NAIROBI, 30 October 2013 - To show its commitment to facilitating a global transformation to a green economy, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced this week that it will host the first global conference on the UN Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) from 4-5 March 2014.
The UAE extended this offer at the Partnership Forum on PAGE as part of the South-South Development Expo, being hosted by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) this week. Panellists included officials from PAGE participating countries ? Mongolia, Peru and the UAE as well as representatives from the founding organizations: UNEP, ILO, UNIDO and UNITAR.
"I would like to thank the UAE for offering to host this important event. This week’s Global South-South Development Expo has underlined the enthusiasm and the action by so many countries towards an inclusive green economy transformation,” said Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director, said. “The conference next March in the UAE provides an opportunity for more nations to consider how joining the PAGE initiative can assist in their transition towards a low-carbon, resource-efficient, employment-generating economy.”
The inaugural PAGE conference, under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, ruler of Dubai, demonstrates the UAE’s commitment to support and promote the adoption of the Green Economy at the international level. At the national level, the UAE Government is also advancing its green economy plans through its Ministry of Environment and Water, which is developing a road map and policy recommendations for the UAE Green Growth Strategy announced on January 2012 under the slogan “Green Economy for Sustainable Development”.
In addition, the UAE, in close collaboration with the PAGE partners, will invite high-level government representatives and policymakers to take part in the meeting, and has generously offered to fund up to 100 participants from low-income countries.
The conference will be an opportunity to review the progress on implementing the Green Economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication following Rio+20, and also a chance to consider how greener economies can contribute to the emerging post-2015 development agenda and new global architecture for sustainability. Moreover, the conference will explore the context of the social benefits of transitioning to inclusive, environmentally friendly and resource-efficient green economies.
The PAGE partnership was launched earlier this year in response to country-led demand for support and training on how to implement green economy policies and best practices. The Rio+20 declaration, The Future We Want, also asked UN entities to support countries interested in making this transition by providing them with the tools and resources.
Drawing on the expertise of its various members, PAGE assists participating states to build enabling conditions by shifting investment and policies towards the creation of a new generation of assets, such as clean technologies, resource-efficient infrastructure, well-functioning ecosystems, green skilled labour and good governance.
As evidence has increasingly shown, transitioning to a green economy is at the heart of job creation, cleaner production, capacity building and natural resource management ? all of which are essential components for building a more sustainable future.
