Cities are the driving force behind national and global economies, and have a critical role to play in supporting global sustainability and climate change ambitions, as well as the realization of green growth pathways. Urban areas are increasingly seen as engines of national and global wealth but face an urgent need to address their own sustainability challenges and various adverse external impacts they have on natural resources, ecosystems, and the planet. Cities have a key role to play in the realization of Agenda 2030 as well as the climate change agenda, including the Paris Agreement, and linking renewed green city planning to climate finance provides a significant opportunity for change.
Recognizing the importance of cities to the global sustainability agenda and green growth transitions, the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) has committed to working with its Members and partners to deliver inclusive, integrated urban planning, infrastructure, and mobility solutions.
This in turn strengthened cities’ efforts to grow using more renewable energy, better manage urban waste through circular economy approaches, support sustainable transportation solutions, and create new green jobs.
In 2019, GGGI achieved 115 results related to green cities, including green growth plans and policies, green investments and capacity building activities and knowledge products, across 29 projects in 13 countries.
Dear Friends and Members of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI),
Two thousand nineteen was a critical year for the international community to take action on climate change, to demonstrate it is possible to decarbonize the economy, and to ensure that we can maintain a high standard of living in an inclusive economy that leaves no one behind. Climate impacts—such as hurricanes, floods and wildfires—are becoming an increasingly urgent reality. As many events have shown, climate change affects people everywhere, and it is the greatest challenge facing humankind.
Without global action, millions of people will live in poverty and unhealthy environments, triggering increased risks of conflict and instability.
Dear Green Growth Stakeholders,
GGGI, like all its Members, has been significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic with all its country offices working remotely since March 2020 and consultation with government partners slowing down in many cases. The organization was well prepared for the pandemic, both through efforts taken to put in place online systems that support decentralized, remote working, business processes that make the organization more agile and flexible, and through successful resource mobilization that have increased GGGI’s projected 2020 revenues 83% over 2017 (Pre-COVID-19).
GGGI supports 36 Members to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement.
Based in Seoul, Republic of Korea, GGGI is a treaty-based international, inter-governmental organization that supports developing country governments’ transition to a model of economic growth that is environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive.
January
- GGGI signs MoU with the Korea Forest Services (KFS) to strengthen cooperation on reforestation and renewable energy.
- GGGI welcomes Sri Lanka as its 30th Member.
- Cambodia adopts wastewater system guideline developed with GGGI and GIZ.
- GGGI supports the state of Qatar to realize the Qatar National Vision.
February
- GGGI, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF) agree to implement renewable energy capacity building project in four Pacific countries.
- Australia and GGGI partner to support the Government of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea contribute to inclusive climate resilient green growth in the country’s provinces.
- GGGI signs a project agreement with the Government of Vanuatu to implement Solar Water Pumping Project.
March
- GGGI holds its five-day Annual Meeting 2019 in Seoul.
- GGGI and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) sign agreement to advance energy transformation and green growth.
- GGGI partners with the Tropical Forest Alliance (TFA2020) to promote a dialogue on sustainable and deforestation-free private investment.
- Uzbekistan becomes the 31st Member of GGGI.
- GGGI and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation sign a grant agreement to promote City-Wide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) through climate resilience and green growth.
April
- With newly signed MoUs, the GGGI Nepal team deepens support to federal ministries, local government and government‑owned transport operator.
- GGGI welcomes Burkina Faso as its 32nd Member.
- GGGI and the ECOWAS Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) sign MoU on green growth cooperation in West Africa.
- GGGI and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) collaborate to improve waste recycling in Cambodia.
- GGGI releases guide to Green Entrepreneurship in Vanuatu, Fiji, and Kiribati.
May
- GGGI establishes new office in the Caribbean.
- The GGGI Mongolia team takes part in the International New Energy Green Summit 2019, one of the biggest events for the renewable energy development of Mongolia.
- GGGI holds its Management and Program Sub-Committee meeting in Seoul.
June
- The GGGI Cambodia team launches Sustainable City Plan for Phnom Penh. GGGI participates in the Innovate4Climate Conference 2019.
- GGGI presents at the International Drought Forum hosted by K-water to discuss the importance of tackling climate change.
- GGGI holds the Friends of GGGI event in Seoul to share its recent updates and success stories with representatives of the diplomatic corps in Seoul.
July
- GGGI and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea co-organize a multi-stakeholder seminar to accelerate off-grid renewable energy investment opportunities in the Philippines.
- GGGI, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) join efforts to support strategic planning in Kiribati’s Agriculture sector.
