The Global Green Growth Institute is ready to take a new leap forward as an international organization by securing credibility, doubling its workforce and courting several more donor countries over the next two years, its new chairman told The Korea Herald.

The Seoul-based think tank was established in 2010 by the Korean government to help countries share their experiences and technological expertise for environment-friendly development. Sixteen countries signed a convention for its status upgrade set for October at the Rio+20 conference in Brazil in June.

Former Danish Prime Minister Lars Rasmussen became chairman of the board of directors in May, replacing Han Seung-soo, a former Korean prime minister and the institution’s inaugural chief. 

With the landmark transformation, he said he will push for additional memberships and resources but prioritize quality over quantity for the GGGI.

“Becoming a truly international organization will enable us to expand our work ― we need to bring more people on board, expand our staff and attract the most brilliant people from all over the world and in order to do so, we need to be competitive,” Rasmussen said in an interview on Wednesday.

“The most important thing is credibility and quality, but, having said that, of course we want to expand. Right now we’re working in 17 different countries and we want to expand that number to something between 20 and 25 in the next two years. For that we need to double our staff in the next two years in Korea.”

The 48-year-old veteran politician currently leads Denmark’s center-right party Venstre. Prior to his premiership between April 2009 and October 2011, he was minister of interior and health from 2001 to 2007 and finance minister from 2007-09.

Rasmussen was on a four-day trip to Seoul and met with President Lee Myung-bak and other government officials and lawmakers. The former premier and Lee forged a “green growth” alliance when the president visited Copenhagen in 2010.

The GGGI envisages a global public-private partnership platform where developing countries access a greater pool of assistance and investment while reserving efficiency and ecosystem dynamics.

Among the members are Seoul and seven other donors ― the U.K, Australia, Denmark, Norway, Mexico, the UAE and Qatar. They will chip in $15 million over the next three years and formulate and help implement development frameworks for beneficiaries including Ethiopia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Costa Rica and Cambodia.

The organization plans to double its workforce from the current 70 to a maximum 160 by 2014, Rasmussen said. It will remain independent and headquartered in Seoul with regional offices in London, Abu Dhabi and Copenhagen. The inaugural meeting is slated for October in Korea.

Cherishing efficiency and innovation, the GGGI will also invite up to five scholars and businesspeople on its 17-member board, he noted.

“We’ll never be like an U.N. organization ― it’s not within reach to have like 180 members,” the chairman said.

“But the significance of this organization is that we bring donor countries and recipient countries, and to some extent the private sector and academia together.”

However, concerns linger that the European economic crisis may dampen prospects for new members and future contributions.

A 1970 commitment by the world’s rich countries to transfer 0.7 percent of their gross national product to official development assistance still appears far-off.

While acknowledging challenges, Rasmussen remains upbeat about the GGGI’s funding capability.

“In a situation where the world is facing an economic crisis, it is even more important to prove and believe that sustainability, growth and job creation can walk in hand in hand. For that we need real case-based proof, and that is what this organization is all about,” Rasmussen said.

“We’re not only producing papers and strategies to those developing countries but also tools and hopefully also channels for investment which could ensure donor countries that their money spent through this organization will be well spent.”

He added that Korea can be a model for poor countries in light of its rapid economic transition from smokestack industries to high-tech, sustainable development.

The GGGI came as part of Lee’s “low-carbon, green growth” vision to enliven the economy and generate jobs through investment in eco-friendly technologies and industries.

Under the 2008 initiative, the country aims to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent below business-as-usual levels by 2020. It also calls for spending 2 percent of annual gross domestic product on research and development of clean infrastructure and renewables.

“I’m not saying you do not have any challenges of course. But given growth rates and very, very rapid development in this country, I must say that you have managed to take sustainability to a very high extent, using and developing modern technology for instance,” Rasmussen said.

“And I know for sure that’s something which actually inspires many countries who want to make the same journey as Korea did in the last few generations. That’s why I think Korea is a perfect bridge builder between the most developed countries and developing countries.”

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)