HORIZON INTERNATIONAL SOLUTIONS SITE

Japan and the Republic of Korea announcement that they will invest billions of dollars in environmentally smart projects to create jobs and spur economic growth is the latest sign that the Green New Deal advocated by the United Nations is gaining momentum, the head of the UN Environment Programme said on January 9, 2009.

“UNEP’s Global Green New Deal and Green Economy initiative are clearly two ideas whose time has come, as evidenced by the Republic of Korea and Japan’s stimulus package announcements alongside those of other key economies and leaders from China to the President-elect of the United States,” Executive Director Achim Steiner said.

UNEP launched the Global Green New Deal and Green Economy Initiative as an antidote to current economic woes and as a springboard to a low-carbon, low-impact, high-job and better-managed global economy.

Japan has announced that it aims to expand the ‘green business’ market and create up to one million new jobs, through measures that include zero-interest rate loans for environmentally-friendly companies.

The Republic of Korea, meanwhile, will invest $38 billion over the next four years in a series of eco-friendly projects to create 960,000 new jobs and lay the groundwork for future economic growth.

The 36 projects include the creation of green transport networks, the provision of two million energy-saving homes and the clean-up of the country’s four main rivers.

“Investments in clean-tech and renewable energy; infrastructure such as railways and cycle tracks and nature-based services like river systems and forests, can not only counter recession and unemployment but can also set the stage for more sustainable economic recovery and growth in the 21st century,” Mr. Steiner said.

This information is from the UN News Centre.