- GGGI and Papua New Guinea’s Climate Change and Development Authority (CCDA) publishes the Green Growth Potential Assessment of Papua New Guinea.
August
- Uganda becomes the 33rd Member of GGGI.
- GGGI and the Government of Kiribati sign the Country Planning Framework.
- GGGI and the Government of Nepal launch the Green Sanitation Services Program.
- GGGI co-organizes a high-level workshop on enhancing Ethiopia’s capacity to address climate change.
September
- GGGI takes part in UN General Assembly (UNGA) and Climate Week events in New York.
- GGGI joined Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Campaign to plant 200 million tree seedlings in a day.
- GGGI and Qatar MME conduct MRV capacity development and stakeholder consultation workshop in Doha.
October
- Strategy 2030 adopted at GGGI’s joint Assembly and Council Session.
- GGGI launches its first Green Growth Index at the Global Green Growth Week 2019.
- Mr. Ban Ki-moon, 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations, re-elected as President and Chair of GGGI.
- GGGI and Hungary agree to set-up GGGI’s European Office in the Hungarian capital.
- GGGI celebrates 6th Anniversary as an international organization.
- GGGI signs MoU on cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism of Mongolia.
- GGGI kicks off its flagship Global Green Growth Week conference in Seoul.
November
- GGGI partners with H&M in Cambodia to promote sustainable garment manufacturing.
- GGGI presents a business case for community-based biomass to energy in Indonesia at the Global Landscape Forum (GLF) in Luxembourg.
- The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) joins GGGI as its 34th Member and 1st Regional Integration Member.
- GGGI welcomes Angola as its 35th Member.
- GGGI welcomes Ecuador as its 36th Member.
December
- GGGI and the Swedish Energy Agency partner to establish Article 6 activities.
- Fiji and GGGI launch the Country Planning Framework 2019 – 2023.
- The GGGI Cambodia team and Coca Cola Cambodia join hands to scale up plastic recycling in Battambang City.
- GGGI takes part in more than 20 side events and sessions during the COP25 climate change talks in Madrid.
Cities are the driving force behind national and global economies, and have a critical role to play in supporting global sustainability and climate change ambitions, as well as the realization of green growth pathways.
Urban areas are increasingly seen as engines of national and global wealth but face an urgent need to address their own sustainability challenges and various adverse external impacts they have on natural resources, ecosystems, and the planet.
Cities have a key role to play in the realization of Agenda 2030 as well as the climate change agenda, including the Paris Agreement, and linking renewed green city planning to climate finance provides a significant opportunity for change.
Recognizing the importance of cities to the global sustainability agenda and green growth transitions, GGGI has committed to working with its Members and partners to deliver inclusive, integrated urban planning, infrastructure, and mobility solutions. In 2019, GGGI achieved 115 results related to green cities, including green growth plans and policies, green investments and capacity building activities and knowledge products, across 29 projects in 13 countries.
Further, during the Climate Summit at the 74th United Nations General Assembly, GGGI joined partners through the Coalition of Urban Transition to contribute to efforts under way to integrate smart, innovative, and green approaches into urban sustainability agendas to support more efficient, affordable, and effective services for all.
The following stories highlight a number of the impactful green city successes that GGGI’s Members and partners achieved over the course of the year in collaboration with GGGI and its committed partners.
Accessing climate financing is helping cities in Uganda, Myanmar, and Cambodia to cut greenhouse gas emissions and build resilience
Tackling waste in cambodian cities
Fiji sets ambitious transport targets
How a sustainable solid waste management project is changing the capital city of Lao PDR
Mongolia takes steps to increase energy efficiency in residential buildings
GGGI supports the Municipality of Lima to innovate with circular economy for waste management
Electric tricycles demonstrate the future of transportation in the Philippines
Green buildings in Rwanda; positively impacting the environment and human health
GGGI’s implementation of the Refreshed Strategy 2015-2020 has continued through 2019 via the delivery of the WPB 2019-2020. In doing so, it reinforces GGGI’s mandate to support the transformation of its Members and partners toward a green growth development pathway.
The Refreshed Strategy sets out GGGI’s strategic direction until the end of 2020, when GGGI will make the transition to the new Strategy 2030. It focuses GGGI’s programmatic interventions on six Strategic Outcomes (SOs), which represent the target impact areas where GGGI will make direct and indirect contributions to supporting its Members and partners deliver on their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The six SOs are:
i. Green House Gas (GHG) emission reduction;
ii. Creation of green jobs;
iii. Increased access to sustainable services such as clean affordable energy, sustainable public transport, improved sanitation and sustainable waste management;
iv. Improved air quality;
v. Adequate supply of ecosystem services; and
vi. Enhanced adaptation to climate change.
