Bangkok--20 Jan--UNISBKK
Preview press conference to be held on Wednesday; forum to be held on Thursday
How can Asia :place and the Pacific make combating the climate crisis good business? How can businesses in the region adapt to climate change to protect their investments, and be a driving force in fighting it?
These are among the main topics that will be addressed at the Asia-Pacific Business Forum 2009/Climate Game Change — Innovations and Solutions for Climate Change Adaptation taking place in :City Bangkok :place on Thursday, 22 January .
The one-day forum is jointly hosted by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia :place and the Pacific (ESCAP). It brings together more than 200 business executives and representatives of governments, civil society and international organizations from around the region; and looks to promote new partnerships, ideas and resolve for combating climate change.
Al Jazeera English news presenter Veronica Pedrosa will moderate the forum. HSBC, Ericsson, Infosys and CP Foods are a few of the companies that will be represented in the discussions. From the NGO community, speakers will include Sunita Narian, the D irector of the Centre for Science and Environment, in :country-region India :place , and Atiq Rahman, the Executive Director of the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies.
The Asia-Pacific region is one of the riskier places to do business in light of climate change. South and Southeast Asia :place are climate change “hotspots,” at particular risk from cyclones, flooding, and drought. Insect populations thrive in warmer weather, making crops more vulnerable to disease and carrying diseases like dengue to new locations. Insurance companies worldwide are already raising premiums and changing policies to reflect new risks from climate change.
The forum will take place at the UN Conference Center on Thursday, 22 January . It is open to the media (registration required).
A curtain-raiser press conference will be held on Wednesday, 21 January .
The press conference will be attended by ESCAP’s Executive Secretary, UN Under-Secretary-General Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, and Sida’s Director-General, Mr. Anders Nordstr?m. In addition, Mr. Kirk Herbertson of the World Resources Institute (WRI) will present global and regional facts and figures from a WRI report commissioned for Thursday’s forum. Copies of the report and a fact-sheet will be provided.
Members of the media are invited to attend the press conference at 1:30 pm on Wednesday, 21 January , at:
The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand (FCCT)
Penthouse, Maneeya Center
518/5 Ploenchit Road (connected to the BTS Skytrain Chitlom station)
Patumwan, Bangkok, 10330
For more information, or to register for the forum please visit:
http://www.climategamechange.org/index.html
For further information, please contact:
Mr. Bentley Jenson
UN Information Services (UNIS), ESCAP
Tel: (66) 2 288 1869
Mobile: (66) 84 080 5025
Email: [email protected] and [email protected]
Ms. Ana Spross
Regional Communications Advisor, Asia
Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)
Tel.: (66) 2 263 7256
Mobile: (66) 8 7331 0969
Telefax: (66) 2 263 7255
E-mail: [email protected]