London
– Responding to an invitation made at the
World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos
by Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of the United
Kingdom, 52 companies have joined forces
with 34 experts and organizations to create
an unprecedented low-carbon prosperity Task
Force.
The Task Force, presented
on 31 March at a press conference in London,
will work with government and UN officials
to develop a set of practical projects and
policy proposals around the world, which
will significantly stimulate the low-carbon
economy from 2010 onward.
An open letter was sent
on 31 March to British Prime Minister Brown,
setting out the Task Force's suggested agenda
for the coming months.
"We believe 2009
is a crucial year for two reasons,"
said Richard Samans, Managing Director of
the World Economic Forum. "The international
community faces the twin challenges of dealing
with the most serious global economic crisis
since the 1930s and negotiating an ambitious
agreement on climate change."
"We suggest that
the two agendas can and should be designed
to be mutually reinforcing," he added.
"Global economic growth and the prospects
for achievement of a UN climate agreement
in Copenhagen later this year can both be
strengthened by placing low-carbon growth
strategies at the heart of economic stimulus
measures now being implemented in many countries."
The main focus for the
Task Force is to identify exactly how to
create millions of green jobs in the short
run and deflect economic growth onto a more
sustainable, low-carbon path for the longer
term.
By working with organizations
such as the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development, the United Nations Environment
Programme, the United Nations Foundation
and others, a key element of the Task Force's
work is to develop practical ideas on how
to get significant flows of green technology
and investment into developing countries
fast.
This will provide a
considerable stimulus in the short run for
developing countries, as well as a long-term
accelerator for sustainable development
and low-carbon growth.
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary
General and Executive Director of the UN
Environment Programme (UNEP), said: "The
G20 governments can, politically and practically,
signal their determination to transform
the current economic crisis into an opportunity
by committing a serious part of the multi-trillion
dollar stimulus packages to low-carbon investments."
"In doing so, they
will be setting the stage for sealing the
deal in Copenhagen, and setting the stage
for a resource efficient, innovation-led
21st century green economy. That is what
business needs to know and that is what
the low-carbon prosperity initiative is
calling for."
Dominic Waughray, Senior
Director and Head of Environmental Initiatives
at the World Economic Forum, said: "A
recovery strategy based on high-carbon energy
sources will not work; it will ultimately
choke itself on rising oil prices and the
impacts of climate change."
"The private sector
is the key delivery agent of the low-carbon
economy," Mr Waughray added. "This
means it is vital to get business to work
with independent thought leaders, expert
NGOs and governments to identify the most
effective ways to accelerate a low-carbon
economic transformation. However, deep dialogue
between these parties on how to actually
build the low-carbon economy has been limited.
This Task Force can change that."
The Task Force will
be organized to take advantage of key meetings
on the international calendar, in particular
the World Business Summit on Climate Change
in Copenhagen; the World Economic Forum
meetings in South Korea, South Africa, China
(Annual Meeting of the New Champions) and
India; and the United Nations General Assembly
in New York in September.
Notes to Editors:
The World Economic Forum
is an independent international organization
committed to improving the state of the
world by engaging leaders in partnerships
to shape global, regional and industry agendas.
Incorporated as a foundation
in 1971, and based in Geneva, Switzerland,
the World Economic Forum is impartial and
not-for-profit; it is tied to no political,
partisan or national interests (http://www.weforum.org).
