19 February 2013: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) have launched the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) partnership.

PAGE aims to support 30 countries over the next seven years, in building national green economy strategies to generate new jobs and skills, promote clean technologies, and reduce environmental risks and poverty.

According to UNIDO, PAGE is a direct response to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) outcome document “The Future We Want,” which recognizes the green economy as a vehicle for sustainable development and poverty eradication. PAGE aims to provide a comprehensive suite of green economy services, enabling countries to transform their national economic structures to meet the growing demands and challenges of the 21st century.

PAGE plans to build enabling conditions in participating countries, by shifting investment and policies toward the creation of a new generation of assets, such as clean technologies, resource-efficient infrastructure, well-functioning ecosystems, green skilled labor and good governance.

During the first two years of the partnership, PAGE will focus on seven yet-to-be-named pilot countries, and scale up this support to 30 countries by 2020. [UNIDO Press Release] [PAGE Website] [UN Press Release]