23 April 2009: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and UN Global Compact hosted the Business for the Environment (B4E) summit, which took place from 22-23 April 2009, in Paris, France. In their closing manifesto, the over 400 delegates underscored that agreement on a new climate regime is crucial, with recovery from the current economic turmoil requiring investments in clean technologies and sustainable infrastructure systems.

The manifesto emphasizes the need for increased transparency and a new risk paradigm that takes into account extra-financial issues in the realms of environment and governance. The document urges governments to “unlock the potential for sustainable, green innovation and job creation” by forging ahead towards a low-carbon society. The manifesto also stresses the urgency to “remove uncertainties, enable green investments to flow, and build scalable public-private partnerships that can leapfrog in terms of technological innovation.”
Achim Steiner, Executive Director of UNEP, stated that combating climate change represents “the biggest stimulus package of the first decade of the 21st century,” and stressed that it can assist in delivering a “resource-efficient, innovation-savvy, employment-generating global Green Economy.” [UNEP press release] [UN press release] [Summit website]