Key Prerequisites to Seize Opportunities
• Fostering a strong and effective civil society to strengthen governance and accountability. In addition to participatory planning, budgeting, and monitoring, the ability of citizens to elect their local representatives is crucial for improving citizen participation and public accountability in service delivery. The government should commit to timely and transparent local elections, encourage the plurality of Chad’s civil society, and work with civil society organizations to set up efficient communication channels between citizens and government authorities. In accordance with the Chadian Constitution, local representatives must be elected by universal suffrage every six years. However, the last local elections were held in January 2012.
ADAPTING TO CLIMATE CHANGE AND IMPROVING THE MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES Addressing climate change by promoting a green economy A successful strategy to green the economy involves environmental and social full-cost pricing of energy and material inputs to discourage unsustainable production and consumption. In general, such a strategy is diametrically o pposite to one where companies compete on price, not quality; externalize social and environmental costs; and seek out the cheapest inputs of materials and labor. Natural capital assets must be included on a country’s balance sheet. To promote a green economy, the authorities should consider the following: • Designing and implementing key policies for green jobs. First, the government needs to address its natural capital assets through landscape and watershed management, ecosystem restoration, sustainable management of forests, and regenerative agriculture and food systems that can create jobs quickly. These activities generate long-term benefits thanks to reduced water scarcity or flood damages, lower carbon emissions, and higher agricultural productivity and food security. They can also protect biodiversity and maintain or enhance ecosystem services that can reduce investment needs. Second, it needs to adopt innovative policies to overcome barriers and create incentives to renewable energy development, including by adopting feed-in laws that secure access to the electrical grid at guaranteed prices. Third, the country should adopt ecolabels for all consumer products to ensure that consumers have access to information needed for responsible purchasing decisions, which in turn would encourage manufacturers to design and market more ecofriendly products. Finally, the authorities need to ensure that regulatory tools are used to develop greener technologies, products, and services—and thus green employment. These tools include land-use policies, building codes, energy-efficiency standards (for appliances, vehicles, and so on), and targets for renewable energy production. • Reforming fiscal policy to promote green energy. This includes (a) scaling up and replicating ecotaxes, as ecotax revenues can be used to lighten the tax burden on labor while discouraging polluting and carbon-intensive economic activities; (b) reducing support for fossil fuels and providing greater funding for renewable energy and efficient technologies; and (c) phasing out subsidies for environmentally harmful industries (such as electricity supply, slaughter slabs, and so on) and shifting a portion or all of those funds to renewable energy, efficient technologies, clean production methods, and public transit.
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