The fifth annual Global South-South Development Expo took place in Vienna, Austria from 19-23 November 2012, with more than 600 delegates from 150 countries convening to exchange and scale-up innovative solutions to crosscutting energy insecurity climate change challenges. The conference, hosted by the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and organized in conjunction with more than 20 U.N. agencies and partners, provided the platform to spotlight, showcase and promote best practices that have been developed by developing countries themselves or with the support of the donor community and UN system.
The theme of the GSSD Expo 2012 was ‘Investing in Energy and Climate Change: Inclusive Partnerships for Sustainable Development’ as a concrete response to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Sustainable Energy for All Initiative.
“This Expo highlights successful development solutions as well as the efforts of the UN system to generate momentum toward sustainable development,” stressed the Secretary -General in his statement.
“The Global South is now poised to be a major force in global economic expansion,” said John Ashe, Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda to the United Nations and President of the UN General Assembly High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation. “By 2030 the global economy is projected to grow five-fold with two-thirds of it expected to be in the South,” he added.
Rebecca Grynspan, Associate Administrator of the UN Development Programme said we can have inclusive growth while at the same time caring for the environment. “Many solutions and strategies originate from countries of the South, which are using innovative approaches to tackling climate change, while at the same time expanding economic opportunity.”
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