Biodiversita - Contributi Include Open Letter From Educators For A Just and Happy World PDF

Biodiversite
sviluppo
sostenibile
Tavola rotonda per le quinte
classi del Liceo Scientifico St.
Cosimo De Giorgi Lecce -
9.2.2012
Contributi
Contributi alla Conferenza
di Rio+20
Metodo per uno sviluppo
sostenibile
IUCN
WWF
UE + MS UNCSD
Petition Educators for sustainable
societies
Santa Sede
USA
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dl lrancla su: Lcologla e CamblamenLl CllmaLlcl: adaLLamenLl al camblamenLl del
cllma ln un'oLLlca dl sosLenlblllLa.

IUCNs POSITION PAPER ON THE FRAMEWORK FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature): Framework for Sustainable Development
- October 2011
1

IUCNs POSITION ON THE INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT FOR THE RIO 2012 CONFERENCE, June 2012

Effective Governance for Sustainable Development: Lessons from Nature

Nature is our life support system, benefiting all and vulnerable to the actions of all. Nature is local and
global, requiring public participation in decision-making at all levels. Nature cuts across all sectors, yet
most decisions affecting nature are made in silos by stakeholders with limited knowledge of the
combined impact on nature. Governance of the three pillars of sustainable development (environment,
economic, social) is still not integrated, four decades after the Rio Summit.

According to the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (2002) good governance within each country
and at the international level is essential for sustainable development. For the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) , the concept of good governance includes not only clear direction,
effective performance and accountability, but also rests on strong ethical components such as
fundamental human rights and values, including fairness, equity and meaningful engagement in and
contribution to decision-making. Taking lessons from the interaction of nature and people, IUCN
believes that governance for sustainable development should follow three principles:

a) Inclusive and integrated decision-making, giving civil society an effective role in decisions on
environmental, social and economic sustainability;
b) A bottom-up / community-led approach, based on subsidiarity

of decision-making and nested
governance, i.e. empowering decisions at the lowest appropriate level supported by effective
governance at higher levels; and
c) A rights-based approach to environmental governance, which protects the rights of the weakest and
most vulnerable and enforces responsibilities for sustainability.

1) Inclusive and integrated governance

Governance of natural resources and sustainable development is shaped by norms, institutions and
processes that determine how power and responsibilities over the resource are exercised, how
decisions are taken, and how citizens men and women participate in development and the
management of natural resources. The quality of these decision-making processes is one of the most
important determinants of sustainable development. Sharing power, responsibility and benefits in
natural resource management, as well as strengthening governance arrangements, including legal
entitlements, to make decisions more transparent, inclusive and equitable, are good for people, for
biodiversity and for sustainable development.

IUCN Position Paper
IUCN Position Paper


- October 2011
2

Coherence in national level decisions on the different dimensions of sustainability is an essential
precondition for coherence at the regional and global levels, thus enabling global organizations to
become relevant to local action. Overcoming fragmentation in the institutional framework and in
decision-making is a prerequisite for sustainable development.

At the global level, there is still much to be done to strengthen linkages and to ensure coherence
among organizations working to enhance sustainability. The World Trade Organisations Committee on
Trade and Environment (CTE) provides a good example since it has contributed to identifying and
promoting the relationship between trade and the environment, with a view to promote sustainable
development. While greater simplicity is needed in the international institutional framework, inter-
agency coordination bodies and mechanisms, such as the UNs Environmental Management Group,
can and should increase coherence in their deliberations.

IUCN calls on national and local governments to support efforts to address fragmentation and to
strengthen the global institutional framework for sustainable development among others through:

o Building the capacity of, and linkages between concrete programs for inclusive and integrated
governance ;
o Promoting synergies between the Multilateral Environment Agreements (MEAs) at the
institutional and programmatic levels by enhancing coordination between UN bodies and
environmental treaties around specific issues or clusters;
o Facilitating the streamlining of MEA reporting requirements and scientific assessment needs ;
o Rationalizing the meetings of MEAs and subsidiary bodies;
o Enhancing the presence of the environment within the UN system; and
o Promoting a strong, credible and accessible science base and policy interface, such as the
Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES),
and securing sufficient funding for this purpose.

2) Subsidiarity and nested governance

IUCN emphasizes the need to empower and strengthen local governance systems, as they are closer
to the ecosystems and the livelihoods of the people who depend on them. Global, regional and national
structures need to apply a bottom-up approach and respond to local needs. In line with the principle of
subsidiarity, international governance structures can and should play a vital role in empowering local
decisions on sustainable development since they are part of an international network of governance
levels. At the national level, central governments must empower local governance structures including
through the provision of adequate financial and human resources, and by allowing for their meaningful
involvement in decision-making processes.

IUCN believes that such a model of nested governance, linking decision-making processes at multiple
levels, has proven to be most appropriate and effective. Governance institutions at all levels local,
national, regional and global should be mutually reinforcing. As one moves from the local to the
global, interests and agendas tend to get more aggregated. The challenge of nested governance is to
maintain the agendas at a level of relevance that is mutually reinforcing.

Still, decisions must be made at the right level, as in the case of transboundary biomes and bioregions,
which require regional level governance to achieve effective management of natural resources.


- October 2011
3

National governments should cooperate with neighboring countries in order to address environmental
issues that cannot be solved at the local and national level.

At the global levels, efforts should be focused on responding closely to regional, national and local
needs through, for example, capacity-building, the provision of scientific information, knowledge
management or facilitating the transfer of technology.

In the context of subsidiarity and nested governance for sustainability, IUCN calls on governments
to:

o Decentralize to local and community levels whenever this is effective and feasible; and
o Encourage and develop partnerships with neighboring countries to strengthen regional
cooperation and address transboundary issues.

3) A rights-based approach to good governance, placing civil society at the centre of the institutional
framework for sustainable development

Governance for sustainability is about people. It is essential to adopt rights-based approaches to
conservation and natural resource management, including through the implementation of Principle 10
of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (access to information, participation in
decision-making and access to justice) to advance open, inclusive, transparent decision-making and
promote accountability at all levels.

Adopting a rights-based approach implies focusing on the need for civil society to exercise its right to
access relevant information, to participate in decision-making processes and to have access to justice.
Such an approach means taking into account the rights of those people whose human health and
wellbeing can be affected by unsustainable development, such as forced resettlement, exclusions,
economic and cultural impoverishments, impacts on livelihoods through contamination, droughts
resulting from climate change, unregulated extraction of natural resources, etc. The rights-based
approach also acknowledges the particular vulnerability of women, indigenous peoples and
marginalized groups.

Underpinning the rights-based approach is the obligation of States, individuals and all actors of civic life
to exercise their citizenship responsibly and sustainably. The sum of individual rights and obligations
constitutes a system of accountability with human rights-related responsibilities of state as well as non-
state actors, including the private sector, financial institutions, development banks, NGOs and
environmental organizations.

In the context of accountability, corruption is a major challenge in the governance of sustainable
development. Corruption is one of the main sources of unsustainable exploitation of natural resources,
unequal distribution of wealth and, simply, poverty. The need for transparency to fight corruption is of
paramount importance.

The rights-based approach (and Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration) includes rights, to ensure that
procedures designed to provide access to information, public participation and administrative
proceedings are respected and properly implemented.


- October 2011
4

This approach can also build capacity for self-organization and enhance the sense of ownership which,
accompanied with the appropriate level of decentralization, will make societies more resilient to
environmental degradation, climate change or other threats. IUCN is currently drafting a rights-based
approach policy.

IUCN calls on national and local governments to:

o Implement the Bali guidelines on national legislation and to include Principle 10 of the Rio
Declaration within their statutes, rules of procedures or regulations;
o Renew their commitment to regional conventions relating to the promotion of access to
information, public participation and access to justice, such as the 1998 Aarhus Convention;
o Ensure the enforcement of rights and responsibilities, by inter alia:
Facilitating access to information, e.g. through the drafting or sharing of impact
statements to ensure accountability:
Developing international and/or national courts for environmental issues; and
Broadening the functions of existing courts to include environmental issues.

IUCNs POSITION ON GREEN ECONOMY FOR THE RIO 2012 CONFERENCE

IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature): Position Paper on Green Economy- October 2011
1

IUCNs POSITION ON GREEN ECONOMY FOR THE RIO 2012 CONFERENCE, June 2012

Transitioning to a Green Economy: Building on Nature

Nature-based Solutions for a More Balanced Global Economy
The global economy has grown and changed considerably since the 1992 Earth Summit. It has seen a
drastic rise in social inequalities and environmental degradation and has not helped societies achieve
sustainability. Today, as governments around the world struggle to address rising public debts and
unemployment rates, it is becoming clear that economic growth driven by a ubiquitous pursuit of
efficiency gains and profits is no longer possible. The International Union for Conservation of Nature
(IUCN) believes that it is high time for countries to act collectively on the widely shared objective of
reforming the economy so that it supports and does not undermine poverty reduction, ecosystem
functions, and sustainable development.
In the face of climate change, growing water scarcities, rising prices for food and energy, accompanied
by an increasingly unstable and risk-laden global economy, the notion of transitioning to a Green
Economy has become increasingly relevant. These changes need to be ambitious and far-reaching,
and should be elaborated in consultation with civil society, through platforms such as IUCNs World
Conservation Congress.
1
IUCN strongly urges all governments to engage in a global transition towards a Green Economy,
by:

o Developing nationally-appropriate reforms to economic planning, accounting, finance, and
infrastructure development in order to eradicate poverty, sustain ecosystems, and deliver
sustainable development;
o Providing enabling conditions within which private sector leadership and innovation can
flourish and which provide strong signals that favor small-medium sized green enterprises
and that marginalize wasteful, inequitable and unethical practices; and
o Making full use of the solutions that nature offers to tackle global challenges, such as
climate change, food insecurity, natural resource scarcities and biodiversity loss, recognizing
that investing in nature-based solutions will improve the resilience, equity, and overall
sustainability of our global economy.

1
The next World Conservation Congress will be held in Jeju, Republic of Korea, September 6-15, 2012

IUCN Position Paper
IUCN Position Paper


2

Resilience, Equity, and Natural Capital
In order to steer society towards sustainability, IUCN believes that urgent action is needed to make
governments, institutions, and markets more responsive and adaptive to economic, social and
environmental changes. In todays rapidly changing world, resilience stands out as a particularly
essential condition for sustaining economic development. The transition to a Green Economy needs to
ensure that our economic systems are not only striving for efficiency, but that they also aim to build
greater resilience into the social and ecological fabric that supports their sustainability.
A more resilient global economy needs to complement competitiveness with inclusiveness and
diversity. The growing inequalities and power imbalances of our economic systems are not only unjust,
but inherently unsustainable. A Green Economy transition must make economic development more
inclusive and equitable. Promoting greater equity should become an overriding principle of a Green
Economy transition. Hence, Green Economy policy frameworks must strengthen local-level capacities,
skills, and institutions and should support participatory governance systems based on multi-stakeholder
engagement, and particularly the engagement of women and vulnerable groups, as stated in IUCNs
position paper on institutional framework for sustainable development.
Resilience also highlights the socio-economic significance of sustainable ecosystem management by
underlining the strong dependency that humans have on natural resources and ecosystem services. A
truly resilient economy preserves and enhances its natural capital and invests in the restoration of
landscapes to support local as well as global livelihoods. Resilient economies enhance the quality of
life, and optimize the delivery of regulating ecosystem services (e.g. water filtration, carbon and
nutrient cycling, storm mitigation). A nature-based economy is one which thrives on these ecosystem
services by empowering those communities who depend directly on natural resources and processes.
Indigenous communities in general and women in particular, often play a central role in the
management of natural resources. A Green Economy needs to recognize and value their role as
stewards of our precious natural capital and biophysical systems.
IUCN urges governments to consider resilience, equity, and natural capital as three fundamental
pillars of the transition to a Green Economy.
Placing Nature at the Centre of a Green Economy Transition
There is no one-size-fits-all model for designing an effective Green Economy. In todays globalized and
highly interdependent economy, solutions require systems-based approaches to improving
sustainability. This means going beyond a sectoral approach and single-mindset solutions, but rather
developing solutions that embrace the complexity and interconnectedness of the global economic
system. Current discussions have tended to place a strong emphasis on one specific aspect of the
problem: reducing our carbon footprint.
While the focus on low-carbon development and resource efficiency is critical, and ongoing efforts to
develop low-carbon action plans are a major step forward, they do not go far enough. Most importantly,
they do not address the more fundamental problem, which is the unsustainable way in which our
natural resources are managed. Water scarcity, food insecurity, energy dependency, biodiversity loss,
and climate change are all manifestations of the urgent need to improve societys appreciation of the


3

value of our planets precious natural systems which cannot be extended beyond their limited carrying
capacity.
IUCN is committed to support the development and deployment of nature-based solutions
2
Nature-based Solutions to Greening the Economy
to
greening the economy, and strongly encourages governments and businesses to keep nature at the
centre of the debate to ensure that society can thrive on healthy ecosystems to achieve
sustainability.
The capacity that humans have to thrive on the ecosystems they depend upon for their well-being
represents a fundamental building block for strengthening socio-economic resilience. IUCN firmly
believes that any transition to a Green Economy must be squarely centered on maintaining the
biophysical processes that societies depend upon for their livelihoods. IUCN therefore urges
governments to apply nature-based solutions to their Green Economy policies and actions through two
main areas of intervention: 1) Mainstreaming environmental values into the economy, and 2) Investing
in ecosystem services as natural forms of infrastructure.
Mainstreaming Environmental Values
IUCN joins those who recognize GDP as an inaccurate and insufficient indicator of human wellbeing,
and expresses its willingness to support governments, and others, in the development of alternative
measures of economic prosperity, building notably on efforts to go beyond GDP
3

