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| UNIDO Director General Li Yong |
Events such as the 4th international Green Industry Conference allow leaders and key actors to engage in critical debate on how to move from a linear to a circular economy, Li Yong, director general of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), said Tuesday.
"This is always an opportunity to share best practices, technologies and best policy strategies for application to the green industry," said Li, in this case, the "Ulsan experience" in particular. "We will also discuss the crucial contribution of industrialization to the achievement of sustainable urban development, which will be promoted at the U.N. Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) Oct. 17-20, Quito, Ecuador," he said in an interview held at the Lotte Hotel in Ulsan, southeastern Korea.
Li is in Korea for the three-day international conference hosted by UNIDO and the Ulsan Metropolitan City
Asked what "green industry" is, Li said, "We at UNIDO use the term green industry to mean economically viable industry that does not harm the environment."
As cities are economic drivers of national growth and the location of growing environmental concerns, cities have a key role in advancing green industrial polices, he said.
"Also, often industry is located at urban and peri-urban levels. Therefore integrated planning between cities and industries is necessary, so that industrial facilities can coexist with urban settings in a sustainable way," Li said.
Li said UNIDO has actually been working on the issue since launching the "green industry initiative" in 2009. The initiative is part of UNIDO's broader mandate to promote inclusive and sustainable industrial development.
Asked what are the critical issues in countries, cities and businesses in going green, LI said "We should change mindsets," which is not as difficult as before as people generally agree on sustainability. Li then said the right policy and strategy, and the public and the private working in partnership were necessary.
Li, who took office in June 2013, has had an extensive career as a senior economic and financial policymaker. He was China's vice minister of finance and member of its central bank's monetary policy committee for a decade. He was involved in fiscal, monetary and industrial policies and in supporting sound economic growth in China.
He was a key official in China's cooperation with such multilateral development organizations as the World Bank Group and the Asian Development Bank.
"Ulsan represents a great example of how cities can become sustainable through green industry. While Ulsan is the country's single largest manufacturing hub, it has been successful in promoting environmental restoration and converting conventional industrial complexes into eco-industrial parks through inter-industry waste, energy and material exchange," Li said.
He also noted how Korea has been a leader in green growth.
"As UNIDO marks its 50th anniversary this year, we are proud to have the Republic of Korea as one of our member states, and that it has been with UNIDO since our first days," Li said. Li said that UNIDO's Investment and Technology Promotion Office in Seoul has not only been an active partner in making this conference happen but is also responsible for connecting Korean SMEs with development opportunities globally.
"Korea is well-positioned to contribute substantively to future discussions on green industry, fostering the exchange of knowledge and best practices."
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