UN brings together business leaders for green solutions for a 'Global Green New Deal'

(UNEP) - The Business for the Environment Global Summit, now in its third year, is the world’s leading international conference for business-driven action for the environment. As the world struggles with a deep economic recession, the conference will highlight the green solutions that can turn crisis into opportunity.

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNEP, said: “Today’s crises are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a transition to a low carbon, resource efficient society. Business has a key role to play in this transformational process, and the B4E summit is a crucial opportunity to bring together key decision-makers to sharpen and discuss their role in delivering a Green Economy.”

Participants to B4E will include the Chief Executives of Suzlon, Suntech, Alcatel-Lucent and Siemens France, as well as the seven inspirational laureates of the 2009 UNEP Champions of the Earth awards, who will be announced in an award ceremony on April 22nd.

With a focus on a new, green economy driven by leadership, technology and innovation, the summit will bring together participants from more than 30 countries to make the connection between the environment and global economic recovery.

Delegates will learn how to identify and manage the challenges posed by climate change, and explore the many opportunities of investing in a green economy.

The two-day conference will feature sessions on the Green Economy Initiative, innovation and technology, policy, resource efficiency, the extractives industry, and the global water crisis among other key topics.

The event is also held in conjunction with the UNEP Champions of the Earth 2009 awards presentation on 22 April, which is also Earth Day. The seven laureates – all of whom are inspirational environmental leaders – are the living proof that amid today’s environmental and economic crises lay unprecedented opportunities for innovative solutions, fresh approaches and dynamic leadership, from policy action to grassroots initiatives.

The Business for the Environment conference comes on the heels of the UNEP Global Green New Deal Policy Brief, which advises policymakers on the key areas where investment is required in order to power sustainable economic recovery.

The Policy Brief argues that investing just one per cent of global GDP, or around $750 billion, into five key sectors could be the key to realizing a Global Green New Deal that in turn can set the stage for a Green Economy The five sectors, from renewable energy to freshwaters, could in conjunction with other measures play an important role in reviving the global economy and boosting employment while accelerating the fight against climate change, environmental degradation and poverty.

The Business for the Environment Summit is co-hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme and the UN Global Compact. The event is organized by UNEP and Global Initiatives, and supported by leading international organizations including MEDEF (the French Employers Confederation), the AFP Foundation, WWF, Greenpeace, Business for Social Responsibility and many others.

In the margins of the summit, a Media Seminar, co-organised with the AFP Foundation on 21 April, will be the opportunity for journalists to learn more about climate change, the Global Green New Deal and how the environment can feed into global economic recovery. The seminar will feature Pavan Sukhdev, UNEP Project Leader on The Green Economy, as well as participants from the B4E Summit.

For more information, visit to www.b4esummit.com and www.unep.org/greeneconomy.