UNUnited Nations Economic Commission for Europe

Press Release

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UNECE, UN-HABITAT and partners hold green infrastructure events in run-up to Rio+20

Geneva, 4 March 2011 --

As part of the preparatory committee meeting for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, UNECE, UN-HABITAT and their partners will hold a side event promoting green infrastructure development.

Held in conjunction with Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI), the Network of Regional Governments for Sustainable Development (nrg4SD) and the London Business School Alumni Carbon Club (LBSACC), the aim of the session is to share experiences and explore approaches to enhance action by cities towards the green economy.

Cities have a vital role to play in the realization of sustainable development and poverty eradication in the context of a Green Economy. As more and more land is converted to urban uses, the patterns that this development assumes within the region around cities will have far-reaching effects both upon the world’s economies, energy use and climate change.

The side event will focus on key areas for infrastructure investment in the energy, buildings, waste and transport sectors. It will showcase a few cases of successful infrastructure investments in different cities and will discuss what worked and why and the policy environment, from the point of view of both mayors and the private sector.

The event will mark the launch of the series UNECE Public-private roundtables on green economy: investing in green infrastructure. The aim of the four roundtables, to take place during 2011, is to bring together private and public sector representatives to develop an actionable outcome for investing in green infrastructure, an important pillar of the green economy, which is expected to serve as input by UNECE into the UNCSD (Rio+20) outcomes.

Please click on the PDF file
Towards the Green Economy: promoting sustainable urban development and green infrastructure investment
Side Event at UNCSD – Rio+20 - PrepCom 2 –New York
Monday 7 March, 1:15 - 2:45 pm

Speakers
Dr. Joan Clos, Executive Director, UN-HABITAT
High Level Representative from Global South (tbc)
Mr. Patxi Lazcoz, Mayor of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain (Winner of the European Green Capital Award)
Mr. Ronan Dantec, Deputy Mayor of Nantes, France (Winner of the European Green Capital Award)
Mr. Matt Delnick, Chief Executive Officer, Greenstar Recycling

Moderator
Mr. Tom Stewart, Booz & Company

For more information, please contact
Press & Media Relations Unit
UN-HABITAT
Tel: +254-20 7623151
[email protected]

The first UNECE Public-Private Roundtable on Green Economy will take place as an associated side event to the PrepCom2 for UNCSD.

Please click on the PDF file
Monday 7 March 2011, 6 - 7.45 p.m.
101 Park Avenue, New York (Booz & Co. offices)

The event will feature high-level representation from the private and public sectors and will showcase successful examples of green infrastructure investment, what worked and how, and discuss the implications for green economy policies.

For further information, and RSVP, please contact Laura Altinger, Climate Change and Green Economy Adviser, Environment Division, UNECE, [email protected].  

Ref: ECE/ENV/11/P04