Joint UNEP-UNDP-UNDESA Green Economy Side Event at 3rd Intersessional Meeting of UNCSD and UN Secretariat

New York, 22 March 2012

Presented by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), the event “ Green Economy in the Context of Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication: Sharing national experiences on frameworks for action” brought together nearly 100 delegates at the UN informal negotiations on Rio+20.

This event, moderated by Laura Trevelyan, BBC, discussed national experiences in addressing green economy and sustainable development.

Nikhil Seth, UN DESA, making opening remarks on behalf of the three UN agencies said that green economy will provide opportunities for employment and the youth, called for focusing on practical implementation rather than on theoretical definitions.

René Orellana, Ministry of Environment, Bolivia, cautioned against prejudging what a green economy entails, noting that the concept is being addressed in the negotiations. Mr. Orellana noted that while a number of initiatives are being undertaken by countries, these are in the context of their sustainable development efforts, and not necessarily driven by a green economy agenda.

Dana Kartakusuma, Assistant Minister, Ministry of Environment, Indonesia, said green economy is low-carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive. He highlighted experiences, including a programme on business environmental performance rating.

Ndonye Parkinson, Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources, Kenya, mentioned that his country does not have a policy on green economy but undertook numerous programmes, such as “green school programmes” and “green cities”. He underscored the creation of a steering committee on green economy to provide advice to the government.

Mohamed Nbou, Ministry of Energy, Mining, Water and Environment, Morocco, highlighted the creation of a national strategy to move forward the transition to a green economy focusing on key sectors, such as renewable energy, waste and water. He highlighted how Morocco has set a number of specific targets and estimated the potential job creation through such initiatives, while contribute to advancing the social development objectives. Mr. Nbou also noted that a new constitutional reform in Morocco is putting environment at a center stage.

Sheila Marie Encabo, National Economic and Development Authority, the Philippines, highlighted that the Philippines created a Council for Sustainable Development in 1992, with participation of civil society. She noted that developing countries would need support and international cooperation on technology, financing, capacity building among other in order to pursue their national initiatives. She also cautioned against the potential use of trade barriers, while noting that open markets can be beneficial to a green economy.

Charles McNeill, UNDP, announced the Equator Prize winners for 2012, saying that the official ceremony will take place during Rio+20 at a high level event. He acknowledged the leading role of local and indigenous communities world-wide in realizing green economies and pioneering innovative solutions.

In the ensuing discussion, participants addressed: linking green economy to poverty eradication; indicators for green economy; and consideration of women in the green economy. Participants raised questions about the fact that while countries participating in the panel presented a number of successful and encouraging actions, these do not seem to be reflected in the status of negotiations at New York.