In 2019, GGGI delivered a solid performance through the implementation of the WPB 2019-2020. GGGI completed 69 advisory assignments that informed the development of green growth policies, 50 advisory outputs that informed decisions on green growth investments, and 21 adopted policies that will have transformative green growth impacts.
As an organization, GGGI has grown in size and its scale of outputs which has required a shift in its staff and financial resources increasingly in-country (particularly out of HQ and into LDCs) and spending more on program delivery.
To enhance its presence in the LDCs that are GGGI’s members, GGGI has established 2020 targets to allocate 42% of core country program budget to Member LDCs. In 2019, core funding to LDCs was 51%, compared to 45% in 2018, already exceeding the 2020 target. Similarly, GGGI has established 2020 targets to allocate 87% of the core budget to Member LDCs and MICs combined. In 2019, core funding to Member LDCs and MICs increased to 80%, from 77% in 2018, but is still 7% below 2020 target. Similarly, GGGI in 2019 allocated 84% of its core budget to vulnerable countries which include LDCs, Land Locked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) already well exceeding the 2020 target of 60%.
At GGGI, we believe that our people are our biggest strength.
Our approach and policies are people-centered in order to make GGGI a nimble organization and a great place to work.
We’re supporting everyone in realizing their full potential by:
- Putting upskilling, conflict resolution, health and well-being at the center of our culture.
- Nurturing an environment of social connection, diversity and inclusion.
- Investing in the technology, tools, systems and performance management.
RBM is an overarching management strategy that integrates and drives GGGI’s Value Chain and business process in the production of core goods and services that will deliver quality and higher-level outcomes and impact, which align with partner countries NDC and SDG commitments and national development priorities.
It integrates and connects the components of strategy/budgeting, HR,
finance, technology and project management through the various steps
in the project cycle management (PCM 1-5) that form its established value chain into causal relationships, utilizing a feedback loop that facilitates the necessary adjustments and improvements to the results delivery and monitoring process.
Explore what GGGI accomplished by selecting one of the different categories and clicking on the map.
In 2019, GGGI recorded a net operating surplus of USD 1.2 million with total revenue of USD 47.8 million and expenditures of USD 46.6 million.
These are set out on this chapter, compared to 2018 and 2017.
In 2019, GGGI significantly reduced its carbon emission by continuing to drive an organization-wide cooperation for green operations. GGGI partners and communities to promote a green culture.
Throughout the year, various green office initiatives, awareness campaigns, and outreach activities were actively promoted by GGGI offices worldwide to achieve sustainable operations and continued to encourage individual greening efforts as well as engaging and influencing GGGI partners and communities to promote a green culture.
Key accomplishments for 2019 include the launch of “Greening GGGI” webpage, which highlights GGGI’s greening efforts and initiatives throughout the years, and the Green Office Month, a month-long campaign in its third year with second edition of the online magazine GREENISM, showcasing the World Environment Day event and organization-wide eco-competition, along with showcases of environmental sustainability efforts by GGGI offices across the globe. Many of GGGI country offices actively engaged with GGGI partners in countries, collaborating to promote sustainability efforts. The Global Green Growth Week 2019 also showcased GGGI’s efforts to promote green culture by hosting a more environmentally sustainable event to be benchmarked by its partners.
DOWNLOAD CENTER
Click here to download print friendly files:
01 | Key Messages (PDF, 5 pages, 317 Kb)
02 | Messages from the Leadership (PDF, 4 pages, 474 Kb)
03 | About the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) (PDF, 2 pages, 232 Kb)
04 | Members and Operations (PDF, 3 pages, 1,72 Mb)
05 | 2019 GGGI Milestones (PDF, 2 pages, 63Kb)
06| Greening Urban Planning and Growth (PDF, 18 pages, 1Mb)
07 | GGGI’s Strategic Framework and Work Program and Budget (WPB) 2019‐2020 (PDF, 4 pages, 320Kb)
08 | Corporate Results Framework (PDF, 8 pages, 1,41 Mb)
09 | Maximizing Organizational Effectiveness and Efficiency (PDF, 4 pages, 288Kb)
10 | Empowering Our People (PDF, 6 pages, 451Kb)
11 | Approach to Results‐based Management (PDF, 5 pages, 307Kb)
12 | Project References (PDF, 3 pages, 90KB)
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