Governments and international organizations pledge stronger partnerships for green economy Thu, Sep 8, 2016

- Partnership for Action on Green Economy is supporting governments in Peru, Colombia and Mongolia to introduce green policies.
- Mongolia plans to green public education buildings, by reducing heat loss by 20 per cent by 2020 and by 40 per cent by 2030.

A green school building design can be applied to the 1,200 schools that need to be built in the next 5-7 years in Mongolia. Photo Credit: UNICEF

8 September 2016 - Environment and finance ministers and government representatives from Colombia, Mongolia, Peru and Senegal and international organization representatives today pledged to strengthen partnerships for an inclusive green economy during a high-level event at the Global Green Growth Week in Jeju, Republic of Korea.

Stronger, innovative partnerships are key to mobilizing and sharing knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources at the national level. In Colombia, Mongolia, Peru and Senegal, the Partnership for Action on Green Economy, through UN Environment and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), is supporting governments in transitioning to a green economy by providing technical support, capacity building, knowledge and forging long-term partnerships.

"Environmental degradation threatens people's well-being in countless ways. Their health, their physical security and their economic security are all jeopardized by the deterioration of the environmental foundation of our societies. A sustainable approach to development acknowledges our environment underpins our long-term well-being. That's why UN Environment continues to support the Partnership for Action on Green Economy, which works closely with governments and the private sector in 11 countries to make their development plans inclusive and sustainable," said head of UN Environment, Erik Solheim.

"GGGI's partnership with the Partnership for Action on Green Economy adds the inclusive green growth dimension to a very successful multi-agency partnership", said Yvo de Boer, Director-General of the Global Green Growth Institute.

"With its embedded, on-the ground presence, GGGI leverages the Partnership for Action on Green Economy's work by driving the implementation of recommendations. The examples highlighted by the speakers demonstrate that there is no doubt that this multi-dimensional partnership enables the Partnership's partners and GGGI to achieve better results against shared objectives," he said.

The high-level event took place at the Global Green Growth Week 2016, which brought together high-level government officials from over 50 countries, multi-lateral development banks, international development agencies and private-sector leaders, with the aim of identifying innovative solutions to sustainability challenges and strengthening partnerships that deliver pro-poor, inclusive and environmentally sustainable growth.

The event's participants analysed how various expressions of inclusive green economy have been incorporated into national and economic planning and policy processes and how this collaboration can be improved and scaled up.

In Mongolia, the Partnership for Action on Green Economy and the Global Green Growth Institute collaborate on measuring and financing green growth with a focus on indicators and greening public education buildings, as the country plans to reduce heat loss through buildings by 20 percent by 2020 and by 40 percent by 2030. Through the project, a green school building design has been developed which can be applied to the 1,200 schools that need to be built over the next 5-7 years.

The partners are also working to support the development of Peru's National Green Growth Strategy for 2014 to 2018 and Colombia's Long Term Green Growth Policy. This policy will support the country's commitment to green growth and support the consolidation of peace processes through the identification of economic opportunities in conflict areas.