The 2019 Americas Regional Ministerial Conference on Green Economy is organized by the World Green Economy Organization in close cooperation with the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, the Brazil Africa Institute, and in partnership with a number of key stakeholders.
The 2019 Americas Regional Ministerial Conference on Green Economy is generously hosted by the Government of the State of Ceará, Brazil.
The World Green Economy Organization (WGEO, http://worldgreeneconomy.org) emerged in response to the priorities and concerns identified from Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012 as an organization intended to support emerging global actions towards the green, low-carbon, climate-resilient development model. WGEO seeks to promote the widespread acceptance and increased importance of the green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication, by linking financing, technology, capacity-building and all other elements of the enabling environment for green economy.
The purpose of WGEO is to provide systematic, holistic and catalytic support in the promotion of widespread acceptance and increased importance of the green economy at national, regional and global levels. More specifically, the objectives of WGEO are:
The United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC, https://www.unsouthsouth.org) was established to promote, coordinate and support South-South and triangular cooperation globally and within the United Nations system.
UNOSSC, hosted by UNDP since 1974, was established by the UN General Assembly with a mandate to advocate for and coordinate South-South and triangular cooperation on a global and UN system-wide basis. UNOSSC receives policy directives and guidance from the General Assembly and through its subsidiary body, the High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation. UNOSSC submits its strategic planning frameworks to the UNDP, UNFPA and UNOPS Executive Board for approval and funding. The Director reports to the UNDP Administrator and has also been appointed Envoy of the Secretary-General on South-South Cooperation.
The United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation:
Ceará is one of the 27 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is the eighth-largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. The state capital is the city of Fortaleza, the country’s fourth most populous city.
The Government of the State of Ceará (https://www.ceara.gov.br ) undertakes systematic efforts in supporting the transition to a green economy as an important prerequisite for achieving sustainable development.
The efforts undertaken by the Government of the State of Ceará are based on the understanding that the mounting pressure on the world’s country’s resources and the immense climate and environmental challenges have placed sustainability on top of the development agenda.
Considering that sustainability is the investment in the future economic growth, new market opportunities and job creation the Government is determined to identify innovative ways of optimizing the economic activities in the State of Ceará.
ESCAP provides a forum for its member States to promote regional cooperation and collective action in pursuit of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals, assisting countries to achieve shared economic growth and social equity. In addition, ESCAP gives stronger participation to the smaller and often left out voices of the region, the least developed countries, the small island developing States and landlocked developing States.
ESCAP’s norm setting and policy work ultimately impacts people’s lives in a positive way by helping countries shape and implement a more balanced and inclusive development agenda for the region.
ESCAP is committed to a resilient Asia and the Pacific founded on shared prosperity, social equity and sustainability. Our vision is to be the most comprehensive multilateral platform for promoting cooperation among member States to achieve inclusive and sustainable economic and social development in Asia and the Pacific.
Brazil Africa Institute (IBRAF, https://ibraf.org) is a non-profit organization aiming to promote the engagement between Brazil and the African continent, championing economic development for governments and private sector’s interests.
IBRAF’s mission is to facilitate socio, political and cultural rapprochement between Brazil and the African continent, focusing its actions on economic and social development and promotion, combating poverty, valuing ethics, peace, citizenship, respect for human rights, democracy and other universal values.
The Organization aims to facilitate an open debate between government agents, academics and entrepreneurs on issues of interests to Brazil and Africa. It designs proposals for the formulation of cooperation policy between Brazil and Africa, as well as it draws up strategic plans for the potential opportunities for cooperation of Brazilian companies with the African continent and vice versa in different areas.
Headquartered in San Francisco, The Asia Foundation works through a network of offices in 18 Asian countries and in Washington, DC. Working with public and private partners, the Foundation receives funding from a diverse group of bilateral and multilateral development agencies, foundations, corporations, and individuals.
The UNFCCC secretariat (UN Climate Change, https://unfccc.int) was established in 1992 when countries adopted the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
With the subsequent adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 and the Paris Agreement in 2015, Parties to these three agreements have progressively reaffirmed the secretariat’s role as the United Nations entity tasked with supporting the global response to the threat of climate change.
Focusing in its early years largely on facilitating the intergovernmental climate change negotiations, the secretariat today supports a complex architecture of bodies that serve to advance the implementation of the Convention, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement.
The secretariat provides technical expertise and assists in the analysis and review of climate change information reported by Parties and in the implementation of the Kyoto mechanisms. It also maintains the registry for Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) established under the Paris Agreement, a key aspect of implementation of the Paris Agreement.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP, https://www.undp.org) works in about 170 countries and territories, helping to achieve the eradication of poverty, and the reduction of inequalities and exclusion. UNDP helps countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities and build resilience in order to sustain development results.
In September 2015, world leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. UNDP is working to strengthen new frameworks for development, disaster risk reduction and climate change. UNDP supports countries’ efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, or Global Goals, which will guide global development priorities through 2030.
UNDP’s strength comes from having the trust of developing countries, owing to our impartial character, longstanding presence and commitment to the poorest and most vulnerable. UNDP also plays a key role as the support platform of the wider UN Development System, helping agencies work together for sustainable development.
The International Solar Alliance (ISA, http://isolaralliance.org) is a treaty-based international intergovernmental organization established by the parties to collectively address key common challenges to the scaling up of solar energy in line with their needs. The goal is to mobilize more than USD1,000 billion into solar sector and to accelerate the development and deployment of over 1,000GW of solar generation capacity by 2030 in ISA Member countries.
As of now 74 countries have signed and 52 countries have ratified the Framework Agreement on the Establishment of the ISA. The Membership of the ISA is now open for all the UN Member countries (ratification procedure under progress). The ISA aims to directly impact the SDG 7(Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all) and SDG 13 (Take urgent action to combat climate change) while striking a balance between the two.
The ISA rests on a strong governance structure which includes: Assembly, eight committees: standing committee, programmme committee, general and legal, finance committee along with 4 regional committees. Six task forces, two working Groups and a global ecosystem of partners help ISA keep the pace.
