23 October 2013: The 2013 Global Green Growth Forum (3GF) brought together hundreds of world leaders from government, the private sector and civil society in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 21-22 October 2013, to discuss challenges related to sustainability and economic growth.

The meeting addressed financing urban water systems, reducing food loss and waste, power system transformation, ensuring deforestation-free supply chains, energy efficiency in buildings, public procurement and green trade liberalization, among other issues. Country sessions considered Chinese energy system transitions, Indonesian green growth for sustainable development, energy in Latin America and the Caribbean, European biofuel policy, technology breakthroughs, and African green growth opportunities.

In the session on food loss and waste, the World Resource Institute (WRI) announced plans for a new global standard to measure food loss and waste. Presenters stressed that, in developing countries, two-thirds of food waste occurs during post-harvest and storage, while in developed countries, half of loss occurs at the point of consumption. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) underscored how the new standard supports the Zero Hunger Challenge launched at the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), and noted FAO’s support for approaches such as improving road and cold chain infrastructure, and market infrastructure. FAO urged participants to work with producers, consumers, retailers, governments and international organizations to reduce food loss and waste, keeping in mind cultural differences. FAO outlined a variety of initiatives, such as SAVE FOOD, Think.East.Save, and a food loss index through the Global Strategy for Improving Rural and Agricultural Statistics.

In another session, the Government of Indonesia and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) released a joint report, titled ‘Prioritizing Investments: Delivering Green Growth,’ and Indonesia described the implementation of a Green Growth Program implemented by the National Development Planning Agency. The Program includes three priorities related to incorporating green growth in national development planning, mobilizing funding for REDD+, and supporting strategies with the provincial governments of Central Kalimantan and East Kalimantan.

On climate finance, Bloomberg New Energy Finance launched a new platform to facilitate climate and green growth investments. The Finance for Resilience (FiRe) platform will identify the best proposals for clean energy based on their scale and ease of implementation. Streams of implementation will focus on: developing world distributed energy; developing world projects; energy policy; financial regulation and disclosure; leveraging public finance; new investors and financial projects; and cities and municipalities. The first FiRe Annual meeting to present and assess FiRe proposals will take place in New York, US, on 9 April 2014, as part of the seventh Bloomberg New Energy Finance Summit.

In his keynote address, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described three objectives for 2030, namely to: supply universal access to modern energy; double the rate of improvement in energy efficiency; and double the share of renewable energy. He underscored the need to agree on an inclusive post-2015 development framework with poverty reduction at its core and sustainable development as its guide, with increased action and ambition on climate change. He reminded participants that he will convene a Climate Summit in September 2014, and called for support from business and government leaders.

During the ideas laboratory session of 3GF, participants considered perspectives on green growth best practices, natural capital accounting in supply chains, energy efficiency partnerships, rethinking plastic, and public/private partnerships for renewable energy.

3GF is a convening process initiated by the Government of Denmark, which partners with China, Kenya, Mexico, Qatar and the Republic of Korea, as well as with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the UN Global Compact. [FAO Press Release] [Global Green Growth Forum] [WRI Food Protocol] [UNEP Press Release] [UNSG Statement at 3GF] [Prioritizing Investments: Delivering Green Growth] [NanoWerk Article on Energy Finance]