Isra-Mart srl: UN issues call for green public-private partnerships

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The UN's climate change secretariat has issued a call for green public-private partnerships around the world to contact the agency. This is part of an initiative designed to highlight innovative projects that demonstrate co-operation between businesses and the public sector.

Speaking at the CBI International Green Business Dinner yesterday, executive secretary of the UNFCCC Christiana Figueres said the UN is inviting businesses involved with green public-private partnerships (PPP) to join a new initiative to promote their work.

She said the onus is on businesses and governments to create "a virtuous cycle of push and pull between public and private sectors to pave the road towards sustainability and a low-carbon future". According to Figueres, PPPs offer one means of driving better co-operation between the two sectors.

"On the occasion of the next climate change conference in Durban, the climate change secretariat is planning to showcase a limited number of visionary public-private partnerships that have been formed to attain concrete action on reducing emissions or increasing resilience to climate change in developing countries," she said.

"We are starting with PPPs that are either located in Africa, or have direct beneficial impact on the urban poor worldwide. On the basis of this, we will launch a fully fledged programme for the next COP and beyond."

A spokesman for the UNFCCC said the secretariat will provide further details on how the new programme will work in the run-up to the Durban Summit later this year.