The Government of Mauritius announced its participation in the UN-led Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) today at a press conference, which also highlighted the work of a green economy fiscal policy assessment underway.
Simon Springett, the UN Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme representative presented a letter to Mr Osman Mohamed, the Executive Chairman of the Commission on Maurice Ile Durable (MID), which was signed by UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme environment for development (UNEP) Achim Steiner on behalf of all the PAGE partners, confirming support for Mauritius under the UN-led initiative.
The PAGE programme is a response to the UN Rio+20 Conference’s outcome document, entitled “The Future We Want,” which recognizes the green economy as a vehicle for sustainable development and eradication of poverty and calls on the United Nations to assist countries interested in making the transition.
By 2020, PAGE plans to support the development and implementation of national green economy strategies in 30 countries, while promoting new jobs and clean technologies and reducing the environmental risks and ecological scarcities.
Mauritius is now one of five countries participating in PAGE, along with Burkina Faso, Mongolia, Peru and Senegal.
The four founding partners of PAGE — UNEP, ILO, UNIDO and UNITAR — offer a comprehensive range of green economy services to enable countries to transform their economic structures and meet the growing challenges of the 21st century.
The green economy fiscal policy assessment currently underway in Mauritius is part of a UNEP project, which intends to inform the country’s green economy plans and contribute to its long-term sustainable development objectives.