The collaboration of the public and private sector is required to combine skills and expertise, technologies and resources to identify, develop and implement appropriate mitigation and adaptation measures in the rural sector – this is also to be seen in the context of rural energy demand and supply. Promoting mitigation and adaptation activities to support rural development under a collaborative framework with public and private sector players will require a common understanding on key issues, shared views on expected outcomes and benefits for all involved stakeholders and related decision-making and implementation mechanisms.

The working group was created during the Expert Dialogue on 'Investing in Emissions Reduction and Rural Development' which took place in Rome on 14 November 2007 in conjunction with the World Energy Conference (11-15 November). This working group functions as a communication platform between the private and public sectors with a view to identifying, developing and implementing concrete climate change mitigation and adaptation projects in the agricultural, rural and land use sectors, stemming from the mutual interests of certain public and private sector actors in investing in emissions reduction and rural development. The working group consists of the participants of the expert dialogue in November 2007, including representatives of the Rome-based UN agencies and institutions, members of selected private sector companies and the European Investment Bank.

The 1st Meeting of the Public-Private Sector Working Group was held in Rome on the 26th March 2008 at FAO headquarters, just before a private sector stakeholder consultation (27-28 March 2008) in preparation of the High-Level Conference on World Food Security and the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy at FAO in June.

The group reiterated the outcomes of the expert dialogue in November 2007, particularly stressing the willingness from the private sector to contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation through financial resources, technologies and other means which was clearly expressed during the Expert Dialogue in November. What became apparent is the lack of underlying technical expertise related to mitigation and adaptation in the concerned sectors and very often the lack of local presence in the field, which could be provided by UN agencies. The need for a facility to bring actors from the two sectors together to promote mitigation and adaptation activities in the agricultural, rural and land use sectors at large scale was re-confirmed.