AFDC co-organizes the VC Seminars on Green Growth (vol. 1)
The first of a series of video-conferencing seminars on green growth, co-organized by Tokyo Development Learning Center (TDLC) in conjunction with the Asia-Pacific Finance and Development Center (AFDC) and Korea Development Institute (KDI) was held on November 14, 2011. The seminar brought together some 100 participants who were mostly government officials from ministries of environment and finance, as well as business representatives from the energy industry, and academics from universities and research institutes. They gathered at 13 distance learning centers scattered in 9 countries, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Indonesia, Vietnam, China, Korea and Japan.
The main objective of this seminar was to inform policymaking and provide useful information for energy sector through analyzing the policies for green growth implemented in East Asia and the Pacific region. The seminar also served as an indirect support for the cooperation agreement reached at the 13th environmental ministerial meeting among China, Japan and Korea. Therefore, the focus of this seminar was to introduce the policies and measures on energy conservation and financing green growth adopted in three countries and share the results with other developing countries in the region.
The seminar was moderated by Mr. Tomoyuki Naito, Manager of TDLC in Tokyo. Three experts, representing Japan, Korea, and China, spoke at the seminar and introduced to the participants the green growth policies adopted in their respective countries in recent years.
In the first session, Mr. Tetsuro Fujitsuka, director of on-site domestic waste water treatment promotion of Waste Management and Recycle Department of the Ministry of Environment of Japan introduced Japanese experience of making the environment consistent with growth. He spoke from five aspects, i.e. Japan’s vision to be an environmentally-advanced country, investment in the environment and business opportunities, comfortable ecological life with environmental consumption, invigoration of community with the environment, and foundation for environmental economic growth.
Following that, Prof. Byungho Oh from KDI School of Public Policy and Management of Korea gave a comprehensive introduction to Korea’s green growth policy. In a summary, he pointed out that green growth is a policy focus for Korea that emphasizes ecologically sustainable economic progress to foster low-carbon, socially inclusive development. It is Green Growth that win-win relationship between Economy and Environment is concretized.
In the third session, Dr. Bai Quan, Deputy Director of the Energy Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission of China, focused his presentation on energy conservation in China and relevant policies implemented by the Chinese government. His presentation included three parts: energy conservation of the 11th five-year (2006-2010) in China, energy conservation’s position in the general picture of the 12th Five-Year Socio-economic Development Plan, and new target and new measures of energy conservation of the 12th Five-Year Plan.
Following each presentation, participants raised many questions and had very active discussions and interactions with presenters. Some even were expecting to participate in the second seminar of the green growth seminar series which will be held on Nov. 25.
