Jul 2 2009
16 top CEOs from China have attended a workshop at the UN Environment Programme headquarters to learn more about what the agency is doing in the Green Economy initiatives, combating climate change, international campaigns, green construction, reforestation and the green technology.
The CEOs are members of the Society of Ecology and Entrepreneurs (SEE), a Chinese NGO made up of over 200 entrepreneurs.
Wang Shi, the head of the group, is the Chairman of Vanke, the world's leading real estate company. In 2002 he climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro after reading Hemingway's 'The Snows of Kilimanjaro'. He was astounded at how little snow was at the top when he arrived. "It became clear to me that environmental protection was important," he said.
Five years ago Wang Shi led the effort to create SEE, which is now the only NGO in the world working on desertification control in China.
"We are trying to project the biodiversity of the desert," Wang told participants at the conference.
"In the last thirty years in China, entrepreneurs have learned how to make money. Now they must learn how to spend money for the environment," Wang added.
UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said: "The group of leading entrepreneurs visiting UNEP HQ today provides us with an opportunity to demonstrate that significant progress can be achieved in the transition towards a low carbon society. Their pioneering work shows that, given incentives, the shift is possible. China is not only the economy with the fastest growth rate, but also a country with enormous potential to move towards a green economy."
The Chinese CEOs shared his views and said they were committed to be part of this future and would like to expand their cooperation with UNEP in many areas.