institute Conference took take place at Oxford University on Friday, 18 July 2008 and Saturday, 19 July 2008, and was a huge success with people coming from all over the world and much work being undertaken. Themes included Lower Growth Economics and scenario planning in a new economic environment - lower growth on which was are at the forefront advising government, Greening of economics theory, innovations in teaching economics, Greening of business, Greening Procurement and Supply Chains, Civilisation the first 10,000 years an audit, our biodiversity campaign, poverty alleviation, and basic income, and also womens economics and economics in China. We also have an entire stream on Greening of Business on the Friday.

We delivered a keynote speech at Cambridge University in July 2008. at a Plenary session on Green Economics The State of the Art, at the Assication of Heterodox Economists Conference miriam.kennet@greeneconomicsinstitute.eu

Miriam Kennet spoke in the French Senat in June 2008

We are running a series of in house training courses and seminars for different organisations. If you would like us to run your training course or to provide a seminar, please email us.

We are running a conference stream on green economics at the Environment Conference hosted by Jouni Khorhonen from Finland who is our editorial board and which will take place in New Dehli and will be visiting Vandana Shiva in Dehra Dunn and also opening our new office in Lucknow Uttar Pradesh, details and dates to be posted shortly.

If you would like a speaker on Green Economics for your event or if you are a media caller- please ring 07990 590463 we will be pleased to respond to your requirement.

All our Conference proceedings are available via our web shop on this site.

Miriam Kennet, February 2010 Please see pictures of our activities here

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Pictures : Daniela Petrovic Green Economics Institute Serbia, and Miriam Kennet CEO Green Economics Institute and Bogusia Igielska Green Economics Institute, Poland