GEF CEO Urges Private Sector Engagement to Protect Global Environment

MONTREAL, June 11, 2013 – Governments and global institutions should establish and enhance policy frameworks that will provide appropriate market signals to the private sector in efforts to sustain the earth’s natural capital, the head of the Global Environment Facility said today at an international conference.

Addressing the Plenary at the International Economic Forum of the Americas on Tuesday, GEF CEO and Chairperson Naoko Ishii said the global environment is approaching crisis, “business as usual” will not suffice, and only with greater involvement of the private sector can negative environmental trends be reversed.

“The private sector accounts for 80 percent of economic activity, so it will be the actions taken by the private sector that will determine if the globe can successfully turn around worrying environmental trends,” Ishii said. “Governments and global institutions like the GEF must step up to ensure that appropriate policy frameworks are in place so that broader and longer term values for natural capital are included in decision-making.”

The GEF has been helping the governments strengthen policy framework, for example, through the creation of feed-in tariffs for renewable energy, stronger building codes, and standards to phase out inefficient lighting.

“However, for the current collision course with nature to be avoided”, Ishii expressed, “we need to do more and in a different way. We would like to request the private sector to reach out to us to share ideas of how best we can help create a policy environment enabling the private sector to incorporate long term value of natural capital in their decision making.  There is no way we can succeed in protecting the global environment without strong private sector engagement.”