VIENNA, 29 June 2021 – The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Permanent Mission of Japan to the International Organizations in Vienna have convened the opening session of ‘Partnering for ISID: New challenges and opportunities for the UNIDO-Japan cooperation’ to discuss new opportunities to promote inclusive and sustainable industrial development (ISID) during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his remarks, UNIDO’s Director General, LI Yong, said that, “ISID is to be driven by partnerships in development cooperation. The unprecedented socioeconomic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic clearly highlights what was already known before: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its goals cannot be achieved in isolation. We need solidarity to emerge stronger from the crisis. We have to accelerate the necessary change for a greener solution for industries that also drives people out of poverty and marginalization.”
Takeshi Hikihara, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Japan to the International Organizations based in Vienna. mentioned that “This crisis has disrupted global supply chains and investment flows. It is a most serious stress test to our development mechanism. We have to respond with the resilience of our industries, sustained by vigorous investment and technology transfer. And in this challenge, UNIDO has a major role to play. UNIDO is assisting developing countries to fight against the pandemic, and to build back better on their route towards achieving the SDGs.”
The opening session was immediately followed by the webinar session on “Accelerating the circular economy and carbon neutrality for ISID and a green recovery”. The webinar aimed to provide a deeper understanding of the relevance of the circular economy and a carbon-neutral industry, and was attended by the prominent speakers from international organizations, national governments, and the business and financial sectors.
During the session, Stephan Sicars, Managing Director, UNIDO Directorate of Environment and Energy, stressed that “the circular economy is necessary to address many of the Sustainable Development Goals, including climate change. UNIDO, together with its Member States, has already been working on the various building blocks. Global community will further mainstream the concept for advancing pathway towards inclusive, resilient and low-carbon economies.”
Hiroshi Ono, Director-General, Global Environment Bureau, Ministry of Environment of Japan (MOEJ), mentioned that “Through “Platform for Redesign 2020”, MOEJ promotes the transition to “decarbonized society, circular economy and decentralized society” towards the creation of virtuous cycle of environmental protection and economic growth. MOEJ will mobilize private sector engagement through policy measures and support, such as the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM).”
Rose Mwebaza, Director of the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) noted that there is a vast scope to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by applying circular principles, notably reuse, remanufacturing and recycling to key sectors such as the built environment. CTCN can provide technical assistance, capacity building, knowledge sharing and networking supports for advancing actions by the countries towards development, transfer, deployment, and dissemination of climate technologies.
Hideaki Makino, Executive Director, Japan Chemical Industry Association, explained that “Efficient and circular use of plastic is urgent in the context of limited resources, growing population, plastic litter and climate change. The chemical industry plays a central role in fostering innovation to address these issues and can contribute to mitigation of climate change.”
Yoko Chivers, Head of SDGs Finance, Capital Markets, SMBC Nikko Securities Inc., introduced the Green, Social, Sustainability and Sustainability-Linked Bond (GSS) market which is currently extremely dynamic, seeing USD460 billion of issuance in 2020 with cumulative issuance exceeding USD 1 trillion. Diversification of the sources and expansion of volumes are expected further this year considering the appetite as the world recovers from the COVID crises.
Moderated by Tareq Emtairah, Director, Department of Energy, UNIDO, the webinar facilitated exchanges of views and knowledge from divergent lenses. The discussion addressed implications of addressing the circular economy and a carbon neutral industry within a nexus and how they could be leveraged to achieve the SDGs in a greener recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.
Please find the event page here.
For more information, please contact:
Naoki Torii, UNIDO Email
Nahomi Nishio, UNIDO Email
