By Jun Ji-hye
Seoul officially launched an international body for “green growth," Thursday, to simultaneously target economic performance and environmental sustainability, according to its secretariat.
“An agreement to change the Seoul think tank into an international body became effective today,” the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), the first international organization led by Korea, said in a press conference held at the Korea Press Foundation in Seoul.
Under international law, at least three countries’ are needed to ratify such a change of status and the agreement takes effect 30 days after the third ratification is confirmed.
GGGI became eligible for an international body on Sep. 18, when Kiribati became the third country to approve the treaty following Demark and Guyana. It now has ratification from four countries, including the Philippines.
The institute said, “It is an open and global laboratory with aims to spread green growth models as alternative development strategies to support emerging countries' eco-friendly growth.”
“It is currently working on 24 such projects in 17 countries, including Brazil.”
When Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik visited Denmark to attend Global Green Growth Forum (3GF) earlier this month, he introduced the institute to international figures during his speech in the opening session.
In 2009, when he attended the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) conference President Lee Myung-bak said, “We hope to share our knowledge with others so that we can all have a greener, more sustainable future. This is why Korea will establish the GGGI.”
The GGGI had been initially founded as a non-profit foundation on June, 2010 under South Korean legislation. The current chairman is Lars Rasmussen, former Prime Minister of Denmark and current leader of the Liberal Party.
The inaugural meetings of its assembly and council will be held next week, and some 300 officials from 18 member countries are expected to attend, the secretariat said.