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Sustainable economies offer multiple benefits but will require important adjustments from African countries, said Tegegnework Gettu, the head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Africa, today at the opening of a regional conference on green growth.

Citing benefits, Gettu said that universal access to energy would cause less environmental pressure for the poor, free time for women and children who collect firewood, reduce the incidence of respiratory diseases, and contribute to creating small businesses.

Gettu was speaking at the opening of the African Economic Conference, sponsored by UNDP, the African Development Bank and the United Nations Economic Conference on Africa.

The four-day conference is a major annual forum where high level officials, development actors, scholars and experts in economics and related subjects exchange knowledge and seek solutions for the challenges facing the African continent.

Gettu noted that in order to transition to green economies, African countries will have to make important changes. For instance, they will have to develop stable regulatory environments to stimulate public and private investment, encourage technological innovation and make it more expensive to degrade the environment.

In addition, he added that poverty reduction must remain a priority, and that the poorest are not left behind.

“It is important to recognize that there will be costs and that some segments of the population will need support during the adjustment process. It will therefore be critical to put into place mechanisms that cushion especially the most vulnerable during the transition to more sustainable economies.”

The conference will feed into discussions ahead of the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP-17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to take place in Durban, South Africa next month.