In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

countries,

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

, a green paper is a tentative government report and consultation document of

policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organ ...

proposals for debate and discussion. A green paper represents the best that the government can propose on the given issue, but, remaining uncommitted, it is able without loss of face to leave its final decision open until it has been able to consider the public reaction to it. Green papers may result in the production of a

white paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white paper ...

. They may be seen as

grey literature Grey literature (or gray literature) is materials and research produced by organizations outside of the traditional commercial or academic publishing and distribution channels. Common grey literature publication types include reports (annual, rese ...

Canada

A green paper in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, like a white paper, is an official government document. Green papers tend to be statements not of policy already determined, but of propositions put before the whole nation for discussion. They are produced early in the policy-making process, while ministerial proposals are still being formulated. Many white papers in Canada have been, in effect, green papers, while at least one green paper—that on immigration and population in 1975—was released for public debate after the government had already drafted

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolled bill, enrolling, enactment of a bill, enacting, or promulgation, promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous Government, governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law i ...

United Kingdom

Similarly, in the UK, green papers are official consultation documents produced by the government for discussion both inside and outside

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, for instance when a government department is considering introducing a new law. The term "green paper" has been said to originate with the publication in 1941 by Herwald Ramsbotham, UK

president of the board of education The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. ...

, of plans for educational reform in a green binding, which became known as the "Green Book".Middleton N and Weitzman S (1976) ''A Place for Everyone'' (p. 221), London: Victor Gollancz Ltd; cited in Derek Gillard (2018) ''Education in England: a history''
Chapter 9
/ref>

European Union

A green paper released by the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

is a discussion document intended to stimulate debate and launch a process of consultation, at European level, on a particular topic. A green paper usually presents a range of ideas and is meant to invite interested individuals or organizations to contribute views and information. It may be followed by a white paper, an official set of proposals that is used as a vehicle for their development into law.

Examples

Discussion of defence policy in Australia, 2000

A major review of defence policy in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

culminated in a white paper issued in December 2000. Prior to this, a discussion paper was released in June 2000. This discussion paper was in nature what is known as a green paper (and was sometimes referred to as such).

The purpose of the 2008 EU green paper on

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

was to foster a debate on how knowledge for research, science and education can best be disseminated in the online environment. The green paper, which was published on 16 July 2008, aimed to set out a number of issues connected with the role of copyright in the "

knowledge economy The knowledge economy (or the knowledge-based economy) is an economic system in which the production of goods and services is based principally on knowledge-intensive activities that contribute to advancement in technical and scientific inno ...

" and intended to launch a consultation on these issues (se
this document
. The EU asked for answers and comments to be submitted up to 30 November 2008.

References

External links

Parliament of Canada definition page
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130506213704/http://www.parl.gc.ca/ParlInfo/Pages/GreenPapers.aspx , date=2013-05-06

Technical communication Documents Grey literature