On 29 January 2019, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) is holding the "Batumi Talk Show: Greening the economy and cleaning the air" in Geneva, Switzerland.
The talk show provides an opportunity for Member countries to report on the progress achieved towards their commitments to the Batumi Initiative on Green Economy (BIG-E) and the Batumi Action for Cleaner Air (BACA) initiative since both were launched at the Eighth Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference (Batumi, Georgia, 8–10 June 2016).
BIG-E operationalizes the Pan-European Strategic Framework for Greening the Economy – a policy tool supports countries in their efforts to transition to the green economy while contributing to the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In total, over 30 countries and organisations have submitted 124 commitments to the BIG-E. The BIG-E and BACA initiatives remain open for stakeholders to join.
The talk show will be co-hosted by Rodolfo Lacy, Director of the OECD Environment Directorate, and Benjamin Simmons, Head of the Green Growth Knowledge Platform (GGKP).