3 December: UNIDO Director-General Kandeh Yumkella and UN System Resident Coordinator for China Khalid Malik have launched a joint UNIDO-UNDP programme titled “Industrial Climate Change Compacts – A United Nations-Business Partnership for Sustainability.”

The aim of the programme is to develop a platform to support
industry and manufacturing companies to actively participate in
international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The programme
also aims to provide an avenue for industrial companies in developing
countries to exchange experiences and develop joint climate-related
opportunities, and ultimately promote the creation of climate change
mitigation ‘compacts’ or partnership agreements by different industrial
companies. This joint programme will be aligned with the UN Global
Compact and its ‘Caring for the Climate’ initiative.
The programme
will initially focus on China and South Africa, both of which have been
selected because of their major manufacturing industries and relatively
high greenhouse gas emissions. [UNIDO Press Release] [UNIDO Announcement]