In March 2005, at the 5th Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development (MCED 2005) held in Seoul, Republic of Korea, some 340 delegates, including representatives from 52 member and associate member countries of ESCAP embraced the approach of Environmentally Sustainable Economic Growth or Green Growth.

The conference endorsed Green Growth as a policy focus and powerful strategy to promote win-win approaches to reconciling the conflict between the achievement of two important Millennium Development Goals: MDG 1 (poverty reduction) and MDG 7 (environmental sustainability). The conference was a milestone in regional cooperation for sustainable development 2005-2010. Three major documents were adopted at the meeting: the Ministerial Declaration, Regional Implementation Plan 2006-2010 and the Seoul Initiative on Green Growth.

ESCAP’s member and associate member countries reaffirmed their commitment to Green Growth during the 61st (April 2005) and 62nd (April 2006) Commission Sessions and have requested that the ESCAP secretariat continue acting as the regional platform to support Green Growth by developing the conceptual and analytical framework and by providing capacity building support to the Governments.

The Governments of Asia and the Pacific have requested the UN Secretariat to provide capacity development activities in support of developing countries, landlocked countries and countries with economies in transition. The 61st ESCAP Commission Session issued Resolution 61/9 providing guidance to the secretariat on the implementation of the decisions of the 5th MCED and requesting ESCAP to provide capacity development assistance to the countries in the region for the operationalization and application of the Green Growth approach.

Today, ESCAP is facing substantive demands from member states to diffuse and put into action the strategies of the Green Growth approach in the region. Countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Viet Nam, the Philippines, and Cambodia have requested ESCAPs Green Growth capacity development seminars in order to assist their respective institutionalization of eco-efficient and environmentally sustainable economic growth (Green Growth) into their own national development plans.