. The recognition of
the inherent value of vital public goods, such as biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides,
and the incorporation of these values into decision making, is absolutely essential to building a Green
Economy. Although there has been significant progress in strengthening the economic case of natural
capital, notably through the global study on The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB),
more work is needed in order to make sure that the main lessons learned are adequately integrated
into policy and practice. An important forthcoming challenge will be the effective integration of
ecosystem values in economic accounting systems. This is a commitment that several governments
have already taken through Agenda 21 (Chapter 8, section D) Establishing Systems for Integrated
Environmental Accounting) and through the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity with its twenty Aichi
Targets adopted in 2010 in Nagoya by the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the
Convention on Biological Diversity.
IUCN believes that, by meeting Target 2 of the Biodiversity Strategic Plan, i.e. By 2020, at the latest,
biodiversity values have been integrated into national and local development and poverty
reduction strategies and planning processes and are being incorporated into national
accounting, as appropriate, and reporting systems; governments will make a considerable step
towards measuring the transition towards a Green Economy. The Global Partnership for Wealth

2
IUCN considers that an intervention is a nature-based solution if it features the following principles: i) the intervention delivers an effective solution to a
major global challenge using nature; ii) it provides biodiversity benefits in terms of diverse, well-managed ecosystems; iii) it is cost effective relative to
other solutions; iv) the rationale behind the intervention can be easily and compellingly communicated; v) it can be measured, verified and replicated; vi) it
respects and reinforces communities rights over natural resources; and vii) it harnesses both public and private sources of funding.
3
Drawn from the work of the Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi Commission. For more information, please visit: http://www.stiglitz-sen-
fitoussi.fr/documents/Survey_of_Existing_Approaches_to_Measuring_Socio-Economic_Progress.pdf


4

Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services (WAVES)
4
In order to go further in correcting markets and implementing the deep changes needed for an effective
transition to a Green Economy, governments must also comply with Target 3 of the Biodiversity
Strategic Plan, i.e. By 2020, at the latest, incentives, including subsidies, harmful to biodiversity
are eliminated, phased out or reformed in order to minimize or avoid negative impacts
Government support for destructive and inherently unsustainable enterprises, such as overfishing and
the extraction of fossil fuels, needs to be phased out and shifted towards activities which ensure a
utilization of natural resources that is sustainable and which generates employment (e.g. sustainable
energy, waste management and recycling, ecosystem restoration, sustainable agriculture and forestry,
etc.).
offers a strong foundation for further
strengthening this important area of work.
IUCN urges governments to take concrete measures to honour their commitment to implementing
the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, and in particular targets 2 and 3, which are key
objectives of the transition to a Green Economy.
IUCN urges governments to re-examine their economic indicators to identify those which can more
faithfully and rigorously reflect the status of human wellbeing, and to make sure that the full value of
biodiversity and ecosystem services is reflected in national accounts and associated fiscal and
planning policies.
Investing in Ecosystem Services
The transition to a Green Economy needs to be built on a stronger appreciation of the role of healthy
ecosystems in supporting local livelihoods as well as providing investment opportunities for business.
Although their economic significance is commonly underappreciated, ecosystem services are essential
for achieving resilient and productive food, water and energy systems. They represent the direct and
indirect benefits that humans derive from biodiversity, such as the pollination of plants, the cycling of
nutrients, and the regulation of water flows. Maintaining the capacity that our surrounding environment
has to provide ecosystem services is particularly important for those communities and societies that are
most vulnerable to risks, such as those heavily affected by a changing climate (e.g. flooding, droughts,
sea-level rise, storm damage, etc.).
Biodiversity and ecosystems play a particularly critical role in supporting water infrastructure.
Conventional water investments, however, too often ignore the economic importance of water basins
and ecosystems as natural infrastructure. Natural infrastructure can be defined as the stock of
ecosystems providing services needed for the operation of the economy and society that complement,
augment or replace the services provided by engineered infrastructure. The traditional and cumulative
practices of building hard engineering structures to support failing slopes, prevent beach erosion or
contain river systems, are not necessarily improving the integrity of the ecosystem. In fact, they might
be impairing the ability of ecosystems to deliver critically needed services.
Our economies need to support the people who manage their resources sustainably. Addressing the
tragedy of hunger and malnutrition, which affects close to one billion people worldwide, will require the
deployment of economic systems based on productive and resilient food systems. Improving

4
For more information, please visit:
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/ENVIRONMENT/0,,contentMDK:22877286~pagePK:210058~piPK:210062~theSitePK:244381,00.htm
l


5

agricultural support services for women, who play a central role in supporting food security, is one
example of the type of investment needed to strengthen the resilience of our socio-economic systems.
In relation to energy, many of the solutions towards a low-carbon economy depend on coastal, river,
and forest ecosystems as sources of energy. IUCN urges governments to not only reduce the impact of
energy production on the environment, but also ensure they maintain natures ability to provide
sustainable and renewable sources of energy, for instance by conserving and restoring upstream
forest ecosystems that regulate water flows used for hydroelectric power.
Overall, investments in strengthening food, water, energy and human security need to recognize the
importance of using innovative solutions thinking to find the right balance between natural and built
infrastructure. Given the right policy frameworks, investments made in building resilience through
natural infrastructure are highly cost-effective, due notably to the multiple benefits (low maintenance
costs, alternate and diverse livelihood sources, carbon sequestration), its multi-functionality
(ecosystems respond to many needs i.e. water and energy supply, food security as well as
touristic/leisure-related activities, etc.) and the opportunity it provides for poverty reduction.
IUCN urges governments to support investments in natural infrastructure and ecological restoration
and to facilitate the creation of jobs through the development of markets which value the regulatory
services provided by ecosystems.
IUCN urges governments to meet Target 11
5
IUCN urges governments to adopt and implement the recommendations made following the mid-
term review of the Hyogo Framework for Action
of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and to use
protected areas as a means of preserving the ecosystem services that are enjoyed in the broader
landscapes and seascapes.
6
IUCN strongly encourages governments to develop appropriate economic tools, incentives, and
policies, including Payments for Ecosystem Services, in order to fully account for the benefits of
ecosystems and water/food/energy security for livelihoods and sustainable development.
notably ensuring that national development
strategies do not increase exposure to risks, using reconstruction and recovery following a disaster
as catalysts for change promoting an integrated approach to development which jointly addresses
climate change adaptation and mitigation, disaster risk reduction, and ecosystem management and
restoration.

5
Target 11: By 2020, at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water, and 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular
importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well
connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider landscapes and seascapes.
6
http://www.preventionweb.net/english/professional/publications/v.php?id=18197
UNCSDRIO+20
WWF INPUT
31October 2011

