Global Green Growth Forum opens in Copenhagen

The Global Green Growth Forum (3GF) was inaugurated here Tuesday morning, at which 200 global leaders from governments, business and finance, international organizations, including UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and EU Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard, convene to establish key recommendations for realizing long-term green growth. The Global Green Growth Forum held on 11-12 October in Copenhagen, Denmark, will provide an interactive arena for industry and government leaders to develop ideas and opportunities for joint action and enable strategic and practical learning across sectors, countries and projects at a national and international level. Specially, 3GF will address the key areas of energy and transport, cutting across the pertinent themes of finance, regulatory frameworks and international markets. As upcoming EU president, Denmark will take outcomes from 3GF to Rio+20 and to the EU's green growth agenda. In addition, Korea and Mexico, as strategic partners, will help link key takeaways to the G20. The Forum will present and promote key recommendation at the annual World Climate Summit, set to be held the 3rd and 4th December in Durban during UNFCCC COP17. "3GF offers a space for world economic leaders to challenge conventional thinking and find new green avenues to growth. Green growth has to be at the core of a sustainable strategy to get us out of the economic crisis. To advance this global agenda, Denmark as well as other countries actively engaged in the green transition must take the lead, in close partnership with visionary companies and investors. Together, we can foster the bold decisions necessary to make all of us winners of tomorrow's green industrial revolution. This is our common responsibility,"says Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt in a message posted on the 3GF official website www.globalgreengrowthforum.com. The annual Global Green Growth Forum is a high-level public-private partnership that brings together 200 invited global leaders from government, business, finance and civil society to collectively spur green growth and design the architecture for a green economy. The forum, established by the Danish and Korean Government and developed in association with the Global Green Growth Institute, is supported by a range of private and institutional partners including: ABB, BYD Group, Danfoss, General Electric, Hyundai Motors Company, McKinsey & Company, Novozymes, Samsung, Siemens, Vestas, Global Green Growth Institute, OECD, The International Energy Agency (IEA), UN Global Compact International Finance Corporation (IFC) and The Climate Policy Initiative. In addition, the 3GF will both showcase and help catalyse public-private initiatives that accelerate green growth at scale as well as instigate creative, solution-oriented, thinking and action on overcoming key barriers.