— innovative ‘green’ investment through Private-Public Partnerships among areas of discussion

By Svetlana Marshall in Brazil

THE 2019 Americas Regional Ministerial Conference on Green Economy opens today at the Ceara Events Centre in Fortaleza, northeastern Brazil.

The high-level Green Economy forum, an extension of the World Green Economy Summit, is intended to raise regional awareness by showcasing and scaling up the impact of evidence-based ‘green economy’ solutions, already proven to be successful by countries in the Americas, in addressing sustainable development challenges. The conference, therefore, focuses on three main thematic areas, namely: Improving regulatory and policy frameworks for a Green Economy, promoting innovative green investment through public-private partnerships, and advancing national-level capacity development for a holistic ‘green’ action.

During the high-level opening ceremony, Chairman of the World Green Economy Organisation (WGEO), Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer; Chief State Secretary of the Government of the Brazilian State of Ceará, José Élcio Batista; United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative to Brazil, Katyna Argueta; and President of Brazil Africa Institute, Professor João Bosco Monte will deliver remarks. Notably, Director and United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Representative, Regional Hub in Mexico, Guillermo Castella Lorenzo, is scheduled to deliver the keynote address.

Immediately after the opening ceremony, Guyana’s Education Minister, Nicolette Henry will join Panama’s Minister of Environment, Emilio Sempris, and Panama’s Minister of Health, Miguel Mayo in a panel discussion on enabling policy and regulatory frameworks for a Green Economy. They will also be joined by Ecuador’s Vice-Minister of Environment, Michael Castañeda; and Roberto Liz, the Director of Social and Economic Development in the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development of the Dominican Republic.

HOMEGROWN SOLUTIONS
Building on specific examples of successful homegrown solutions, the ministers, during the panel discussion, will explore opportunities that that exist nowadays in the region of the Americas in achieving impactful and noticeable transition to a Green Economy. It is believed that in an effort to effectively transition to a Green Economy, countries must have in place an enabling policy and legislative environment that would draw general economic activities to Green Sectors through attractive investment and business development opportunities.

It is expected that Minister Henry, during her deliberations, will discuss Guyana’s recently completed Green State Development Strategy (GSDS) Vision 2040. The GSDS is intended to guide the management of the country’s natural resource wealth, support economic resilience, and build human capital and institutional capacity.

A breakout session by the International Solar Alliance (ISA) on Social Investment, ‘Transition to a Green Economy’, is among the highlights for Tuesday. This session will primarily focus on the impact that investment and innovation in solar energy can have on the sustainable economy of developing countries.

ENERGY TRANSITION
“Today the world is experiencing an energy transition, where renewables, and solar in particular, are no longer just a subsidy-enabled option, but are cost-competitive with conventional fuels. On average, more jobs are created for each unit of electricity generated from renewable sources than from fossil fuels. This will force other energy providers to stay competitively-priced and therefore make it easier for more people to have access to electricity,” the World Green Economy Organisation said as it explained the importance of transitioning to a Green Economy.

Vice-Minister, New Energies and Rational and Efficient use of Energy, Ministry of Electrical Energy, Venezuela, Manuel Contreras Hernandez is scheduled to deliver an address on this critical issue of adapting to a Green Economy. Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), Mahender Sharma is also scheduled to discuss this very important topic, alongside Bolivia’s Vice-Minister of Electricity and Alternative Energies, and Vice-President, Sustainable Development, Corporación Andina de Fomento, Julián Suárez.

The three-day Green Economy conference is organised by the World Green Economy Organisation in close cooperation with the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, and the Brazil-Africa Institute, in partnership with a number of key stakeholders. It is hosted by the Government of the State of Ceará, Brazil.

Noting that Green Economy offers vast opportunities in eradicating poverty, as well as sustaining economic growth, the World Green Economy Organisation has explained “the Regional Ministerial Conference on Green Economy is intended to create an open and conducive knowledge-sharing setting aimed to support the participants in further improving their understanding on the trends and opportunities on the way towards advancing Green Economy agenda in the Americas Region.” It also presents a strategic networking opportunity for all green economy champions and actors active in the Americas Region.

“The 2019 Americas Regional Ministerial Conference on Green Economy, is a result of the success of the annual since 2014, World Green Economy Summit model, and a direct response to the requests of participating countries and institutional partners to bring ‘green’ solutions closer to the regional contexts, and to deepen the impact of transition to a ‘green’ economy through scaling up and replication of successful practices at the regional level,” the World Green Economy Organisation explained. The World Green Economy Summit is one of the leading annual global forums that brings together world-class experts to focus on advancing the global Green Economy agenda and the path towards the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda 2030.