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GGGI holds the Friends of GGGI Luncheon in Seoul

SEOUL, Republic of Korea; January 19, 2022 – Today, the Friends of GGGI 2022 luncheon event took place in Seoul, welcoming 43 members of the diplomatic corps in the Republic of Korea and ROK MOFA representatives to discuss progress made in 2021 and ambitions for the year ahead.

President & Chair Mr. Ban Ki-moon shared that he made a decision to lead GGGI in 2018 because of its strong alignment with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Climate Change Agreement, two of the most often cited legacies of his career as Secretary-General of the United Nations.

He added that “he still felt very passionate about their objectives, it was an easy and logical decision. To use a popular euphemism of young people: it was a ‘no brainer’,” and, “Therefore, I was—and still am—very pleased to lead GGGI, so it can continue to contribute to the 14 of the 17 SDGs, to support its Members transition to green growth and achieve their NDCs, and to help vulnerable countries strengthen their resilience and adaptation strategies.”

GGGI Director-General, Dr. Frank Rijsberman, delivered a presentation to share his reflections on 2021, including COP26, GGGWeek2021, and key achievements from GGGI.

During his presentation, Dr. Rijsberman shared that 2021 was the year of Net Zero, highlighting that 136 countries and 115 regions now have Net Zero 2050 pledges, which covers 90% of global GDP & 85% of emissions.

“I think it’s clear that 2021 was the year of Net Zero … such a rapid development of countries, organizations, and companies signing up to this new idea of net zero in a time period of only 2 years is nothing short of amazing,” shared Dr. Rijsberman.

Beyond GGGI’s presence at COP26, Dr. Rijsberman shared some of GGGI’s work in 2021, highlighting the mobilization of $5+ billion in green finance, the issuance of Peru’s first sustainable bond and first social bond, GGGI’s policy efforts to improve its Members 2030 NDCs, as well as GGGWeek2021.

“2021 was truly an excellent year for GGGI on many fronts. We had outstanding mobilization of green and climate finance dominated by the Peru Sustainable & Social Bonds,” shared Dr. Rijsberman.

To conclude his presentation, Dr. Rijsberman shared that GGGI is set for another year of rapid growth in 2022 and aims to establish a GGGI Carbon Transaction Platform to serve its Members.

H.E. Hyoeun Jenny Kim, Deputy Minister and Ambassador for Climate Change of the Republic of Korea, and H.E. Juan Carlos Caiza Rosero, Ambassador of Colombia to Korea delivered congratulatory remarks.

Watch the full presentation of Dr. Rijsberman here.