Page 1 of 14
SUMMARY
Vision
The UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in June 2012 presents world leaders with an
opportunity to deliver a new, internationally agreed vision that embeds social equity, economic and
environmental sustainability into our model of development. We urge Parties to seize this moment along
the following principle elements.
GreenEconomyintheContext of SustainableDevelopment andPovertyEradication
Manage natural capital sustainably: Ensure that national development strategies take full
account of the state of natural assets and ecosystems and their role in sustaining human well-being
and economic activity; actively invest in their conservation and enhancement to avoid a devastating
and irreversible global crisis;
Go beyond GDP: Develop a new standard indicator to measure environmental performance
alongside GDP and use it, along with human development indices, to provide a more accurate
reading of the state of our economies and to incite preservation of the natural environment and
more equitable development;
Full-cost accounting: Devise rules whereby the full environmental costs of production and
consumption are internalised into accounting models in order to address the causes rather than
simply the symptoms of environmental loss;
Transparent certification schemes: Expand, support and standardise certification schemes
that are multi-stakeholder and science-based to move toward sustainable consumption and
production;
Set up an investment vehicle to facilitate the transition to and implementation of green
economies through upfront funding for leapfrogging technologies, technology cooperation, and
retrofitting programmes, notably using innovative finance.
Institutional Frameworks for SustainableDevelopment
Integration of the three pillars of sustainable development: WWF supports the creation of
a Sustainable Development Council to coordinate, consolidate, advance and ensure the cross-
sectoral integration of sustainable development at the highest level of decision-making;
Page 2 of 14
Strengthen the environmental pillar by upgrading UNEP to a Specialised Agency with a
mandate to support and ensure compliance of all MEAs;
Better embed sustainable development criteria in existing International Financial
Institutions in order to promote genuinely sustainable investments.
1. INTRODUCTION
WWFs Living Planet Report shows that humanity is already using fifty percent more natural resources than
the earth can regenerate in a year. Furthermore, high income regions use five times the amount of natural
resources than those of the lowest income countries. We are living beyond the Earths means and are
distributing these unsustainable proceeds inequitably: the poorest countries and communities bear a
disproportionate share of the negative effects of the growing global demand for resources while
industrialised nations enjoy most of the benefits. Future generations will face resource scarcities and
environmental degradation not of their making that will increasingly lead to conflict and insecurity. The
growing number of urban poor that will live in tomorrows cities adds additional urgency to finding
sustainable and equitable development paths.
The UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) 2012 presents world leaders with a stark
choice: they can tinker around the edges of global development as we know it today or they can lift our
ambitions by delivering a new, internationally agreed vision for development that catalyses fundamental
changes in our economies towards more social and economic equity and environmental sustainability where
humans live in harmony with nature. This vision will require deliberate choices and targeted public and
private investment not just to decouple development from increased natural resource use, but to actively
preserve, enhance, and effectively manage the worlds natural resource base and the ecosystem services on
which human wellbeing depends.
It will also require purposeful investment development that enhances the capacity of the poor to move out
of poverty and fulfil their rights and needs for access to resources, financial assets, energy, water, food,
housing, health, and education.
Solutions towards sustainable economies should be founded on a number of key principles:
Managing natural capital in equitable ways by rewarding those who provide ecosystem services and
protect biodiversity;
Setting up appropriate frameworks to achieve food, water and energy security for a growing global
population and ensure that consumption patterns and production systems are within planetary
boundaries;
Providing economic incentives to foster environmentally and socially responsible development,
notably through full cost accounting and an indicator that goes beyond GDP;
Fostering effective governance built on inclusive processes and broad participation and with
international and regional cooperation among governments and between the public and private
sectors and civil society;
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Investing in human and natural capital, especially in developing countries and rural communities
and promoting reform to secure equitable access to natural resources and sustainable use.
2. GREENECONOMY
WWF seeks to promote green economies which value and effectively govern natural resources to safeguard
the natural world while promoting pro-poor growth and employment. WWF believes that more equitable
greener socio-economic models and instruments would promote human wellbeing, distribute the worlds
wealth and natural resources more equitably within planetary boundaries and provide people with clean
water, energy and food for present and futures generations.
2.1 Food, Water andEnergySecurityfor all
The poor management and regulation of natural assets and ecosystems leads to increasingly frequent and
severe regional and global crises and is a major factor behind food, water and energy insecurity and
threatens global, regional and local stability. Rio+20 comes at the right moment to deliver a new framework
to address the interlinkages between these common challenges.
2.1.1 Managingnatural capital
Long-term food, water and energy security are contingent on the sustainable and equitable
management and conservation of the worlds natural capital: forests, wetlands, grasslands,
savannas, oceans and coasts, freshwater systems, biodiversity, mineral resources. To better secure the rights
to natural resources for future generations and ensure adequate security for all, Rio+20 Parties should:
Significantly strengthen and invest in government processes responsible for the
allocation and sustainable management of resources, for example by land-, sea- and
water-use planning within and between countries, as well as on the high seas;
Encourage investment in restoring the ecological and natural resource base of our
economies, for example eroded soils, degraded water bodies, degraded forests and savannas,
overexploited fish stocks and degraded lands;
Preserve and protect ecosystems that provide key ecosystem services necessary to
achieve food, water and energy security;
Prioritise the rehabilitation of degraded, abandoned or underperforming lands rather
than farming in new areas. This requires reversing erosion and degradation through the
construction of terraces and the planting of trees and grasses, rehabilitating waterways and
cleaning up pollution;
Halt and reverse forest loss: preserving forests is a sound investment in order to sustainably
provide goods (food, medicine, timber, construction materials, etc) and services (preserving
watersheds, stabilising soil and preventing erosion, etc) as well as significantly contributing to
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greenhouse gas emission reduction. Investing in the REDD+ mechanism under the
UNFCCC offers a unique opportunity towards greening the economy;
Promote sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services in industrial and other economic
process, through research, appropriated knowledge, law and technology development;
Strengthen government planning and management of cities as urban context offers a still largely
untapped potential for radically reducing the human footprint, given that three-quarters of
humanity is expected to live in cities by 2050.
A sustainable and equitable footprint necessitates promoting pro-poor conservation measures to
support the diversification of rural incomes, including to:
Transform current unsustainable agricultural systems by closing nutrient cycles, increasing
resource efficiency and eliminating unsustainable practices that harm the environment and lead to
biodiversity loss;
Promote best management practices and knowledge transfer in order to reduce impacts
and expand production knowledge that helps maintain and restore healthy ecosystems;
Invest in support to small sustainable farmers in developing countries for measures
that maximise their potential contribution to food and water security, environmental
protection, and climate adaptation. Measures would include access to markets, knowledge
and information along with well-designed technological assistance to increase the productivity of
smallholders.
2.1.2Water Security
Freshwater is a vital natural resource in all areas of sustainable development and the functions and services
provided by freshwater ecosystems underpin food and energy security. As we get closer to the end of the
International Decade for Action 'Water for Life' 2005-2015 and start preparations for 2013 as the
International Year of Water Cooperation, the time is right to follow through with water-related
commitments and account for emerging priority areas for further action. To support and ensure water
availability in adequate quantity, quality and timing for people and nature, in an equitable and sustainable
manner and in the context of climate change and variability, Parties at Rio+20 should:
Govern and manage water on the basis of natural rather than political boundaries, and within
the framework of integrated, participatory river basin management. Build responsible and
capable institutions and capacity for integrated water resources management and allocation
which includes consideration of the multi-level governance of freshwater resources, within and
between countries, including the conservation of critical catchment areas that often coincide with
high conservation value forests and wetlands;
Reiterate a commitment to sustainable and equitable transboundary water
cooperation, on the basis of a comprehensive and solid system of international water
law and adequate, well-funded joint management institutions, so as to enable the integrated,
system-wide management and sustainable use of rivers, lakes and aquifers shared by two or more
countries;
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Realise water-related commitments under the 2002 Johannesburg Plan of
Implementation, including the adoption of integrated water resources management and water
efficiency plans, paying special attention to water demand management, and the development and
employment of more efficient water supply technologies and infrastructure;
Fully incorporate water into the relevant national and international legislative,
institutional and planning frameworks that are outside the water sector, but may have an
impact on freshwater resources;
Invest in integrated programming between freshwater conservation and WASH
(water, sanitation and hygiene): Well-designed and implemented WASH projects contribute to
improved environmental conditions, just as the conservation and sustainable management of
freshwater provides for the maintenance of key ecosystem functions and services on which millions
depend for clean water supply, flood control, food, and numerous others;
Protect and restore freshwater ecosystems, including through the maintenance and/or
restoration of environmental flows and aquifer levels, so that such ecosystems can sustain
biodiversity and their functions and services that are vital for human health, livelihoods, well-being
and security;
Restore and safeguard ecosystems that provide essential services related to water,
including along rivers, around lakes, in mountains and steep slopes and in coastal areas, such as
headwaters, floodplains, flooded forests, wetlands, aquifers recharge zones, riparian vegetation,
and mangroves, as per Target 14 of the CBD Strategic Plan;
Protect and responsibly manage forests: the world still loses 13 million hectares of forests
every year, yet many of the world's largest cities rely on drinking water from protected and well
managed forests. Maintaining the benefits provided by forests for future generations requires
governments to take measures to reverse the ongoing trend of forest loss;
Mitigate cities water footprint, increase urban resilience to climate change and
variability, and reduce water risks in urban settings, including through the protection of
ecosystems upstream and their functions and services, such as water regulation and filtration.
In view of the vital role of water in climate change mitigation and adaptation, and that it is
fundamentally through water that the effects of climate change are being and will be felt,
recognize water as a cross-cutting topic in UNFCCC negotiations and implementation;
Acknowledge the transboundary and global dimensions of climate change in relation to water. The
UN Watercourses Convention is the only MEA adopted as a follow-up to the Earth
summit 1992 that has not yet entered into force. This is increasingly problematic as water
crises become increasingly recognised as a crisis of water governance at all levels.
WWF therefore calls on all Rio+20 Parties to Join and effectively implement the UN
Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses (UN
Watercourses Convention) as a global framework guiding and supporting transboundary
water cooperation, including in the context of climate change. Entry into force of the UN
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Watercourses Convention is vital for enabling its integration with existing water-related MEAs,
thereby facilitating their implementation.
Manage inland water ecosystems so that water availability, flows, connectivity, and quality are
adequate to sustain biodiversity and ecosystem services. In order to achieve this, leaders should
agree to the following objectives by 2020:
20% increase in total food supply-chain efficiency; reduce losses and waste from field to fork;
20% increase in water efficiency in agriculture; more nutrition and crop per drop;
20% increase in water use efficiency in energy production; more kWh per drop;
20% increase in the quantity of water reused;
20% decrease in water pollution.
2.1.3Foodsecurity
Ensuring food security requires the conservation of natural resources and biodiversity through
comprehensive and effective frameworks. Governments can advance global food security at Rio+20 by
setting up the following enabling conditions:
Increase efficiency in the food system by reducing waste in the production and distribution
of food;
Address the inequitable distribution of natural resources by actively promoting changed
consumption patterns in high-income countries, including more balanced diets, which are
less rich in meat, fish and dairy;
Help break the link between food prices and oil prices by encouraging more diversified
production and consumption as well as reducing the use of synthetic fertilizers;
Provide greater protection and support for inland water fisheries and fisheries-
dependent livelihoods and investing in sustainable fishing practices and policies to
prevent, control or reverse overexploitation;
Reduce the footprint of the agriculture sector by making sustainable food production central
to development and encouraging the treatment and re-use of wastewater for
agricultural purposes;
Take into account the food-water nexus, especially in a changing climate, with water availability
becoming increasingly unpredictable and extreme water events, such as floods and droughts, more
frequent and intense; reduce the pressure on land and water resources from agriculture;
Develop frameworks to limit urban sprawl and promote urban agriculture and
sustainable waste water management to support peri-urban agriculture, thus increasing
urban food security and reducing waste of land, water and nutrients
Conserve natural habitats such as forests that harbor the genetic origins of many of todays
agricultural staples and commodities, as a form of insurance against future disease resistance and
as reservoirs for future breeding and crop development.
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2.1.4Renewableenergyfor all
Access to energy is a vital component of economic and human development. In order to deliver clean,
reliable and affordable energy to the greatest number, including in rural areas, renewable energy offers the
best solution for long-term development. To ensure access to reliable and affordable energy for all, at
Rio+20 leaders should:
Increase investment by at least US$ 35 billion worldwide in developing countries in
renewable energy capacity and international cooperation on the development, transfer and
dissemination of technologies designed to facilitate energy-efficient, resource-efficient, and low
carbon economic development that adhere to sustainability standards. Focus on supplying people
in rural areas with greater access to reliable, affordable and sustainable energy supplies;
With aid agencies and investors, commit to provide technical and financial support in
renewable energy systems and projects including community-owned ones; enhance
grid policies to link the urban poor with power supply from existing sources while focusing on
decentralised and mini-grid systems for the many rural poor and villages;
Commit to invest into sustainable biomass supply such as multi-purpose agroforestry, efficient and
clean cookstoves, biogas digesters and solar thermal heat supply;
Adopt, enforce and comply with laws, regulations, policies and standards on sustainable
hydropower, including with respect to biodiversity conservation, cross-sectoral integration, and
public participation in decision-making, and whether they apply to the siting, design and operation
of single plants, or as requirements or guidance for basin-wide planning;
Promote economy-wide national planning, to enable the integration of large mainstream
investment flows, rather than a project-by-project approach on the sidelines of core
development strategies and decisions.
At Rio+20, leaders should specifically commit to the following objectives by 2030:
Secure access to sustainable and affordable modern energy services;
Develop and implement national low and zero carbon action plans, including national specific
renewable energy and energy efficiency frameworks;
Reduce global energy intensity by 40%;
Have at least 40% of renewable energies in the global energy mix.
2.2 Enablingconditions
A green economies approach embraces the management and governance of natural capital to maintain
ecosystem services as well as the equitable access to and sharing of resources within the sustainable limits
of the planet without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. A green
economies approach should fit within and be coherent with the three pillars of sustainability. An emphasis
on green economies recognises that change needs to occur at the level of economic incentives.
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2.2.1 BeyondGDP
Gross Domestic Product has long been considered as a general indicator of progress for countries. Although
economic flows are an important facet of development, GDP fails to adequately capture a countrys
true performance and wealth flows as it does not take account of damage to or depletion of
ecosystems and natural resources or human wellbeing.
Rio+20 represents an opportunity for Parties to move toward a standard set of metrics for
an indicator to measure environmental performance alongside those already existing
for the economy (GDP) and social (HDI) pillars of sustainable development;
Such an indicator of environmental performance would aim to measure annual changes in and
flows of natural capital such as air, forests, freshwater and biodiversity. Rio+20 should
reach agreement on a deadline to endorse common methods and practices, with a
view to producing global standards so nationally defined indicators can be comparable at the
international level and with appropriate tools for monitoring and assessment;
This can build upon existing initiatives such as UNEPs TEEB initiative (The Economics of
Ecosystems and Biodiversity), the UNs System of Environmental-Economic Accounting
(SEEA), the World Banks Global Partnership for Wealth Accounting and the Valuation of
Ecosystem Services (WAVES) and the Living Planet Index as well as national programmes.
2.2.2 Fiscal, regulatoryandlegal policy
Through their fiscal, regulatory and legislative powers, governments create the rules within which market
forces operate and by which communities live. The recent financial crisis has shown that inadequate
regulation and misallocation of capital can have devastating impacts on human enterprise and well-being.
At Rio+20, governments have a particular opportunity to commit to making better use of the fiscal,
regulatory and legal tools at their disposal in order to better embed the three pillars of sustainability criteria
in market valuations. This will enable structural change that is inclusive, generates employment, enhances
wellbeing and reduces inequities. Governments should:
Eliminating all subsidies that undermine sustainable development, particularly those
underpinning fossil fuel use, unsustainable agriculture and fisheries, taking appropriate action to
offset this measures regressive impact. This process would include transparent, annual reporting
and review and result in elimination by 2020 at the latest:
Fossil fuels: Agree to phase out all subsidies to the fossil fuel industry in a planned agenda to
2020, first aiming to eliminate all subsidies to production, then to consumption of fossil fuels.
Governments should also use this opportunity to earmark this significant saving toward
investments in clean renewable energy with access for all;
Agriculture: Agree to phase out of all subsidies that encourage unsustainable farming and
deforestation and agree to phase out subsidies to damaging ranching practices. The current
subsidy system should be transformed to provide incentives for the development of, and
transition to, environmentally sound agricultural practices and adequate compensation for
conservation services;
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Fisheries: Agree to put an end to all forms of subsidies that encourage destructive fishing
practices, growth in fishing fleet size and fishing effort, including fossil fuel subsidies for fishing
vessels and all vessels engaged in supporting fishing by 2017. By 2014, establish an institutional
framework using the redirected funds to effect innovative financing mechanisms that will pay
for the transition from depleted to recovered fisheries, ensuring that overall fishing effort is
reduced to match sustainable fishing opportunity.
Mandate better integration of social and environmental externalities, including
environmental risk and the polluter pays principle, in standard accounting and reporting practices
for both business and governments, so that these costs can be reflected in market valuations and
environmental impact assessments;
Ensure that sustainability and footprint criteria guide public procurement;
Ensure the establishment and compliance with legal frameworks for the sustainable use
of natural resources;
Use tax measures to favour the sustainable production and sourcing of goods and commodities
by industry, including food crops, dairy, beef, seafood, timber, pulp, cotton, biofuels, palm oil, and
soy;
Develop regulations that commit and support city governments to deliver and implement
ambitious plans to minimise urban areas food, water and energy footprint while improving access,
inclusion and needs satisfaction for the poor.
2.2.3 Certification
Empowering producers to produce sustainably and providing consumers sustainable products,
certification is a key component of sustainable development. Certification schemes assist with the
movement to green economies by protecting ecosystems. Governments can help transition to sustainable
production by:
Expanding support for certifications that use a multi-stakeholder, science-based
approach and operate with a transparent system allowing for certification and trade of goods; and
further, commit to develop certifications based on these principles for goods that are currently not
covered;
Ensuring these mechanisms bring together governments, business and civil society in
order to foster certification criteria clearly grounded in science;
Ensuring that implementation, evaluation and monitoring of certification standards are open and
transparent, inclusive and democratic in a way consumers and producers can trust, and
develop and enforce mechanisms for supporting achievement of certification by sustainable
producers, including smallholders, in the developing world.
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2.3 Fundingfor transition
The financial payoffs of transitioning to green economies, though significant, sometimes lay in the medium-
and long-term and require upfront costs. Such upfront funding should be made available to help finance
and implement the transition to green economies and be an integral part of Rio+20.
2.3.1NewInvestment Vehicle
Rio+20 can setup a public-private investment vehicle to finance projects to transition communities to green
economies. Such an investment vehicle would aim to:
Scale up and catalyse new and additional sources of funding, from both public and private
funding with a view to raise the capital necessary to transition to green economies;
Finance leapfrogging technologies and refitting programmes with a view to capture the
increased returns inherent in economies that better address social and environmental concerns;
Invest in the food, water and energy nexus, particularly on technology cooperation.
Rio+20 is also an opportunity to make significant progress on the establishment of the Green Climate Fund,
which could become a part of the new investment vehicle to fund the transition to green economies. The
following key principles should apply to both the Green Climate Fund and the new investment vehicle:
Streamline and harmonise the numerous existing funds building upon the Paris Aid Effectiveness
Declaration and setting up coordination platforms to better handle the fragmented financial
landscape by simplifying the application processes for funding;
Ensure a fair allocation of funding between sectors, countries and regions;
Facilitate direct access to funding for National Implementing Entities, including by fostering
capacity-building for the accreditation of new Implementing Entities in the LDCs;
Set up a balanced governance system between donor and recipient countries, with the objective of
funding priorities on the basis of country-led initiatives;
Ensure the effective engagement of stakeholders (governments, business, civil society); civil society
organisations should be involved in decision-making process related to the selection of the Board,
the selection of funding priorities and projects, and through clear and transparent reporting;
Establish and use social and environmental safeguards for the implementation of projects, with a
specific attention to the vulnerabilities and needs of local communities, women and indigenous
people.
2.3.2Newinnovativesources of finance
Public sources of funding need to be updated and enhanced in order to help fund sustainable development.
Rio+20 can catalyse this by notably agreeing to:
Introduce a global Financial Transaction Tax (FTT), with revenues raised being earmarked for
implementing Rio+20:
Auction allowances or a levy on emissions from the international maritime and aviation transport
sectors (so called bunkers) providing guidance to the IMO and ICAO to:
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End the Chicago Agreement not to tax aircraft fuel for international flights;
Support the establishment and access to financial assets for rural and urban poor by means of
alternative schemes of financial services (micro-credit; credit unions, etc).
3. INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORKSFORSUSTAINABLEDEVELOPMENT
The reform of institutional arrangements for sustainable development should be promoted with renewed
emphasis on Principle 10 of the 1992 Rio Declaration. Transparency, access to information, public
participation in decision-making, accountability and access to justice are fundamental and necessary
elements for effective and legitimate governance. WWF encourages a process of wide and inclusive
consultation and promotes social inclusion with full participation of civil society, local communities
including indigenous people and private sector that results on good understanding of local, national and
regional conditions upon which development scenarios can be built. Reform should also include principles
such as social inclusion, transparency, policy regulation and enforcement.
3.1. Governance
The objective of any reform to the intitutional frameworks for sustainable development should be to help
deliver green economies by ensuring adequate monitoring, review and implementation of sustainable
development measures. Any reform of institutional frameworks should address all level of governance:
global, regional, national and local. WWF generally supports the following functions.
3.1.1CreatingaSustainableDevelopment Council (SDC)
At Rio+20 leaders should ensure the effective integration of the social, economic and environmental
pillars and coordinate synergies with the UN agencies with sustainable development mandates across the
UN system through the creation of a Sustainable Development Council (SDC). A SDC could be
created by upgrading the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) and by strengthening the
Sustainable Development mandate of ECOSOC. The SDC would sit above and coordinate the existing
sustainable development structures. The creation of a SDC would not require amending the UN
Charter and has a precedent in the establishment of the Human Rights Council.
The key functions of the SDC would include:
Maintaining a global registry of commitments on sustainable development to oversee country
commitments contextual by country , review compliance and guide gradual increases in
commitments with active engagement of civil society;
Coordinating, consolidating and advancing sustainable development objectives across the UN
system;
Ensuring integrated discussions between new and emerging issues such as economic security,
water, security, climate security, energy security, food security and natural disasters. The SDC
should be granted authority to bring agenda items to the Security Council;
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Integrating sustainable development principles in UN development policy-making and
operational activities;
Implementing previously made commitments on sustainable development by greater emphasis
on support, enforcement and monitoring of compliance through stronger accountability
mechanisms for the states concerned to respect their engagements;
Reviewing, monitoring and promoting enforcement and compliance of Sustainable
Development Goals through strong accountability mechanisms for the states concerned to
respect their commitments;
Ensuring the creation of National Sustainable Development Councils as agreed at the Rio Earth
Summit and raising their political profile through cross-sectoral ministerial representation
reporting to the Head of State/Government and active engagement of civil society and the
private sector;
Putting in place joint action plans, establishing multi-stakeholders committees (relevant
government sectors, national conventions focal points, private sector, indigenous and local
communities and civil society organisations) and supporting concrete pilot projects;
Building and sharing knowledge of inter-linkages and solutions to food, water and energy
scarcity issues as well as disaster prevention and response.
An SDC would benefit from having:
A decision-making process with an equal representation of major donors, recipient countries as
well as civil society represented on the governing body;
Country representation at the highest political level of the cross-sectoral ministerial committee;
Membership of International Financial Institutions to increase UN system-wide coherence;
3.1.2UpgradingUNEP
Parties should support upgrading UNEP to a specialised agency (UN Environment
Organisation) reporting directly to the General Assembly. This enhanced structure would consolidate
existing institutions and strengthen the environmental pillar by giving it equal political weight to
social and economic pillars within the UN system (for example: ILO, WHO WMO).
Key functions of an upgraded UNEP would be to:
Provide the UN authoritative voice on environment by developing, defining and driving
implementation of global environment priorities ;
Bring coherence to the proliferation of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) by
creating synergies in governance approaches; put greater emphasis on enforcement and
monitoring of compliance to MEAs through stronger accountability mechanisms. This can be
done by clustering MEAs under an upgraded UNEP;
Make recommendations for financing priorities in particular for capacity building and
technology transfer efforts for the environment;
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Ensure strong environment expertise in the UN country offices to assist in the mainstreaming
and implementation of environment issues in development, poverty reduction and economic
activities. Build national capacity by working with UNDP or other appropriate agencies to
employ country-based environment specialist staff;
Spot emerging trends and identify scenarios for multilateral and institutional response.
To be most legitimate and credible, the upgraded UNEP should have:
Universal membership and civil society represented on the governing body;
Stable and predictable funding through assessed contributions rather than voluntary donations
and convene processes to ensure that the policies and commitments are properly resourced so
the objectives can be met in the timeframe;
A decision-making process with a balanced representation of member states and civil society on
the governing body.
3.1.3 Greeningof Economic, TradeandFinancial bodies
Existing economic, trade and financial decision-making bodies should be mandated to:
Better incorporate sustainable development parameters in the existing International Financial
Institutions, particularly in terms of funding, operations, strategic plans, objectives and
implementation;
Include representation of the SDC and upgraded UNEP on the governing body of each of the
International Trade and Financial Institutions;
Grant the SDC and upgraded UNEP with trade-related mandates, objectives and obligations with
permanent observer status in all relevant economic and financial decision making bodies;
Increase funding levels and pursue further reforms to strengthen the efficiency of the Global
Environment Facility.
3.1.4 OceanGovernance
Governments need to address the drivers behind the current decline in marine resources and habitats that if
left unchecked will seriously jeopardize food security: the lack of integrated governance arrangements of the
oceans and the lack of flag state responsibility to implement internationally negotiated treaties related to
the use of the oceans and their dwindling resources. Governments should address these by agreeing to:
Convening as a matter of urgency an intergovernmental conference under United Nations
auspices on strengthening high seas governance, with a clear and specific mandate to:
Agree to a comprehensive package of governance reforms that fulfils states commitments
under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and other relevant international
agreements for the effective conservation and protection of the marine environment and
marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, on a precautionary and integrated
basis, including ensuring full and effective control of vessels, especially by flag states;
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For further information please contact:
Susan Brown: sbrown@wwfint.org
or Adrian Dellecker: adellecker@wwfint.org
Establish a mechanism that will deliver, by 2017, the identification, designation and effective
management of a fully comprehensive, adequate and representative system of high seas marine
protected areas, including no-take reserves;
Agree to require periodic strategic environmental assessment for all sectoral uses in all regions
and to require prior environmental impact assessment for each user with a view to delivering
ecosystem-based integrated oceans management;
Ensure that a system is established for adequate assistance to enable developing states to fully
and equitably participate in and implement the elements above.
Merging the UNGA Oceans and the UNGA Fisheries Resolutions into one genuinely
omnibus Ocean Resolution, to ensure all maritime sectors are regulated through this one
overarching agreement with a view to avoiding sectoral isolation and to delivering integrated
oceans management. Initial discussions to this end could take place within the UNGA Open Ended
Working Group on Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction.
Strengthening cooperation through INTERPOL with a view to ensuring civil and criminal
offences at sea, including environmental crime in all its forms, are effectively prevented and
prosecuted and, where necessary, agree to ensure relevant activities are regarded as sufficiently
serious offences to warrant INTERPOLs involvement in international pursuit of offenders. Of
particular concern is the need to recognise that: both the wildlife and pollution aspects of
environmental crime need to be broadened to explicitly include marine aspects; marine living
resources crimes are serious; the involvement of transnational organised crime is widespread; and
poor working and living conditions amount to the serious crime of trafficking in persons.
3.2SustainableDevelopment Goals
It is essential to bring a robust and ambitious framework into force after the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) expire in 2015. A post-2015 framework needs to tackle the structural causes of inequality
within and between countries, and target poor governance, unfair trade systems, environmental
degradation, and climate change. The new framework should better capture the integrated development
challenges to the environment and should be benchmarked for all countries. The process to develop a new
set of goals and targets should be a consultative process. For these reasons WWF supports:
The concept of Sustainable Development Goals, including linking ecosystem health (water
management, energy, food production, agriculture and ranching, marine and fisheries, footprint
reduction) to development objectives;
The principle that SDGs are complementary to MDGs and bring added value to the work on
post-2015 framework for MDGs;
Any agreed set of SDGs should have universal targets, for both developing and developed
countries.

UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
(RIO + 20)
Rio de Janeiro, 4-6 June 2012

Contribution by the European Union and its Member States
to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs

I. GENERAL INTRODUCTION

The European Union (EU) and its Member States consider that the United Nations
Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), to be held in Rio de Janeiro on
4-6 June 2012, offers a unique opportunity for our mutually interdependent world to secure
renewed political commitment to sustainable development at all levels. The Conference will
also provide an opportunity to assess the progress made to date, identify remaining
implementation gaps and address new and emerging challenges since the UN Conference on
Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and the World Summit on
Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002.

The EU and its Member States are putting forward the present contribution in response to the
invitation from the Second Preparatory Committee of Rio+20 to provide inputs and
contributions in writing by 1 November 2011 for inclusion in a compilation document to
serve as a basis for the preparation of the "zero draft" of the outcome document. Our
contribution focuses on the two main themes of Rio+20, i.e. green economy in the context of
sustainable development and poverty eradication (GESDPE) and the institutional framework
for sustainable development (IFSD), as means of achieving the objectives of the Conference.

While some progress has been made in advancing sustainable development over the last
decades, around 1.4 billion people, mostly in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, still live in
extreme poverty and one sixth of the worlds population is undernourished. Unsustainable
economic growth has increased the stress on the earth's limited natural resources and on the
carrying capacity of ecosystems, with 60% of the world's natural resources already being
used unsustainably or at their limit. Many environmental problems have not been solved and
have become more acute, and economic, social and environmental problems are closely
linked.

Rio+20 should include democratic development and respect for human rights to achieve
sustainable development at every level and recognize democracy, the rule of law,
transparency and accountability as means of meeting social, economic and environmental
challenges, as well as the importance of gender equality and the vital role that women have in
achieving sustainable development.

Rio+20 should focus on strengthening the coherence and enhancing the linkages between the
environmental, economic and social dimensions of sustainable development and contribute to
the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 and of other
relevant internationally agreed goals in the context of major UN conferences, in particular
Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. In this context, the two themes of
Rio+20 offer promising ways to tackle remaining challenges.

Rio+20 should accelerate and broaden the world-wide transition towards a green economy
that promotes sustainable development and contributes to poverty eradication around the
world. The EU and its Member States consider that a green economy offers win-win
opportunities to all countries, regardless of the structure of their economy and their level of
development. Green economy is more than the sum of existing commitments: it has the
potential to lead us to a new development paradigm and a new business model where growth,
development and environment are seen as mutually reinforcing each other. Increasing
resource efficiency, promoting sustainable consumption and production patterns, tackling
climate change, protecting biodiversity, combating desertification, reducing pollution as well
as using and managing natural resources and ecosystems in a sustainable and socially

responsible manner are both requirements and key vehicles in ensuring a just transition to a
green economy.

The EU and its Member States consider that strengthening international environmental
governance is central to the pursuance of sustainable development, and that the necessary
reform of the IFSD also requires a bottom-up perspective, drawing on lessons learned at all
levels.

The EU and its Member States support a forward-looking and focused political document
capable of giving renewed impetus to sustainable development. In order to do that, Rio+20
needs to agree on a shared vision for change, able to deliver results within agreed time frames.
The EU and its Member States consider that the agreed political document should be
supported by operational outcomes that should include a green economy roadmap with
specific goals, objectives and actions at international level as well as a package of reforms
which includes transforming the UNEP into a specialized UN agency for the environment,
leading to a strengthened international environmental governance (IEG) as part of a more
balanced and effective IFSD.

In spite of implementation efforts by governments and non-State actors in all countries,
implementation barriers such as low political priority for integrated decision-making, missing
or conflicting targets and measures or insufficient coordination between ministries still
remain. In order to address implementation gaps, we need to promote integrated strategies,
public interest, awareness and participation, good governance and coordination and
cooperation mechanisms between government departments and between government, local
government, civil society and the private sector. The key role of the private sector in the
transition to sustainable development needs to be recognized and made full use of.

The experience and solutions found among the largest generation of young people in history
will be important for Rio+20. The EU and its Member States therefore consider the
involvement of young people as agents for change vital for a successful outcome of Rio+20
and for the continued implementation process.

With a view to strengthening intergovernmental action, we propose to build a new alliance
with stakeholders through their enhanced participation in the decision-making,
implementation and follow-up of Rio+20 outcome, as well as by launching sustainable
development initiatives, networks and innovative partnerships at all levels.

We acknowledge that funding for the implementation of sustainable development policies and
actions will have to come from a variety of sources, both public and private. A joint approach
by traditional donors, emerging economies, international financial institutions (IFIs) and the
private sector is needed, addressing the 'silo' approach to channellng funds and ensuring a
more effective identification and use of existing resoures, as well as mobilisation of available
and innovative sources of finance.

The EU and its Member States remain strongly committed to playing an active and
constructive role in the preparatory process of Rio+20 with a view to contributing to a
successful outcome.

