Geneva
As part of the preparations of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in June 2012, UNESCO and UNECE, together with the Collegium International, co-host the UNESCO Future Forum and UNECE Public-Private Roundtable on Green Economy on the theme Challenges for a Green Economy and Green Societies: Attitudes, Policies, Governance.
The United Nations system has responded to the concurrent environmental, economic and social crises by forming a vision of the green economy that aims to improve human well-being and social equality, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities.
The green economy can stimulate economic growth and job creation while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants, enhancing energy and resource efficiency, and sustaining biodiversity and ecosystem services. As such the green economy could be an important element on the pathway towards achieving sustainable development.
As part of their ongoing efforts to further the green economy and green societies, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and Collegium International see this Roundtable as a means to further the discussion on the green economy and green societies through an interdisciplinary lens, which cuts across its different economic, environmental, health, educational, social, cultural and ethical dimensions.
The economic paradigm shift towards the green economy and the global scale of the problems facing us can only be successful through a collective drive to build responsible global governance to regulate how humankind will interact with the biosphere. This requires the establishment of a more coherent institutional framework for sustainable development. It should be based on a clear recognition of the well-established mandates, experience and comparative advantages of United Nations specialized agencies, funds and programmes in the area of the sustainable development, and on their operational, technical and/or normative programmes, at global, regional and national levels. Good governance for sustainable development moreover requires adequate frameworks at the local and regional levels, which include civil society, public and private partners, academia and marginalised groups.
The Roundtable will bring together high-level public and private sector figures to forge the way forward towards a collective and actionable outcome which will put the world on the path towards a green economy and green societies through improved international governance.
For RSVP or further information please click on the programme or contact Laura Altinger at [email protected]
Ref: ECE/ENV/11/P18