Mr. Eduardo Fabian Pereyra, Director of Employment, Ministry of Employment, Uruguay
On March 28, 2017, Uruguay and Guyana joined the Partnership for Action on Green Economy. The announcement was made at the PAGE Ministerial Conference in Berlin attended by over 430 participants, including 40 Ministers.
Both countries have demonstrated a strong commitment to making the transition to inclusive green economies, reducing pollution and emissions, and achieving Sustainable Development Goals. By joining PAGE, the governments of Uruguay and Guyana not only took a leap forward towards sustainable economies in their respective countries, but also created new opportunities for collaboration and knowledge-exchange in Latin America.
In Uruguay, PAGE will build upon a green economy scoping assessment (BROKEN LINK) completed in 2014 and conducted by Instituto de Economía (IECON) de la Universidad de la República, the government of Uruguay, United Nations Environment Programme, and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in 2014. The report identifies several areas for targeted support for green economy, including agriculture, livestock, industry, tourism and transport.
As said by Ambassador Alberto Guani of Uruguay, “Uruguay shares the view of PAGE in focusing on sustainability as the main core for all national policies, pursuing the purpose of aligning such vision to an economic growth that will reflect in higher income, creation of new jobs, moving towards poverty reduction and inequality by strengthening the fundamental environment of economic structures.” These changes will be made possible by the high-level and cross-sectoral commitment of the government of Uruguay to green economy as well as by the support of the private and civil sectors.
As in Uruguay, the government of Guyana has similarly demonstrated a strong commitment to sustainable and inclusive economy. In its application to PAGE, the government identified exceptionally strong cross sectoral support for inclusive green economy in the country. President David Granger of Guyana has said Guyana “is a state that will ensure a secure future for its people in the pursuit of a ‘green’ economy. It is one that is proud of its place as a reliable and cooperative partner in international efforts to protect the earth’s environment”.
Guyana’s transition to green economy will involve working toward de-coupling economic growth from the depletion of natural resources and pollution to ensure Guyana’s long-term sustainability and well-being. In December 2016, the government of Guyana and the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) hosted initial consultations on the National Green State Development Strategy, which brought together government officials, civil society, the private sector, and bilateral agencies to generate an initial framework for action. The established core objectives of the framework include the following: social cohesion and inclusion; wellbeing; sustainable use of biodiversity and increased resource efficiency; decarbonisation and climate resilience; sustainable finance and; good governance.
Bringing together the expertise of five UN agencies – the UN Environment Programme (UN Environment), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), and the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) PAGE seeks to put sustainability at the heart of economic policies and practices to advance the 2030 Agenda. Working closely with national governments, private sector and civil society, PAGE has been assisting partner countries to embark on inclusive green economy trajectories since 2013. With the inclusion of Uruguay and Guyana in the partnership, PAGE has renewed its commitment to supporting an increasing number of countries and has created exciting new possibilities for green economy and collaboration in the Latin America.