----------

II. GREEN ECONOMY IN THE CONTEXT OF SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT AND POVERTY ERADICATION

a. Introduction

1. A just transition to a green economy will speed up the implementation of existing
sustainable development commitments and help address the implementation gaps, while
being fully committed to respect for human rights and gender equality and contributing
significantly to eradicating poverty. It will improve environmental justice and reduce
inequalities, environmental scarcities and the stress on ecosystems by investing in and
preserving natural capital, securing sustainable and efficient use of resources and
addressing social concerns, while maintaining competitiveness. Democracy,
transparency, good governance and accountability are essential means of meeting social,
economic and environmental challenges and protecting people's right to live in a healthy
environment, in dignity, and free from hunger and from fear of violence, oppression and
injustice. A sustainable, green economy will provide goods and services to all and
supports access to food, energy and sanitation for all. Education for sustainable
development, including awareness-raising and consumer information, is of primary
importance in changing behavioural patterns.

2. The transition to a green economy has great potential to promote long-term sustainable
growth, create decent jobs and hence eradicate poverty, focussing on inclusiveness and
avoiding equity gaps. The need for a just transition to a sustainable system of production
and consumption that results in lower pressures on natural resources and the
environment while improving the quality of life, prosperity and social well-being is now
widely recognised. This requires that economic development be oriented to remain
within the regenerative and absorptive capacity of the planet and contribute to
eradicating poverty by shifting consumption and production patterns onto a sustainable
path. Various green-economy tools and defining necessary measures will help all
stakeholders to implement the policies and actions needed to achieve sustainable
development. The transition to a green economy will be a global challenge, which both
developed countries and developing countries should embark on with ambitious national
and international action. A commitment to open markets is important. The
transformation to a green economy should not be used to introduce new trade barriers.

3. To strengthen the linkages between social and economic areas, strategies at all levels
should address all sectors in a horizontal way with a view to benefiting from cross-
sectoral policy coherence while maintaining competitiveness. To this end, framework
conditions should be established, primarily at national and sub-national level, making
use of policies and actions able to establish favourable regulatory frameworks and a
level playing field for green markets such as fiscal incentives, emissions trading, gradual
elimination of subsidies that have considerable negative effects on the environment and
are incompatible with sustainable development, green public procurement, the
promotion of eco-innovation and clean technology, green entrepreneurship, knowledge-
building schemes, etc. Social policies to reconcile social goals with economic policies
are also necessary. These initiatives should build on good governance, a dynamic and
innovative private sector, efficient regulation, reduced bureaucracy and market
instruments. Ratification of the relevant ILO conventions is of utmost importance to
ensure that growth is not only economically and ecologically sustainable, but also fair,
just and equitable, taking into account social issues and contributing to poverty
eradication.

4. The EU and its Member States emphasise the importance of improving resource
efficiency and sustainable material management through full implementation of life-
cycle assessment and of management of Low Carbon Development Strategies as agreed
in Cancun. It is important to reflect environmental externalities in prices for resources
and services and apply negative incentives with regard to negative external costs and
diseconomies, and to encourage activities with positive external effects.

5. International action should be promoted and existing commitments reaffirmed in key
sectors such as water, food and agriculture, fisheries, forestry, energy, the marine
environment and chemicals, as well as in areas relating to the sustainable management
and restoration of natural resources and ecosystem services and the sustainable
management of waste along with both climate-change mitigation and adaptation
processes. The aim is to foster favourable framework conditions for sustainable
development, preserving and - where necessary - restoring natural capital and securing
the functions of ecosystems, hence ensuring benefit to all and contributing to poverty
eradication, social development and environmental integrity.

6. Special efforts are needed to enable poor people to participate in, contribute to, and
benefit from economic development. People who live in conditions of poverty and social
exclusion are more directly dependent on (local) natural resources and ecosystem
services. As key actors they should have a vital role in a green economy which promotes
decent work with effective respect for fundamental principles, rights at work, social
development, full freely chosen and productive employment for both women and men
and combats child labour and forced labour by taking into account the implementation of
the International Labour Standards and the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a fair
Globalization with a view to integrating social development through global sustainable
development. Improved water resource management and access to safe food, water,
sustainable and affordable energy, shelter, basic sanitation, education, infrastructure,
health and jobs with decent working conditions for the poor are central issues for
sustainable development, as these are fundamental rights for everyone. In this regard, the
vital role of women in achieving sustainable development needs to be underlined.

b. A key role of the private sector

7. Through (fair) trade, investment, public-private partnerships and research and
innovation, the private sector and civil society play key roles in delivering green growth
and promoting sustainable consumption and production, inter alia through corporate
social responsibility and technology diffusion. Private sector activities involving
promoting and adopting a sustainable business model in their supply chain and including
environmental and social concerns in their investment decisions, will make a concrete
contribution to a green economy roadmap. The OECD Guidelines for Multinational
Enterprises and the global framework for social responsibility, the Guiding Principles on
Business and Human Rights, the Global Compact 10 Principles, the ISO 26000 standard
on social responsibility and the Global Reporting Initiative are important tools in this
respect that should be recalled and used in the Rio follow-up by the private sector.
Further opening up markets for sustainably produced goods and services would boost
trade in key technologies. The prospects of a global market, rather than regional or local
markets, would also strengthen incentives for firms to invest in R&D.

c. Proposals for operational outcomes: elements of a green economy roadmap

8. In order to give renewed impetus to sustainable development, Rio+20 needs to agree on
a shared vision for change that can help to put the world on track towards sustainable
development and is able to deliver results within agreed time frames. The main
operational outcomes of Rio+20 should include a green economy roadmap with
deadlines for specific goals, objectives and actions at the international level as a
significant contribution to sustainable development and poverty eradication.

9. For the green economy roadmap, the EU proposes a number of actions as outlined in this
document. This includes a capacity development scheme for voluntary country-specific
and, where appropriate, region and sector-specific actions and a limited number of cross-
cutting and thematic international actions that contribute to a green economy in the
context of sustainable development and poverty eradication in a specific area.

10. At Rio+20, the acknowledgement and encouragement of voluntary national
commitments and actions by State actors as well as stakeholders to achieve a green
economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication should also
take place as to ensure a bottom-up approach and the shaping of innovative partnerships.

11. The proposals made are not meant to be final proposals; they should rather be considered
as a contribution to the international dialogue on the outcomes of the Rio+20
conference. The EU and its Member States are interested in sharing and exchanging
ideas and look forward to further suggestions on the outcomes of the conference.

d. Proposals for cross-cutting actions

Measuring progress - models and indicators

Deliverables

12. Further develop and strengthen indicators complementing GDP that integrate
economic, social and environmental dimensions in a balanced manner.
Such an approach should include the selection of headline indicators reflecting
several aspects of sustainable development (e.g. a dashboard of indicators).
Indicators for sustainable development which have been elaborated since 1992
should be revised and validated through a participatory process of peer review and
public discussion including different stakeholders. Specific indicators could be used
in conjunction with goals, if these were to be decided at Rio+20. To implement work
on indicators, support needs to be given to the on-going UN process of establishing
environmental accounts.

13. Provide global outlook and assessments on energy, water, food and other resource
areas, based on a partnership of international and UN organisations.
The aim is to publish a new World Resources Outlook [by 2015], akin to the first
IPCC report and building on other relevant reports. This would consider the links
between natural resources and climate change, and help assess global, national and
sub-national needs for the green economy in the context of sustainable development
and poverty eradication. Such a partnership should build on and extend the work of
the UNEP Resource Panel.

Rationale

14. To accelerate and broaden the world-wide transition to a green economy that promotes
sustainable development and contributes to poverty eradication, goals may be developed
and set at different levels. Such goals would require measurable and steerable indicators.
For the further development of sustainable development indicators, existing initiatives
should be analyzed and built upon. Indicators should be developed in keeping with the
commitments made by the international community in Agenda 21 and the JPoI.

15. Aiming at a set of indicators is in line with ongoing initiatives. The commitment of CBD
Parties in Nagoya in 2010 to incorporate the value of biological diversity into national
accounting and reporting systems provides an impetus and rationale for actions aimed at
better integration of natural resources and ecosystem services into planning and poverty-
eradication strategies. In addition, extensive international work has been conducted in
recent years on measuring progress and wellbeing, including the deliberations by the
OECD, Stiglitz Commission and many others.

16. Any new metrics need to add empirically sound value to the ongoing discussion and
should be proportionate, reasonable and affordable and take into account existing work
and data availability. To assure compatibility, differentiated benchmarks should be
developed at international level according to countries' development priorities.

Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP)

Deliverable

17. Establish a 10-Year Framework of Programmes on SCP (10YFP), as elaborated in
the negotiations in the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development,
based on Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration and the Johannesburg Plan of
Implementation.

Rationale

18. SCP patterns are key driving forces in achieving a just transition to green economies
worldwide in a context of sustainable development and poverty eradication, and in
promoting competitive, inclusive economies delivering full and productive employment
and decent work for all and fostering efficient social protection systems.

19. The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation called for the development of a 10 YFP in
support of regional and national initiatives to accelerate the shift towards SCP in order to
promote social and economic development within the carrying capacity of ecosystems.

20. Current unsustainable patterns of consumption and production put a heavy stress on
ecosystems and on critical life-support systems, and impact on the quality of life and
social well-being.

21. Since Rio, substantial efforts have been made by governments and major groups to
promote SCP patterns in all countries, and a number of developed countries have been
taking the lead in accordance with the principle of common but differentiated
responsibilities (CBDR). All these efforts have created new economic opportunities in
both developed and developing countries which can be drawn upon.

22. The 2010/2011 CSD cycle highlighted the readiness of the international community to
take action to accelerate this shift and to establish this 10YFP.

Capacity development scheme

Deliverable

23. Establish a capacity development scheme - with input from the UN system,
International Financial Institutions, bilateral and multilateral donors and the
private sector - to provide country-specific advice, and, where appropriate, region
and sector-specific advice to all interested countries on the transformation to a
green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication
and to assist them in accessing available funds

- In the spirit of the bottom-up approach, it would be up to the interested
countries themselves to specify the policy areas to focus on, based on their
national priorities and institutional arrangements and respecting national
differences.
- This capacity-development scheme would rely on enhanced coordination
between existing structures and a more efficient, better-coordinated use of
existing resources. The task of improving coordination between existing
structures would be mandated to those reformed and strengthened IFSD
structures decided on at Rio+20.
- A coherent approach would be facilitated, taking into account, inter alia, the
MDGs Acceleration Framework and the ongoing work on poverty-reduction
strategies and national sustainable development strategies. The work on the
Low Carbon Development Strategies and Plans and national strategies for
mitigation and adaptation actions (NAMAs) will be an essential component of
this effort. Furthermore, green economy capacity development should go hand
in hand with efforts to foster good governance and anticorruption policy.
- In order to enable interested countries to choose from a menu of possible
actions and best practices, a toolbox or best-practice guide could be compiled,
providing information about appropriate legal, economic and other instruments
and policies designed to help all key actors accelerate the transition to a green
economy. This will also enable the sharing of national and regional experience
of green economy policies. Management of natural resources should build on
transparency and accountability, taking into consideration people in poverty
and marginalised groups.
- An ambitious but realistic timeframe for each country seeking advice would
help with implementation. For example, all interested countries should be
matched to the actors most appropriate to provide the country-specific advice
and should have received such advice by 20XX (date to be specified). The
essential implementation steps should be completed by 20XX (date to be
specified).

Rationale

24. At present, the support provided by the UN system, International Financial Institutions,
bilateral and multilateral donors and the private sector is not sufficiently coordinated to
effectively accelerate the worldwide transition to a green economy in the context of
sustainable development and poverty eradication. A stronger, more efficient and better-
integrated multilateral architecture for sustainable development is needed in order to
undertake this coordination effort, in line with what Delivering As One is promoting
within the UN. The scheme described above, implemented by reformed and
strengthened IFSD structures, would enable the UN system to deliver coordinated,
demand-driven advice effectively and thereby drive substantial change.

Research and scientific cooperation

Deliverables

25. Establish a mechanism for international research cooperation on major sustainable
development challenges.
The mechanism would aim to provide a robust knowledge base on sustainable
development issues, including the basis of measurement. It would provide regular
reporting based on the latest knowledge of the scientific community. The mechanism
would build on and work in synergy with existing scientific panels and bodies. Work
should start by 2013. In the longer term the mechanism could promote research and
innovation programmes in different sectors, jointly with the private sector and other
actors.

26. Strengthen the development and implementation of GEOSS to include sustainable
development aspects
Starting in 2013, develop a long term strategy for the second implementation phase of
GEOSS (2015-2025) that would review and reinforce those elements relevant to
sustainable development and create linkages across GEOSS's social benefit areas.

Rationale

27. Unprecedented levels of scientific and technological cooperation are needed to
overcome the major global challenges of the 21st century. Much information is
available, but it is fragmented, and there is a need for a mechanism to systematically
collect and process existing knowledge into authoritative and comprehensive reports on
key sustainable development and green economy issues. This knowledge should be
made freely available to the scientific community and policy makers, businesses and the
public at large.

28. GEOSS, Global Earth Observation System of Systems, was founded as a follow-up to
Rio+10. It is an example of how research cooperation has already substantially
progressed towards meeting the needs for long-term global information as a basis for
decision-making. GEOSS combines national, regional and global earth observation data
and infrastructures to build global datasets necessary to understand and predict the
functioning of the earth systems. In the future, there is an opportunity to channel
GEOSS information and data to support sustainable development decision making.

Innovative finance and subsidies

Deliverables

29. Launch an international process to promote the role of innovative and private
instruments of finance, including by highlighting their importance in areas such as
climate change and biodiversity, and stress the role of the Leading Group on
Innovative Financing for Development.

30. Ensure commitments to gradually eliminate subsidies that have considerable
negative effects on the environment and are incompatible with sustainable
development, complemented with measures to protect poor and vulnerable groups,
inter alia by expansion of existing G20 and APEC commitments regarding the
rationalization and phasing out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies in the medium
term to all UN Member States and timely implementation of the strategic goal and
targets on subsidies harmful to biodiversity set out in The Strategic Plan for
Biodiversity 2011-2020 decided in Nagoya 2010.

