Seoul, Republic of Korea, February 20, 2025 – Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) Director-General Sang-Hyup Kim has concluded a 10-day visit to Europe. During his trip, Director-General Kim participated in the Paris AI Action Summit, met with several organizations and stakeholders, and strengthened partnerships by signing two Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs).

Director-General Kim attended the Paris AI Action Summit at the Grand-Palais upon invitation of the French Presidency. He joined two high-level roundtables and shared the stage with global leaders such as Minister Yoo Sang-im, Minister of Science and ICT of the Republic of Koreaand Ms. Lisa Su, CEO of AMD.

GGGI also joined the Coalition for Sustainable AI, initiated by the French government and launched at the Paris AI Action Summit. As a supporter of the initiative, GGGI aims to work with Coalition partners on sustainable solutions to address the challenges posed by the rapid uptake of AI technology, including increased energy consumption and the resulting rise in greenhouse gas emissions.

At the AI Summit, Director-General Kima specialized AI-based Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) solution for Paris Agreement Article 6[1], leveraging international collaboration to accelerate the development of sustainable AI.

“To fully unlock the potential of AI in addressing climate challenges, it is essential to bridge the AI infrastructure gap between countries. We also need to collectively develop and scale up AI-driven climate solutions using trusted open-source models and open data and strengthen public-private AI cooperation.” Director-General Kim emphasized during his remarks.

Following the Summit, Director-General Kim participated in high-level meetings with Mr. Mathias Cormann, Secretary General of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and Dr. Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA). Key topics at the meeting included further collaboration on green growth analytics to support a more scientific approach to climate action, the development of global green growth initiatives, and the establishment of a sustainable AI governance framework.

“GGGI plans to develop the green public good and AI-based MRV systems to support both the green technology of developed countries and green growth of developing countries through international cooperation. GGGI’s 49 Member States and 29 Partner countries will be supported to successfully adopt sustainable AI solutions to accelerate the green and climate resilient transition,” stated Director-General Kim.

Additionally, GGGI signed a MoU with Agence Française de Développement (AFD) enhancing the collaboration established in 2020. The renewed partnership will continue to support the mobilization of private finance for green growth in GGGI developing Member States including in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Pacific and Caribbean. It will also include financial innovation to support the implementation of the NDCs under the Paris Agreement and potentially carbon market readiness for Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

The visit to Luxembourg focused on climate finance. Director-General Kim met with Minister Serge Wilmes, Minister of Environment of Luxembourg, and Ms. Julie Becker, CEO of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, and more to discuss the strategic role of GGGI Luxembourg office as a European climate and carbon finance hub. Blended finance and sustainable finance were a key topic of discussion during a meeting with the European Investment Bank (EIB).

In Bonn, Germany, Director-General Kim met with Mr. Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Both organizations agreed to collaborate on urgent priorities ahead of the COP30 in Brazil, particularly in areas such as NDC 3.0, National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), and the use of AI to strengthen transparency. Additionally, in a meeting with Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), both leaders recognized the growing need to bring attention to prevent land degradation globally. GGGI and UNCCD also signed a MoU to enhance cooperation in land.

With operations in over 50 countries and nearly 250 ongoing projects, GGGI is uniquely positioned to convene innovative partnerships with governments, private sector actors, academia, and stakeholders. Since 2017, GGGI has helped mobilize more than USD 10 billion in green and climate finance commitments from both public and private sectors.

[1] Paris Agreement Article 6 allows countries to cooperate voluntarily in the implementation of their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) through the international transfer of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction units (or mitigation outcomes).

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(GGGI Seoul HQ)
Mona Laczo, Communications & Knowledge Sharing Unit Head
+82 10 9530 0358
mona.laczo@gggi.org