EUROCHARITY YEARBOOK 2012/13 INNOVATION FOR EXCELLENCE/ KEYNOTE ARTICLES
The unique initiatives arising from the event included the 21st Century Power Partnership, a project aimed at transforming the power sector by encouraging investing in smarter grids and facilitating cooperation among all stakeholders in a given power system, from the electricity providers to equipment manufacturers. Other initiatives that came about were a natural capital accounting project, and an effort centered on global Energy Efficiency Indicators, and another innovative project on Energy Efficiency Finance. Public-private partnerships of this type are critical if we are going to truly shift the development paradigm from the traditional resource-intensive models of growth that marked the 20th century to greener, more sustainable growth that incorporates measures/policies, finance and technology to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
To be sure, progress is being made, but not quickly enough. The development community needs to do more to convince the private sector that it is in their long-term interests to invest in green growth policies and to convince policy makers to provide incentives for such investments. If we can successfully secure commitments from both the public and private sectors, we can make green growth a global economic development model of the 21st century. If we can do that, we can go a long and sustainable way in combating the adverse effects of climate change while at the same time we can reduce global poverty and increase global prosperity.
ΒΙΟ Lars Løkke Rasmussen is currently the Chairman of the Liberal Party in the Parliament of the Kingdom of Denmark and serves the North Zealand greater constituency. He was the Prime Minister of Denmark from 2009 to 2011. Prior to his position as Prime Minister, Mr. Rasmussen served as Minister of Finance from 2007 to 2009 and Minister for the Interior and Health from 2001 to 2007 under the Anders Fogh Rasmussen's government. In all, Mr. Rasmussen has been a Member of Parliament since 1994. Mr. Rasmussen earned a Master of Laws from the University of Copenhagen in 1992 and matriculated in social studies and mathematics from Helsinge Upper Secondary School in 1983. He was also County Mayor of the Frederiksborg County from 1998 to 2001. A long time supporter of environmental causes, Mr. Rasmussen was President of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen in 2009 (COP 15). He is the author of "The Association Manual" (1994) and "If I Get Old" (1997).
Public-private partnerships are necessary to reduce information costs, promote best-practice policies, and overcome investment barriers. Governments, both local and national, are necessary for developing and instituting green growth policies, but engagement of the private sector is the key component for providing capital and technology to make green economic plans a reality. Organisations like GGGI must continue to bridge the gap and work to elevate the importance that political and business leaders attach to the role of public-private partnerships in strengthening the internalisation of environmental externalities in business strategies and economic planning.
GLOBAL GREEN GROWTH INSTITUTE Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) is dedicated to pioneering and diffusing a new model of economic growth, known as "green growth," that simultaneously targets key aspects of economic performance, such as poverty reduction, job creation and social inclusion, and those of environmental sustainability, such as mitigation of climate change and biodiversity loss and security of access to clean energy and water. www.gggi.org