Rationale

31. Innovative instruments of finance are likely to play a far more prominent role in
international financing for development in the near future. In December 2010
UN Resolution A/RES/65/146 was adopted; it stressed that innovative mechanisms of
financing can make a positive contribution in assisting developing countries to mobilise
additional resources for development on a stable, predictable and voluntary basis.

32. In the area of climate change, emissions-trading schemes or levies on international
aviation and maritime transport are examples of pricing carbon emissions. The Report of
the Secretary-General's High-level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing (UN
AGF) and the G-20 report on mobilizing climate finance may be flagged as a reference
in this respect. In the area of biodiversity, innovative financial mechanisms also have an
important role to play, as is reflected in CBD COP 10 decisions for instance.

33. A recent study by the OECD found that removing consumer subsidies for energy over
the next decade would reduce global greenhouse gases emissions by over 10 per cent in
2050.

e. Proposals for actions in specific areas

Water

Deliverables

34. Strengthen the implementation of internationally agreed goals for water and
sanitation and expand commitments and initiatives addressing the following main
aspects:

- Renewing the commitment made at the Rio+10 Conference to the
development and implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management
at national level and for joint management of transboundary waters.

- Continuing commitment and support to accelerate access to sanitation and safe
drinking water for all (MDG7) within reasonable timeframes, as well as other
water-dependent MDGs.
- Proposing a new commitment to reduce water pollution from households,
industrial and agricultural sources and promote water efficiency and the use of
wastewater as a resource, particularly in expanding urban and peri-urban areas.
- Building on international partnerships on water and sanitation (such as the EU
water initiative) and reinforcing the involvement of economic actors as well as
participation of stakeholders, including people in poverty, marginalized groups
and in particular women, who play a central role in water management at local
level.
- Scaling up investments and developing innovative financing mechanisms in
the areas of water resources and ecosystems, sanitation infrastructure, water
policy reform, prevention of water-related risks due to global changes, and the
uptake of relevant new technologies to improve resource efficiency.

35. Promote international initiatives and partnerships to better address the
"water/energy/food security nexus", involving economic actors and promoting
appropriate goals and concrete initiatives to foster action. This could create
synergies with other initiatives such as the Sustainable Energy for all initiative or
the Global Soil Partnership.

Rationale

36. By 2030, in a business-as-usual scenario, humanity's demand for water could outstrip
supply by as much as 40 percent. This could cause increasing public health costs and
could hinder economic development, lead to social and geopolitical tensions and cause
lasting environmental damage. The world lags seriously behind in meeting the MDG
target for sanitation. Water and sanitation are also closely linked to all other MDGs
especially in poverty and hunger reduction and access to energy and health, all of which
require water and the development of the water sector.

37. Pressures on natural resources are challenging the effectiveness of conventional planning
and decision-making. Trying to meet demand through single-sector approaches in
response to what are inherently interlinked processes limits our ability to provide basic
water, food and energy services to the poorest. New approaches are needed to address
inter-dependencies across the water, energy and food sectors.

Food and Agriculture

Deliverables

38. Promote investments in food security by improving access to local and global
agri-food markets for (small-scale) farmers, with special attention to women (e.g.
by establishing a scheme).

39. Establish schemes that expand public-private partnerships and facilitate multi-
stakeholder and certification initiatives to promote sustainable, climate-smart and
high-productive agriculture and agri-food chains and markets.

40. Strengthen cooperation of International Organizations dealing with the issue of
food security and support, inter alia implementation of the 2004 Voluntary
Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in
the Context of National Food Security.

41. Promote the implementation of the planned Voluntary Guidelines for the
Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of
National Food Security under the FAO Committee on World Security.

Rationale

42. Today, over one billion people live in hunger and 2 billion people have a chronic lack of
nutrient-rich food. The world population will grow to 9 billion people by 2050 and food
consumption patterns in emerging economies are changing fast. According to the FAO,
food production and productivity have to increase by about 50% or more on the existing
land area. The efforts must focus on enlarging the sustainable agricultural production
capacity and increasing the quality of food.

43. For the promotion of a high-production, sustainable agriculture, it is necessary that all
stakeholders in the agri-food chain cooperate to improve access to local and global
agri-food markets for farmers, with special attention to women. Business, primary
producers, governments, traders, retailers and consumers each have different
possibilities and responsibilities which need to be pooled in order to achieve sustainable
agriculture and food security. Multi-stakeholder initiatives are best practices which
facilitate sustainable agriculture through dialogue between the relevant stakeholders in
the agri-food chain. These initiatives promote more equitable investment contracts as
part of more sustainable business models. While the EU recognizes that private sector
involvement and investment (by small holders as well as large entities) are essential to
improve food security and support responsible investments, safeguards against
undesirable social and ecological impacts of investments are also necessary.

44. It is however important to bear in mind that, according to UNEP (2009), enough food for
10 billion people is already produced. The problem is that half of this food is spoiled or
thrown away as garbage. The raw material and food produced is thus harvested and
consumed in an inefficient way and distributed unequally. In addition to high-production
agri-food-chains it is important to give attention to more efficient and equal consumption
of food and raw materials.

Sustainable energy

Deliverables

45. Build on the Sustainable Energy for All initiative (SE4ALL) launched by the
Secretary-General, including its concrete goals
- Provide universal access to a basic minimum level of modern energy services
for both consumption and production uses by 2030.
- Pursue the SE4ALL goal of doubling the share of renewable energy in the global
energy mix by 2030 through promoting the development and use of renewable
energy sources and technologies in all countries.

- Increase efforts to improve energy efficiency at all levels with a view to doubling
the rate of improvement by 2030.
- Develop an accountability framework including timelines and benchmarks for
progress and for tracking the provision, delivery and results of stakeholder
commitments.

46. Promote mechanisms for international dialogue and cooperation on developing and
exchanging sustainable energy technologies between countries and between the
public and the private sectors.

Rationale

47. Energy services can provide crucial support to both social and economic development,
thereby strongly influencing developing countries' ability to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). For the 1.4 billion people without access to electricity and
the 2.7 billion people in the world without clean cooking facilities, electrification or the
availability of clean cooking fuels can reduce poverty, improve health conditions, and
increase standards of living.

48. The 2030 global targets proposed under the SE4ALL Initiative are likely to form the
basis of a new energy partnership between developed and developing countries.
However, more discussion is needed internationally on the definition of modern energy
services, as well as on the global CO2 emissions likely with such targets.

49. In this context, continued development and dissemination of sustainable energy
technologies has an important role to play, while at the same time fostering synergies
with international efforts and actions to combat climate change. Renewable energy and
energy efficiency have the potential to contribute to social and economic development,
ensure security of supply as well as to mitigate climate change and provide
environmental and health benefits

50. Existing mechanisms for technology transfer that could be further developed and
improved are for instance the new Technology Mechanism as decided in Cancun and
IRENA.

Forestry

Deliverables

51. Promote progress on REDD+ and FLEGT initiatives at all levels.

52. Promote horizontal policy frameworks as well as market instruments that
effectively slow, halt and reverse deforestation and forest degradation and promote
the sustainable use and management of forests, as well as their conservation and
restoration. This should unleash the full potential of forests for sustainable
development and improve the resilience of forest ecosystems to environmental risks
and disasters. Initiatives under this heading would address the following key issues:

- Promote public-private partnerships and strengthen dialogue and information
flow between science and practice along the whole value chain. This would
focus on innovation in the field of new forest-based products and responsibility
for forest management that takes climate change, biodiversity and other global
challenges, (such as water scarcity, poverty, hunger, and employment) into
account. Step up efforts to address gaps in valuation of forest goods and
services and to mainstream forest values in national policy making processes.
- Ensure transparency of value chains and markets for bio-based forest products
and services through the enhanced use of certification systems and schemes for
improved market access and consumer acceptance.
- Promote benefits for people through setting up legal and policy frameworks for
the participation of forest rights holders groups and other stakeholders in
decision- making, and in the design of benefit sharing mechanisms.

53. Further develop the existing monitoring of the state of forests and harmonise
reporting on sustainable forest management, forest function and forest condition
for multipurpose usage with a focus on international reporting obligations by
relevant international conventions and agreements. Support efforts of the FAO and
GEOSS to strengthen and further develop remote sensing services for global forest
monitoring.

Rationale

54. Forests provide a variety of goods and services that support human well-being and
poverty reduction, contribute to long-term social and economic development, and reduce
environmental risks and ecological scarcities. They provide income and subsistence to
hundreds of millions of people. Over 1.6 billion people depend on forest goods and
services for subsistence. Sustainable Forest Management is an essential dimension of the
green economy of many tropical countries, improving livelihoods and food security,
eradicating poverty and strengthening the resilience of forest ecosystems.
The Global Objectives on Forests, adopted at the UNFF session in 2006, should be
important guiding principles in partnerships that discourage deforestation and safeguard
forest ownership and user rights, especially for poor, forest-dependent communities and
indigenous populations. The UNEP Green Economy Report highlights the need for
further action on sustainable forest management, protected forests, payments for
ecosystem services (PES and REDD+), reducing deforestation, recreation, forest
certification, afforestation, agri-forestry and good governance and policy-making.

Soil and sustainable land management

Deliverables

55. Enhance and foster the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
as a global policy and monitoring framework.

56. Promote partnerships and initiatives for the safeguarding of soil resources for
future generations such as the Global Soil Partnership (GSP) proposed by the
FAO.

57. Promote scientific studies and initiatives aimed at raising wider awareness of
the global economic benefits of healthy and productive land and soil such as the
Economics on Land Degradation (ELD) Initiative.

Rationale

58. The global dimension of soil degradation needs the be acknowledged internationally,
because protecting, restoring and managing soils has an effect on biodiversity,
forests, climate change, and thus the quality of soil can have an underlying influence
on the ability to achieve MDGs targets.

59. The policy response to date in many cases has been limited to national actions, by
laws on soils and national programmes and policies: the UNCCD is the only existing
normative framework for soil and sustainable land management, providing those
countries which are parties with a common instrument and a coordinated global
response to these issues.

60. The UNCCD recognizes the needs of the most vulnerable populations and the
poorest countries and can help find the tools to make land use in agriculture, energy
and forestry sustainable and to achieve food security.

61. The Global Soil Partnership has the objective of addressing soil and land degradation
at global level by improving global soil governance, soil data collection, validation,
reporting and monitoring; establishing guidelines and indicators, and promoting
targeted soil research. The ELD initiative aims to carry out a comprehensive
assessment of land degradation that looks at both the costs of failing to prevent
further land degradation and the economic benefits of addressing it through
sustainable land management policies.

Marine Environment oceans

Deliverables

62. Ensure a commitment by those UN Member States that have not yet done so to
become parties to UNCLOS.

63. Agree to launch the negotiation of a new implementing agreement under UNCLOS
for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity, in
particular addressing marine protected areas, environmental impact assessments
and the access to and benefits of sharing genetic resources in areas beyond national
jurisdiction (ABNJ).

64. Ensure a commitment to deliver and continue to support a more meaningful UN
Regular Process for global reporting and assessment of the state of the marine
environment, including socio-economic aspects.

65. Promote a holistic and integrated approach to the governance of oceans, seas and
coasts by all States including through the development of cross-sectoral policy tools.
Such an approach should include conservation and management measures and
address cumulative environmental impacts, in areas within and beyond national
jurisdiction, in a way that is coherent, compatible and without prejudice to the
rights and obligations of all States under UNCLOS.

66. Develop a global action plan to combat marine litter and pollution.

67. Recognize the significant economic, social and environmental contribution of coral
reefs to island and coastal States, including by promoting regional cooperation on
the model of the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI), and encouraging the
International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI).

Rationale

68. Marine ecosystems are central to human well-being as a source of several important
ecosystem services and the sustainable management of oceans and seas, including
sustainable fisheries, is essential to achieve the goals of a "blue" economy in terms of
sustainable economic growth, poverty eradication and job creation with decent working
conditions. However, as economic activity increases in the oceans, pressures on coastal
and marine ecosystems also increase, thus calling for an integrated, eco-system based
management of human activities. An adequate prevention strategy is needed to counter
the vulnerability of coastal States to the negative impacts of incidents directly related to
maritime and coastal activities.

69. UNCLOS is the legal framework regulating all human activities in the oceans but some
States are still not parties to this Convention. A new implementing agreement for
UNCLOS is necessary to operationalize the provisions in UNCLOS with regard to the
conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national
jurisdiction, in particular questions on marine genetic resources, marine protected areas
and environmental impact assessments. There is also a need to take forward the Regular
Process for global reporting and assessment of the state of the marine environment,
which was agreed on at the WSSD and is now being gradually implemented by the UN
system. Ensuring the sustainable management of the oceans, seas and coasts requires
reinforced application of an ecosystem-based approach supported by adequate tools to
work across different sectoral policies affecting the oceans, seas and coasts. The
increasing threats of marine pollution and litter require a global answer.

70. Coral reefs are essential to Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and several coastal
countries. They provide direct economic benefits (fisheries, tourism, biodiversity),
contribute to natural-disaster protection, sustainable coastal management, and are a rich
and unique ecosystem, directly threatened by climate change, with high social and
cultural value. Regional cooperation on the basis of the Regional Seas Convention is the
relevant level for promoting best governance and mobilizing resources and commitments
by State and non-State actors as shown by CTI. Created in 1994, ICRI is recognized
(UNGA 2010 resolution on coral reefs) as the leading international initiative on coral
reefs advocacy, uniting both developed and developing countries which are co-chairing
it.

