For information only - not an official document
UNIS/OUS/104
12 October 2011
Director-General Yumkella Says UNIDO's Green Industry Concept Will Catalyze Green Growth
COPENHAGEN/VIENNA, 12 October (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) - The Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Kandeh K. Yumkella, said today that his organization's Green Industry concept is proving to be a crucial element of a green economy and if implemented worldwide, would further green growth.
"Green Industry and the Greening of Industries, concepts coined by UNIDO in the last few years, are helping place sustainable industrial development in the context of new global sustainability challenges. Together we can make the global transition to a green growth pathway work," said Yumkella, who is taking part in the annual Global Green Growth Forum (3GF) together with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
The 3GF was established by the Danish Government in partnership with the South Korean Government and developed in association with the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), as a global public-private partnership for green growth.
This year, the high-level public-private partnership brings together some 200 global leaders from government, business, finance and civil society to collectively spur green growth and design the architecture for a green economy.
"For our future to be sustainable and economically viable, we have to ensure that our industry does not harm the environment and will not lead to global climate change. This is what Green Industry is all about. UNIDO is helping developing countries secure resource-efficient low-carbon growth, create new green jobs while at the same time protecting the environment. We also help developing countries move to clean technologies and implement environmental agreements, including the Montreal Protocol," said Yumkella.
Green Industry means economies striving for a more sustainable pathway of growth, by undertaking green investments and implementing public policy initiatives that encourage environmentally responsible private investments. Greening of Industry is a method to attain sustainable economic growth and promote sustainable economies. It includes policymaking, improved industrial production processes and resource-efficient productivity.
Yumkella commended the ongoing close cooperation with the Republic of Korea, noting that in March 2011, UNIDO and the Ministry of Knowledge Economy agreed to strengthen cooperation and identify joint projects and activities in the fields of green growth technology and low-carbon industrial development.
Joint research on the impact of green industrial investment on global employment will be carried out by UNIDO and the Korea Global Green Growth Institute, a co-organizer of the conference in Copenhagen.
UNIDO is also working to expand collaboration with Korean research institutes including the Korea Institute of Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET) in the field of industrial studies and policy analysis in developing countries and with the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) in the field of metrology.
For more information on the Copenhagen conference, please see: http://www.globalgreengrowthforum.com/
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For more information on UNIDO, please contact:
Mikhail
Evstafyev
UNIDO Advocacy and Communication Coordinator
Telephone: (+43-1) 26026-5021
Mobile: (+43-699) 1459-7329
Email: M.Evstafyev[at]unido.org
