To meet the sustainable development policy making needs ESCAP in partnership with the Regional Helpdesk on SCP in Asia and the Pacific and with generous support from the UK Government has prepared a unique training package for Green Growth for ASEAN Government Officials. Building on the success of last months training, ESCAP has taken steps to include a session on policy tools aimed at fostering low-carbon development.

The 1st Training of Trainer Seminar for Development and Application of Green Growth Policy Tools was held successfully in Bangkok, Thailand, from 22nd to 27th June, 2009. This event was co-organized by CSC/SCP Helpdesk and ESCAP and got strong support from UNEP-ROAP.

The 1st training of the trainers capacity development workshop on Green Growth will be moved to Bangkok, Thailand in 22~27 June 2009.

The economy is geared, above all, to economic growth. Economic policy in the current recession is all about returning to growth – but an economic crisis can be an opportunity for some basic rethinking and restructuring. Two objectives other than growth – sustainability and wellbeing – have moved up the political and policy-making agenda in recent years, challenging the overriding priority traditionally given to economic growth. SDC s "Redefining Prosperity" project has looked into the connections and conflicts between sustainability, growth, and wellbeing.

The 1st training of the trainers capacity development workshop on Green Growth will be conducted in 15~20 June 2009, Beijing. The policy makers from Cambodia, Thailand, Viet Nam, Indonesia and Philippines, etc and revelant stakeholders will be invited to take part in the Beijing workshop.

The environment remains a top concern for people around the world despite the financial crisis, according to a global poll by the HSBC Climate Partnership, which includes HSBC, The Climate Group, Earthwatch Institute, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and WWF. The new poll, released on 26 November, finds that 43 per cent see climate change as a bigger problem than the economy.