Fisheries

Deliverables

71. Confirm existing commitments and step up all actions envisaged under
paragraph 31 of the JPOI to achieve sustainable fisheries in particular the
universal adoption of the UN Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFSA). This includes:
restoring and maintaining stocks at levels that can produce Maximum Sustainable Yield,
ratification of the UN Fish Stocks Agreement, adoption and implementation of modern
fisheries management principles such as the ecosystem and precautionary approaches as
well as the need to improve scientific knowledge in order to base measures on the best
available science, improved cooperation between States including through effective
Regional Fisheries Management Organisations and other Regional Conventions, the
reduction of fishing overcapacity and the reduction of significant adverse impacts on
threatened species and vulnerable ecosystems.

72. Eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing by developing a
common approach to combat it and by adopting and implementing effective tools
including through the ratification of the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures
Agreement and other relevant international agreements.

Rationale

73. Despite targets previously agreed at Johannesburg and the adoption of measures by
States and Regional Fisheries Management Bodies, the status of global fish stocks as
reported by the FAO has continued to deteriorate. IUU fishing accounts for a large
portion of the catch for some species and contributes to the failure of management and
conservation measures. It penalises fishermen who play by the rules by giving an unfair
advantage to those who ignore rules. The FAO Agreement complements the duties of
flag States to ensure that their vessels do not participate in IUU fishing, and aims to
block the movement of IUU-caught fish into ports and onto national and international
markets. Currently, together with the EU, only three States have ratified the FAO
Agreement, which requires 25 parties to the Agreement for entry into force.

Biodiversity conservation and sustainable use: Investing in natural capital for a Green
Economy

Deliverables

74. Strengthen the mainstreaming of biodiversity and ecosystem services in policies
and decision-making processes at international, regional and national levels,
including through promoting the valuation of biodiversity and ecosystem services
in the economy and encourage investments in natural capital through appropriate
incentives and policies which support a sustainable and equitable use of biological
diversity and ecosystems. The aim is to protect and enhance biodiversity and
ecosystem services.

75. Establish in this context an International Partnership amongst governments,
international organisations, NGOs, financial actors and private companies to share
and promote best practices relating to 'Investing in Natural Capital'. Initiatives
under this heading would address the following key issues:

- measuring natural capital (statistics and trends, indicators, research and
development, valuation of ecosystem services);
- integrating physical and monetary natural capital values in accounting and reporting
systems at national and international level (e.g. System of Environmental and
Economic Accounting (SEEA), ecosystem accounting, economic and social
progress reports, accounting and reporting rules for businesses);
- promoting incentives and policies to encourage investment in natural capital
(market-based instruments and innovative financing instruments for ecosystem
protection and restoration, promoting business models that integrate risks and
opportunities relating to biodiversity and ecosystem services).

Rationale

76. The study on the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) has demonstrated
the strong links between the protection and enhancement of biodiversity and ecosystems
on the one hand and economic opportunities and poverty alleviation on the other.
Healthy ecosystems provide materials vital to rural livelihoods and increase the
resilience of communities to climate change as well as to water and food insecurity.
Progress in this area requires the valuation of biodiversity and ecosystem services and
the integration of these values into policies, decision-making and economic processes.
Currently, the value of natural capital is not fully reflected either in statistics and
accounts or in markets and policies. Opportunities for investing in natural capital are not
seized, even when they could provide prosperity and jobs with decent working
conditions.

77. There are a number of national and international initiatives relating to the specific
individual steps needed to promote investment in natural capital including TEEB and the
World Bank's "Wealth Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services" (WAVES).
Specific activities to be undertaken under IPBES may also be of relevance in this context.
A new impetus in Rio+20 would help to advance and synthesise these initiatives and
promote best practices in developed and developing countries.

Chemicals

Deliverables

78. Strengthening and building on the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals
Management (SAICM), to step up efforts towards a more robust, coherent,
effective and efficient international regime for chemicals throughout their lifecycle.
Taking into account increasing and shifting global production and use of chemicals as
well as trade in products containing chemicals, the WSSD commitments on chemical
management should be strengthened, and their implementation better monitored, in order
to reflect the developing knowledge base as well as new policy approaches recognising
the need for greater transparency and industry responsibility. Further international
efforts should build on and strengthen the multi-sector, multi-stakeholder dimension of
SAICM, and further develop and broaden ongoing efforts to increase coordination and
cooperation within the chemicals and waste cluster, ensuring that hazardous substances
that have been identified as being of global concern can be addressed rapidly through
agreed processes. Sustainable and adequate long-term funding will be important. In this
connection, the EU and its Member States will give consideration to UNEP's
forthcoming proposals on financing to assist developing countries with sound chemical
and waste management and seeks an integrated approach that combines nationally
mainstreaming such management, including in national development strategies,
involving the private sector and providing external support for the incremental costs of
achieving global environmental benefits.

79. Further develop and broaden ongoing efforts to increase synergies and
coordination and cooperation within the chemicals cluster and the waste cluster.

Rationale

80. Compared to the ambitions established at the WSSD, progress has been uneven and
insufficient, making it likely that the WSSD chemicals target will be missed.
Information on chemical hazards remains incomplete and scattered, and the international
system fragmented.

81. Many developing countries have a chronic lack of capacity for sound management of
chemicals. Unsound management of chemicals throughout their lifecycle can lead to the
contamination of air, water and soil, leading to increased human exposure and associated
risks to health and the ability to work and make a living. Chemical pollution also
negatively affects the natural resource base which is fundamental to economic
development. Chemical management is closely related to waste handling, since reuse
and recycling become difficult if products contain hazardous chemicals.

Sustainable management of materials and waste

Deliverables

82. Foster the development of policy and planning instruments enhancing resource
efficiency and encouraging waste prevention, minimisation, reuse and recycling,
based on the polluter-pays principle and extended producer responsibility (e.g.
take-back schemes, fee systems), enabling better resource allocation and improved
conditions for the poor.

83. Improve the quality and reliability of waste-related data and indicators for better
inventories, monitoring, implementation, policy development and general access to
information.

84. Promote public - private partnerships aiming to enhance capacity and technology
for environmentally sound waste management, based on international standards, as
well as to mobilize financial resources and investment, while ensuring coherence
and avoiding duplication with already existing partnerships and other relevant
work at international level.

Rationale

85. Sustainable management of materials and waste is expected to generate substantial
economic, environmental and social benefits, which include natural resource and energy
saving, creation of new businesses and jobs, biological treatment such as digestion or
compost production supporting agriculture, energy production from non-recyclable
waste, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, contributions to equity and poverty
eradication. Sustainable recycling requires improved information on the presence of
chemicals in products during the entire life cycle in order to enable risk management and
for the consumers to choose greener products and a more sustainable lifestyle. Improved
health, avoidance of health costs, avoidance of water and soil contamination, and the
consequent cost of alternative water supply and of soil remediation are also important
benefits. Greening the waste sector implies: avoidance of waste through sustainable
community practices; the eco-conception and the minimisation of waste generation
through the lifecycle approach; design for recycling remanufacturing, reuse or recycling
of waste into usable products, then recovery of materials and energy from non-
recyclable waste; treating any remaining unusable waste in an environmentally friendly
or in the least damaging way; and integrating informal waste collection and recycling
into formal, better-regulated systems, following environmental guidance, labour-
protection measures, as well as the recognition of womens needs and roles in green
job creation programmes. It is essential to move towards a recycling society, that
productively uses what is now discarded, through environmentally sound effective and
efficient management of waste.

Sustainable urban development

Deliverables

86. Mobilise a renewed process at local level in order to ensure that urban development
is sustainable by integrating in the work of the whole UN system the agenda for
sustainable urban development as well as the good practices, lessons learned and
partnerships implemented by cities.

87. Promote an integrated and holistic approach to building sustainable cities

88. Support the scaling up of successful experiences as a means to achieve sustainable
development and eradicate poverty globally.

Rationale

89. It has been reported that cities accommodate more than half of the worlds population
and that they are experiencing rapid spatial expansion leading to the emergence of mega-
cities, mega-urban regions and increasing spatial and social fragmentation, poverty and
inequality. Furthermore, globalization, climate change, rising urban insecurity and
crime, increasing destruction of human settlements by disasters and conflicts of natural
or human origin, and rising informality within cities all pose major challenges that
should be the object of renewed global attention.

90. A just transition to a green economy therefore cannot be achieved without a strong
involvement of cities. They have several means of action arising from their
responsibilities in the fields of urban governance, transport, city planning and social
services. Cities create added value (wealth) and increase investment capacity, which is
essential for changing production processes.

91. Urban governance is key for an effective response to local needs but also for solutions to
social, economic and environmental concerns at the global level.

92. The setting up of partnerships between local officials and economic actors optimizes
funding and makes it possible to better use the opportunities offered by the action plans
to combat climate change with a view to economic development and social concerns.

----------------

III. INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT

Introduction / background

1. Governance structures are crucial in helping to deliver sustainable development, green
our economies and eradicate poverty. However, current arrangements for
Sustainable Development Governance are not effectively responding to the
challenges before us.

2. Despite the commonly recognized inter-linkages between poverty, natural resource use
and ecosystem degradation, fragmentation, lack of co-ordination between UN agencies
and the international financial institutions (IFIs), and silo-type responses still occur . At
the same time, effective mechanisms for monitoring or ensuring implementation of
agreed commitments need to be enhanced. Current governance arrangements are very
complex but nevertheless often lack coherence. Over the last 4 decades, well over one
hundred multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) have been concluded and
around 50 UN bodies have the environment as part of their remit. They are also
resource- heavy: it was estimated by the UN Joint Inspection Unit that the cost of the
International Environmental Governance (IEG) system in 2006 was $US 1.6bn.

3. Against this background, it is clear that governance arrangements in all three
pillars of sustainable development need to be strengthened, better coordinated and
made more coherent. We need to ensure that the economic, social and
environmental dimensions work closely together. The Rio+20 Conference provides
a unique opportunity for forward- looking IFSD discussions contributing to better
implementation and greater integration of sustainable development at all levels
and in all countries.

4. The recent economic and financial crisis offers an opportunity for global collective
rethinking to facilitate a transition to a green economy, including improving institutional
tools to accelerate the implementation of sustainable development.

5. The EU and its Member States have identified the following broader considerations
and key functions we expect to see reflected in and performed by an improved
institutional framework for sustainable development post Rio+20 and which are
relevant for consideration at all levels. Improvements are needed in

- political leadership and direction; high-level visibility and political clout for
sustainable development topics
- coherence and co-ordination, by taking a systemic approach to interlinked issues
with environment, social and economic impacts, such as food security, climate
change, unemployment, social protection, competitiveness etc; and an
interdisciplinary approach to policy analysis, i.e. by applying balanced and
coherent assessment techniques, by ensuring that reports on cross-cutting issues
are produced collaboratively and presented by institutions jointly; and through
support of joint efforts in areas such as outreach and consultation,

- effectiveness and efficiency, i.e. build on existing institutions, improve synergies
between existing processes, avoid duplication, eliminate unnecessary overlaps,
maximize effective use of financial resources, reduce administrative burdens,
avoid proliferation of sub-groups and meetings etc;
- transparency and accountability i.e. strengthen the co-operation and communication
between institutions and stakeholders.
- participation, i.e. ensure better utilization of the expertise and resources of all
stakeholders including non-state actors (from civil society and the private sector)
and especially women;
- flexibility and risk management, i.e. improved capacity for quick responsiveness and
evidence-based analysis especially in light of newly emerging issues and in
periods of crisis.
- decision-making through an efficient mix of regulatory and market-based
instruments,
- scientific evidence base through more integrated and inter-disciplinary scientific
research and reports.
- progress monitoring and review i.e. clear goals and objective setting, capacity
transfer, knowledge building etc.

6. It will be important, as a general principle, that the options that are being put forward
are practical and take into account financial, structural and legal implications.
New arrangements should make clear improvements upon existing arrangements,
enable more efficient use of existing resources and funds, and be able to promote
work on sustainable development metrics.

7. Implementation should be streamlined into the various options for reform, in
particular by facilitating the implementation of national and sub-national sustainable
development policies and strategies through policy exchange or peer reviews to promote
implementation of national strategies for sustainable development, as well as practical
and action-oriented guidance and advice and capacity building by the UN System and
by bilateral, and multilateral donors. The role of business and civil society in the
implementation phase is key, and can be promoted by establishing partnerships and
networking platforms.

8. There is a strong functional link between IFSD and the other theme of Rio+20 a
Green Economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty
eradication". In addition to effective rules and regulations, and adherence to them ,
properly functioning global markets also need effective multilateral institutions. The
strengthening of international governance structures for sustainable development will
help the transition to a green economy. Long-term economic resilience is dependent on
sustainable use of natural resources. We need to reflect on which UN agencies and
bodies could best support, and by what means , the transition towards a green economy
in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication in compliance with
the framework of UN reform.

Global Sustainable Development Governance

9. Reinforcing the architecture for sustainable development governance at the global level
will require, in particular, strengthening of and better co-ordination and
coherence between the UN organizations responsible for sustainable development
in order to ensure better linkages between the three pillars and to improve
implementation of existing commitments. This will also require reinforcing and
mainstreaming environmental issues in a balanced manner.

10. During the preparatory process for Rio+20 a number of reform options have been
suggested. These include, inter alia, reform of the United Nations General Assembly,
the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Commission on Sustainable
Development (CSD) and the possible establishment of a Sustainable Development
Council. The position of the EU and its Member States on all these reform options
remains open and we welcome the views of others on how to best achieve an
ambitious outcome for IFSD at Rio+20. The outcome of the joint Executive
Committee on Economic and Social Affairs (EC-ESA) study on IFSD will serve as an
important source of information for comparing the various options, for assessing
possible interrelatedness and interdependence between options and for evaluating the
extent to which options would fulfil the required functions.

