1. Delegations of the Republic of Korea and Denmark which are attending the 16th United 
Nations Climate Change Conference (November 29 – December 10, 2010, Cancun, Mexico) 
held a joint press conference on December 8 in Cancun to make an announcement on the 
Danish Government’s decision to provide USD 5 million over the coming three years for the 
development of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI).

* GGGI was officially launched on June 16, 2010 under the leadership of the Government 
of Korea. The institute aims to theorize the concept of green growth while finding ways to 
assist the green growth of various countries based on their level of economic and social 
development.

ㅇ Denmark is expected to participate in the activities of GGGI which focuses particularly on 
supporting the green growth of developing countries in the fields of energy and transportation. 
A regional office of the institute is expected to be established in  Copenhagen, Denmark.

ㅇ Ms. Lykke Friis, Minister for Climate and Energy of Denmark, Mr. Tomas Christensen, 
Ambassador of the Center for Global Challenges at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, 
Mr. Maanee Lee, Minister for Environment, Mr. Sang Hyup Kim, Secretary to the President 
for Green Growth and Environment of Office of the President, Mr. Yeon Sung Shin, Ambassador 
for Climate Change, Dr. Nicholas Stern, vice-chair of GGGI, and other high officials attended 
the joint press conference.

ㅇ Officials from the Danish Government said that by joining the activities of GGGI, Denmark 
would be able to help developing countries on their path to green growth, which would be 
based on green technology and energy efficiency. They also hoped such activities would 
provide a constructive solution to the climate change negotiations which have been stalled 
due to sharp differences in the positions of developed countries and developing countries.
 

ㅇ Dr. Stern stated that the Korea-Denmark partnership would certainly send a strong 
message to the international community to encourage the active participation of both 
developed and developing countries in the global efforts directed toward achieving green 
growth, which is known as the second industrial revolution. 

2. Denmark is the first country to join the activities of GGGI since President Lee Myung-bak 
suggested the establishment of the institute in December 2009 at the Copenhagen Climate 
Change Conference. Denmark is expected to contribute greatly to developing GGGI into a 
global organization. 

ㅇ GGGI aims to develop into an inter-governmental organization based on an inter-governmental 
treaty by 2012 in order to bring prosperity to humanity through green growth.

ㅇ Despite its short history, GGGI has improved its organizational structure and successfully 
carried out activities to support a few projects in Brazil, Indonesia and Ethiopia. The institute 
has also expanded its partnership with various international organizations by establishing 
MOUs on cooperation with the Asian Development Bank, UNESCAP and other international 
organizations. 

ㅇ In addition to successfully hosting a side-event during the United Nations Millennium 
Development Goals Summit held on September 22, 2010 in New York, GGGI also successfully 
administered an event on green growth on December 4, 2010 in Cancun, Mexico during the 
16th United Nations Climate Change Conference. About 230 participants attended the event. 
Ms. Inger Andersen, Vice President of the Sustainable Development Department of the World 
Bank assessed GGGI as an indispensable organization in resolving environmental and sustainable 
development issues. She welcomed the institute’s initiative to make real improvements and 
expressed her hope to strengthen cooperation between the World Bank and GGGI. This reflects 
the international community’s growing expectation for GGGI to provide a constructive solution 
to climate change.

ㅇ Besides Denmark, numerous countries have inquired about ways to join GGGI. Officials 
from Thailand, Uganda, and Ukraine have expressed their interest in cooperating with 
GGGI to adopt the green growth model for their country’s economic development.

3. GGGI plans to administer global green growth policies through the headquarters located 
in Seoul, while working to respond to the energy crisis and climate change issue by assisting 
regional offices in their efforts to establish a green growth strategy tailored to the needs 
of various regions.

ㅇ GGGI is funded by the voluntary financial contributions made by participating countries 
and associated organizations. The Korean Government plans to make active efforts to 
secure financial contributions for the operation of the institute and establish a global 
system for the transfer of resources by securing financial contributions from governments 
and foundations across the world. 

4. The Korean Government intends to lead the formation of new global standards by taking 
various initiatives including the establishment of GGGI. The Government also plans to make 
constructive contributions to the global efforts directed toward combating climate change.

                


                Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFAT 

 
* unofficial translation