7 Dec 2009

VIENNA / GENERAL COUNCIL

The President of Iceland and the Prime Ministers of Kenya, Lesotho and Tanzania are among the high ranking officials from around the world attending the 5-day General Conference of UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) in Vienna. This year’s thematic focus is on “green industries” and the opportunities they offer for developing countries in the current economic circumstance. UNIDO

Posted at: December 7, 2009 4:31 pm

Duration: 01:54

Available in: SD

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STORY: VIENNA / GENERAL COUNCIL
TRT: 1.54
SOURCE: UNIDO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 7 DECEMBER 2009, VIENNA, AUSTRIA

SHOTLIST:
 
1. Wide shot, Exterior United Nations HQ with Flags
2. Wide shot, conference hall audience
3. Various shots, UNIDO Director-General Kandeh Yumkella signs contract for new term in office
4. Cutaway, audience applauding
SOUNDBITE (English) Kandeh Yumkella, Director-General, UNIDO:
"We need global co-operation. Carbon has no passport. Carbon released from one place goes somewhere else. We say in the climate change discussions it has no nationality. Unfortunately for us poor people we pay the price. We have least access to energy. We have least comfort. But we have to pay the price. Climate is changing today."
5. Cutaway, audience 
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Raila Odinga, Prime Minister, Kenya:
"Africa contributes less than 3 percent of global green house gas emissions. It is bearing the greatest burden of climate change."
7. Cutaway, audience
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Mizengo Pinda, Prime Minister, Tanzania:
"The current economic crises which has taken a global character, is yet another reminder that we live in a global village. Its an imperative that the international community master it together to address global challenges."
9. Cutaway, audience
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Olafur Grimsson, President, Iceland:
"There are about 100 countries in the world that have a considerable geo thermal potential and most of theses countries are in the developing world. And for them the example of my country can provide both an inspiration and concrete practical lessons."

STORYLINE:

Kandeh K. Yumkella of Sierra Leone was today re-appointed for a second term as the Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) during the Organization's General Conference, Thirteenth Session.

The event in Vienna, held from 7 to 11 December, was being attended by Heads of State and Government, including the President of Iceland, the Prime Ministers of Kenya, Lesotho and Tanzania, and other high-ranking officials from around the world. Senior representatives of international organizations are also taking part.

Speaking about the future of UNIDO, Yumkella said he would continue to make sure the Organization was a trusted, efficient and effective partner for development.

Yumkella indicated that climate change was a major challenge conditioning developing prospects and the quality of life. "We need global co-operation. Carbon has no passport. Carbon released from one place goes somewhere else." he said.

In the past four years, UNIDO has also strengthened its normative function, helping to find common global standards that nations can agree to, for example on industrial energy efficiency, and corporate social responsibility.

Kenya's Prime Minister, Raila Odinga said that Africa contributed less than three percent of global green house gas emissions, and added that Africa was "bearing the greatest burden of climate change."

Tanzania's Prime Minister, Mizengo Pinda said that the curent economic crisis was another reminder another reminder that we live in a global village, and he added that it was "an imperative that the international community master it together to address global challenges."

Iceland President's Olafur Grimsson said that there were about one hundred countries in the world that had a considerable geo thermal potential and most of theses countries were in the developing world; Grimsson said that those could get from Iceleand "both an inspiration and concrete practical lessons."

This year's General Conference had a thematic focus on "green industries" and the opportunities they offer for developing countries in the current economic circumstance. This will serve to highlight the role of industry in finding solutions to emerging and global challenges faced by these countries in achieving their developmental objectives within a framework of environmental sustainability.