B4E Summit 2010 was Concluded with Success

Joined by 900 guests from various fields of home and abroad, the Fourth Annual Business for Environment Global Summit finished its three-day program on April 23. Under the theme of “Powering Growth for the Global Green Economy,” the agenda of the summit was leadership perspectives, parallel sessions, discussions, and working group sessions, etc.

Main guests include Presidents of Guyana and Maldives, Executive Director of UNEP, president of IUCN, president of PUMA AG, president of Office Depot International, president of Siemens Korea, vice-president of Dow Chemical, vice-president of LG Electronics, and anchor of CNN, etc.

At the keynote speech, President Myung-bak Lee (photo) emphasized the need for “Me First” attitude to save energy and cut back on carbon emissions. He attracted the audiences’ attention by saying that the four-river project is about reviving the rivers, saving precious lives, and enhancing quality of life. In addition, water resources will increase by more than 1.3 billion tons, easing the problems of water shortage and putting Korea in better place to adapt to climate change. The president also mentioned that Korea will launch the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) in June and called for the need to make a “planet responsible system” to assist other countries in realizing green growth.

The Executive Director of UNEP Achim Steiner (photo) delivered an opening address and said sustainable development is not a choice but an imperative, and the only course possible in our 21st century world. He also introduced Korea’s five-year green-growth investment plan as a good example of “Green Economy”.

Minister of Environment Maanee Lee (photo) introduced Korea’s green growth policies including a national campaign to cut one ton of carbon per one household and said the Korean government will pursue the Green Growth projects requiring the involvement of businesses and citizens as well as the government.

Celebrating the Earth Day, Champions of the Earth award was given on April 22 and six including the President of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed and Chinese actress Zhou Xun were awarded. The award was given in five areas – Enterpreneurial Vision, Policy and Leadership, Science and Innovation, Inspiration and Action, and Biodiversity & Ecosystems Management.

You can find the full text of the keynote speech by President Myung-bak Lee in the website of Cheong Wa Dae(http://english.president.go.kr/) and the full text of the opening speech by the minister of environment Maanee Lee in the following site (http://eng.me.go.kr/board.do?method=view&docSeq=8391&bbsCode=res_mat_speech&currentPage=1&searchType=&searchText=).