The International Conference on Green Industry in Asia, Manila, 9-11 September

Managing the transition to resource-efficient and low-carbon industries

Rapid economic growth in Asia has lifted millions of people out of poverty. But unrelenting population growth, rapid urbanization, motorization and industrialization have led to greater consumption of energy, water and materials. It has also contributed to natural resource depletion, environmental degradation and higher greenhouse gas emissions. This puts at risk the social and economic gains made by countries in the region over the past decades.
UNIDO’s Green Industry Initiative seeks to respond to this challenge in concert with UNEP’s Green Economy Initiative, UN-ESCAP’s Green Growth Strategy and ILO’s Green Jobs initiative.

The central message is simple: in the rapidly industrializing economies of Asia, a low-carbon and resource-efficient pattern of industrial development will be key to ensuring rapid economic growth and protection of the environment.  Countries that follow a sustainable pattern of industrial development will be better placed to exploit the new market opportunities created by the shift towards resource-efficient and low-carbon production processes.

The International Conference on Green Industry in Asia, hosted by the Philippine Government in cooperation with UNIDO, UNEP and ESCAP will have as its theme, “Managing the Transition to Resource-Efficient and Low-Carbon Industries”. It will bring together some 700 decision makers, business leaders and eminent experts. 

• Policy makers will: be better informed of other countries’ policies to shift industry to low-carbon and resource efficient development paths; benefit from the exchange of relevant experiences; learn how best to encourage industry to prevent waste and pollution; and interact and dialogue with other policy-makers in the region, business leaders and prominent experts.

• Business representatives will: better understand the opportunities from the greening of industries; meet other business representatives engaged in or interested in green business ventures; learn about financing for green business ventures; find out about cleaner production methods to reduce production costs, increase profits and cut waste and pollution; interact and dialogue with policy-makers, eminent experts and business leaders.

• Experts will: learn from the experiences and practical insights of policy makers and business leaders in the region; add value to their knowledge about resource-efficiency and low-carbon industrial development in Asia; and interact and engage in dialogue with policy-makers, business leaders and experts from the region.

The conference is expected to endorse a Ministerial Declaration and Plan of Action that would outline the steps needed to reduce the resource intensity and greenhouse gas emissions of industries in Asia and track progress towards a low-carbon industrial future.

More info:http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=7782