OSCE Programme Office in Astana promotes regional Green Bridge Partnership Programme
ASTANA, 13 November 2015 – An OSCE-supported international conference on the Green Bridge Partnership Programme (GBPP) as platform for promoting best practices and innovations in a green economy took place today in Astana, Kazakhstan.
The event was organized by the Energy Ministry and the Coalition for a Green Economy and G-Global with support of the OSCE Programme Office in Astana and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It brought together more than 150 parliamentarians, government officials, researchers, academics, entrepreneurs, civil society activists, representative of Armenia, Estonia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Turkey as well as of the Asian Development Bank, the European Commission, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank.
Discussions focused on ways to implement the GBPP to address the technology transfer in the energy security sector, offer new economic opportunities for sustainable development and help increase the competitiveness of countries in the global market through the transfer and use of green technologies. Participants also exchanged experience and best practices in the transition to a green economy as part of international efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change.
They developed recommendations on how to better use the GBPP to promote good governance and transparency in the energy sector, encourage sustainable energy solutions and raise awareness on the link between energy security and climate change. On 14 October, the First Green Bridge Youth Forum will showcase opportunities for innovation.
“Since 2010 the OSCE mission in Astana has supported in word and deed the development of the Green Bridge as a regional programme to promote the transfer of know-how to reach a goal of sustainable production and consumption,” said Natalia Zarudna, Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Astana. “Such initiatives not only aim at enhancing energy efficiency andthe use of renewable energy but contribute to the energy security of the region.”
“The conference aims to unite the efforts of partners for the implementation of new global projects by taking advantage of the high political status of the GBPP,” Energy Minister Vladimir Shkolnik said. “The final documents should include the commitment for advancing the programme in spirit of the new climatic agreement to be adopted at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris.”
The GBPP was initiated by Kazakhstan in 2010 with the aim of building global partnerships for promoting greener economies and green growth. It was supported by the Sixth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development in Asia and the Pacific, and in 2012 was endorsed by the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Brazil. Currently, the GBPP Charter has been signed by 14 countries and 12 NGOs
The event is part of the OSCE Programme Office’s long-term efforts at promoting renewable energy and green growth policies in the host country.