VIENNA, AUSTRIA and SEOUL, KOREA — The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Ministry of Knowledge Economy of the Republic of Korea agreed today to strengthen cooperation and identify joint projects and activities in the fields of green growth technology and low-carbon industrial development.
An agreement on this was signed in Vienna today by UNIDO Director-General, Kandeh K. Yumkella, and the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Kim Jung-gwan.
“We agreed today, among other matters, to jointly focus on analytical work on policy advice to developing countries on green growth and low-carbon policies and strategies, technology transfer for green growth and low-carbon industrial development, renewable energy, smart grids and the clean development mechanism,” said Yumkella.
UNIDO believes that a transition to a Green Economy must include the promotion of clean technologies in various industrial sectors. It is for this reason that a number of Asian countries adopted in 2009 the UNIDO Green Industry Initiative. “This partnership with the Korean Government and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) will provide significant opportunities for knowledge transfer and capacity building for developing countries as they expand their Green Economy strategies,” said Yumkella.
The Green Industry Initiative aims to create awareness, knowledge and capacities in those legislative bodies responsible for environmental issues within client countries. UNIDO works with governments to support industrial institutions that in turn provide assistance to enterprises and entrepreneurs in all aspects relating to the greening of industry.
“The Ministry of Knowledge Economy has a successful development experience and national vision of low-carbon green growth that can serve as a model for developing countries and contribute to their sustainable industrial development,” said Kim.
In order to further the strategic partnership around green growth, UNIDO Managing Director, Wilfried Luetkenhorst, met today in Seoul with Deputy Foreign Minister in charge of Multilateral and Global Affairs, Kim Bong-hyuan; the Vice-President of the Korea International Cooperation Agency KOICA, Cho Won-ho; and the Deputy Executive Director of the GGGI, Jung Tae-yong. They discussed concrete areas of cooperation and approaches towards transferring the Korean development expertise to developing countries.
UNIDO and the Ministry of Knowledge Economy of the Republic of Korea will also work in support of the Rio+20 preparatory process, and intend to prepare joint publications on green growth and green industry.
