Following the UN’s adoption of new Sustainable Development Goals in September, the first regional forum has been held to support Latin American countries during their transition to becoming Green Economies.

Keynote speeches were delivered and a series of specialised courses made available to participants at the Regional Forum on Green Economy for Latin America, held between 2 and 6 November in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.

The forum was held under the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE), an initiative involving UNEP and four other UN branches set up following the Rio+20 conference to help 20 countries build Green Economy strategies.

The opening ceremony was led by the Colombian Minister of Labour, Luis Eduardo Garzón; Andean Region representative at the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Johannes Dobinger; and Philippe Vanhuynegem, Senior Specialist on Enterprises, Cooperatives and Rural Development at the ILO Country Office for the Andean Countries.

Of the seventeen SDGs recently adopted, “ten specifically deal with the concept of green economy - in particular Goal 8," Mr Dobinger underlined, referring to the goal related to promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.

Meanwhile, Minister Garzón noted that the post-peace Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Colombian Government and the ILO is closely linked to the Green Economy due to the importance of the countryside. "A quarter of Colombian territory is rural, with problems of gender inequality in the labour market and young people abandoning the countryside", he stressed.

The Minister recalled that his country’s development plan for 2014–2018 includes a strategic focus on green growth, and revealed that his Ministry could seek support from PAGE to foster increased inter-ministerial work on the green economy, sustainable development and decent work.

For more information please write to chiara.moroni@unep.org