11. Governance aspects of the economic and social pillars of sustainable development must
be taken into account as well. There is a need to ensure strong involvement in and
coherence between the activities of the International Financial Institutions,
especially the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, the regional
development banks, G20, and the World Trade Organization in regulating global trade.

12. Initial/preliminary considerations by the EU and its Member States on some of the
options put forward for global sustainable development governance reforms are set out
below. These options are not mutually exclusive and could be pursued as a
combination of options.

As the main deliberative organ of the UN, the UN General Assembly provides a
unique forum for multilateral discussion and political guidance at the highest level.
The main aim should be to ensure that sustainable development issues are
mainstreamed on its agenda, thereby effectively providing overall political
direction to the implementation and review of the UNs sustainable development
work. Consideration could be given to the practice of scheduling high-level
meetings and thematic debates that are interactive and inclusive in nature as
important tools for facilitating in-depth discussion on current issues of critical
importance.

ECOSOC has a pivotal role to play in ensuring coherence, coordination and
implementation in the area of sustainable development through its mandate on 2
of the three pillars, high-level coordination with the UN specialized agencies,
funds and programmes, its link with the Bretton Woods Institutions and its
oversight role vis--vis the functional commissions. Different options could be
considered for strengthening the way it performs this function, including:

- Using the coordination segment of ECOSOC as an effective way of
strengthening integration, monitoring implementation of
decisions/resolutions on sustainable development, including those coming
from its functional commissions, as well as fostering coherence and
coordination across the UN system. The ECOSOC Spring meetings Special
high-level meeting of ECOSOC with the Bretton Woods institutions, the
World Trade Organization and the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development provides an opportunity to build upon for strengthening the
link with the Financial Institutions and the UN System Chief Executives
Board for Coordination (CEB);
- Using the ECOSOC operational activities segment to promote mainstreaming
of decisions/resolutions on sustainable development into programmes of UN
agencies and funds which would translate into concrete actions on the
ground;
- A possible revision of the roles and division of responsibilities of the
ECOSOC and the CSD as regards sustainable development.

20 years after the Commission for Sustainable Development (CSD) was
created, there is broad agreement that the role of the CSD needs to be reviewed.
As it stands, CSD no longer delivers a satisfactory dialogue with the governing
bodies of implementing entities, is unable to support the incorporation of
decisions into UN country-level assistance frameworks, and lacks the authority for
an effective integration of the three pillars of sustainable development. Different
scenarios could be considered for improving the effectiveness, efficiency and
flexibility of activities currently performed by the CSD, including:

- Enhancing and strengthening the CSD by endowing it with a sharper, more
focused, balanced and responsive engagement with a more limited set of
issues, resulting in a more strategic and manageable approach, as well as an
enhanced implementation of its decisions.
- Reorienting its role by focusing on the part of its mandate in support of
sustainable development partnerships and dialogue and removing its
negotiation function
- Enhancing the review dimension of the CSD by facilitating voluntary peer
review mechanisms for progress monitoring using best practice and/or
establishing linkages with regional level peer review mechanisms.
- Abolishing the CSD, and transferring those functions that should be
continued to another organ within the UN system.

The establishment of a Sustainable Development Council under the UNGA
has been highlighted as a way to improve the UNs work on Sustainable
Development. The key function of such a body could be to improve visibility of
Sustainable Development topics. However, considerations about the possible
establishment of a Sustainable Development Council must avoid any concrete or
potential overlap in the functions and mandates of existing organizations.

A Special Envoy or Representative could be the high-level voice and advocate
for sustainable development with various policy makers at the national level and
could promote an integrated approach in the UN system and at country level.

13. Another key aspect of a improved IFSD pertains to interagency improvements. Policy
coordination needs to be strengthened and the coordinating mechanisms such as the
CEB, the UN Development Group (UNDG), the Environmental Management Group
(EMG) and others made more effective in support of sustainable development. In order
to strengthen the integration of environmental issues into the activities of the various
UN organs, the EMG should become more closely linked to the CEB. This could be
ensured by, for example, integrating it into the CEB. In order to enhance ownership of
the EMG, a rotating chairmanship could be considered.

14. Fragmented support from the international system for national-level implementation
should be avoided. UN Country Teams need to improve their support for sustainable
development implementation at the national level. The delivery of services needs to
become more efficient and effective. Lessons learned from the System Wide
Coherence exercise and Delivering as One (DaO) as well as from cross-sectoral
approaches such as the Poverty and Environment Initiative and UNAIDS can
provide valuable input for the discussions on IFSD. In this regard, the EU looks
forward to the results of the independent evaluation of the delivering as one pilots, to
be presented in May 2012. The DaO model could be further developed to help
strengthen sustainable development at the national level. Organizations engaged in
practical implementation, as well as governments where the UN is present on the
ground, are encouraged to come forward with and articulate observations that may
advance the discussions on the IFSD.

International Environmental Governance (IEG)

15. Reinforcing the architecture for sustainable development governance at the global level
will also make it necessary to reinforce the environmental pillar in a balanced
manner.

16. Strengthening of IEG forms a crucial part of the strengthening of overall
sustainable development governance. The EU has been a keen supporter of the
growing consensus for strengthening the environmental pillar and supports the overall
conclusions on system-wide responses for strengthening IEG as debated within UNEP,
including:

1. Science-policy interface
2. System-wide strategy for the environment,
3. Synergies between compatible MEAs
4. Global environmental policy making and finance
5. System-wide capacity building framework for the environment
6. Strategic engagement at the regional level.

17. Setting up system-wide responses would also entail creating activities that span all three
dimensions of sustainable development and would thus ground IEG within the wider
IFSD architecture.

18. The EU and its Member States actively support the incremental improvements of
IEG that were identified in the Nairobi-Helsinki process and consider that they
should be rigorously implemented. Our views are set out more fully in paragraph
19. Furthermore, the EU and its Member States are convinced that, at the same
time, more ambitious and broader reform is necessary to respond to the
fundamental problems of the current system. A key outcome of Rio+20 should
therefore include the upgrading of UNEP into a Specialized Agency for the
Environment as part of the reform of IFSD, and our detailed views on this are set
out in paragraph 20 below.

19. With regard to synergies among compatible MEAs, the EU and its Member States
believe that the work on streamlining and reinforcing the MEA system needs to be
accelerated. While respecting the autonomy of different MEAs, there is much scope for
making their administration more effective through inter alia, coordination, cooperation
and avoidance of duplication thus creating a better platform for securing coherent and
focused political oversight and leadership, thereby freeing up resources for better
implementation and for promoting favourable conditions for green growth. Such
synergies could include cooperation and coherence with regard to financial aspects. If
the political will exists among Parties, the MEA system can be streamlined and
reinforced. Rio+20 may provide the momentum for all of us to commit to and kick-start
such reforms and strengthened synergies between MEAs, for example:

The EU and its Member States welcome the work already undertaken to improve the
co-operation and co-ordination between the chemicals and waste cluster and
consider that more work in this area could be undertaken for, e.g., significant
steps towards further advancing cooperation and coordination between new and
existing instruments within the chemicals and waste cluster, where a future proof
governance structure and an integrated approach to financing options need to be
key components.

We also welcome further efforts for enhancing synergies between the biodiversity-
related Conventions, international and regional agreements and other relevant
bodies, which, without prejudice to their specific objectives or mandates, and with
a view to, inter alia, considering joint activities and identifying areas for Party-
driven collaboration regarding biodiversity, climate change, land degradation and
ecosystem based approaches, would support the transition to a green economy.
We also note the need to strengthen coordination between the three Rio
Conventions (the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the UN
Convention on Biological Diversity, and the UN Convention to Combat
Desertification) and promote joint activities for Party-driven collaboration on
ecosystem -based "win-win-win" solutions.

20. The EU has over the years developed its thinking on IEG. The 2005 Council
Conclusions from EU Heads of State and Government support the establishment of a
UN agency for the environment, based on UNEP, with a revised and strengthened
mandate, supported by stable, adequate and predictable financial contributions and
operating on an equal footing with other UN specialized agencies. This agency, based
in Nairobi, would make it possible to develop the environmental dimension of
sustainable development in an integrated and consistent manner, and would
cooperate closely with multilateral agencies, each using its comparative advantages to
best effect.

21. The EU view of a UN Specialised Agency for the environment is as follows:
Pursuant to Articles 57 and 63 of the UN charter, a Specialised Agency of the UN (a
World Environment Organisation or United Nations Environment Organisation)
would be established as the global body for the environment with its seat in Nairobi. It
would be based on the models of some of the existing, medium-sized UN specialised
agencies such as the International Labour Organization (ILO), the World
Meteorological Organization (WMO), or the World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO).

General objective
It would be recognized as the leader on matters relevant to the environment and would
perform a coordination function with regard to other UN bodies. It would represent "the
UN voice for the Environment", and be a designated body with a strong mandate so that
the UN response to the outstanding issues in the area of environment reflects the size of
the challenges.

The added value of a Specialised Agency over an enhanced UNEP would be:
an adequate position within the UN system to fulfil the tasks that governments have,
in 1972, entrusted to a body too low in the UN family to exert its influence;.
better positioning to help developing countries reinforce capacity and environmental
policies.

Mandate and key functions of the Specialized Agency
The Specialised Agency would:

Be the designated agency of the United Nations system on environmental issues.
Have a clear policy advice and guidance function as well as authority on assessment
and early warning on the global environment.
Build strong links between science, policy and decision-making to support
evidence-based and coherent decision-making inside and outside the UN.

Offer specific capacity building and technical assistance to countries to assist in the
process of implementing international environmental norms, standards, guidelines,
or guidance. It would respect the principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid
Effectiveness and the Accra Agenda for Action, and be in line with the System-
Wide Coherence and "Delivering as One" initiatives. It would also have to fully
respect the Bali Strategic Plan (amended as necessary to take into consideration the
establishment of the Agency).This country support will pass via its regional centres
not own -country offices, and also through close institutional links with other UN
bodies that would make it possible to work through existing institutions in their
efforts to achieve compliance and enforcement of environmental law, taking into
account the specific needs of developing countries. Although not a resident agency,
an Agency would support UN Country Teams when developing the UN Country
Assessments and Development Assistance Frameworks.
Promote the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable
development within the UN system by building on efficient coordination
mechanisms within UN system , such as the strengthened EMG.
Identify and bring new and emerging global environmental issues to the political
agenda so as to be responsive to challenges as they arise. For example, it is not
enough to focus international action solely on climate change- related issues: swift
responses are also needed to problems such as loss of biodiversity, land degradation
and sound chemical and waste management, management of natural resources or
disaster -risk reduction.
Develop global, regional and thematic environmental outlooks and contribute to
environmental outlooks at the country level to support the transformation of
economies from the perspective of a sustainable development.
Disseminate environmental information worldwide, raise awareness and mobilize
public opinion on critical environmental issues. Achieve strong and visible
dialogue/advocacy on environmental issues involving major companies and the
business world at large.
Give guidance for better environmental performance by integrating normative
environmental policy into UN operational activities. In this context, provide
regional level technical and technological support to focal-points pursuant to MEAs.
Undertake efforts to improve efficiency and effectiveness of MEAs at national,
regional and international levels.
Enhance synergies among existing MEAs where this is feasible and desirable, as
one way of making implementation more efficient and effective. Contribute to
ensuring that any new MEAs are truly synergistic and future- proof instruments.
Facilitate the creation of synergies between the MEAs and other relevant
international treaties.
Provide support to MEA secretariats in technical, logistical and programmatic areas
in a synergetic way. A well-resourced and fully -equipped "environment house"
should be able to provide the professional services that Parties need to efficiently
implement MEAs.
Have a role in enhancing coherence and political oversight of global environmental
finance.

Ensure an open political decision-making process and enhance transparency through
the involvement of civil society and the private sector. Similarly, the matter of
giving citizens a more powerful voice at global level should be addressed:
reinforced governance structures are needed to make sure that the voice of citizens
is heard in international, national and local decision- making. There are several
ways to enable broad, innovative participation on the part of the various
stakeholders, and to move beyond the current model where civil society has limited,
unsatisfactory opportunities to participate.

Funding
Its funding basis needs to be adequate, predictable, and stable. The Agency could
therefore work inter alia with assessed contributions as one of its funding sources
The widening of the funding basis to include other sources is essential.
No new funding structures would be set up as part of the creation of such an
Agency.
The agency would play a role in the necessary efforts to dovetail financial streams
for the environment, including the GEF. It would continue to fulfil UNEP's existing
mandate to provide policy guidance, and cooperate with the COPs of the
Conventions which are the competent bodies for the financial mechanisms of the
Conventions. This will be part of a better realignment of the multilateral policy -
making and the international funding mechanisms.
The Agency would be created through the transformation or upgrading of UNEP -
so cost evolution can be followed and controlled gradually.
The Agency would moreover provide cost savings if the administrative and financial
functions for both some of the MEAs and the Agency are successfully streamlined.

Relation with the MEAs
Resolving in a mutually supportive and balanced way the relationship between the
Specialised Agency and the MEAs is central to resolving the issue of the creation of
an Agency.
The Agency would provide guidance and cooperate in this respect with the COPs of
the Conventions.
The legal autonomy of the conventions would be fully respected.
Formulas would be worked out, without creating new structures, to closely associate
MEAs with the Agency, their high- level presence at the decision making bodies
being one example.

Multilevel SD governance: the role of regional, national, subnational and local
authorities

22. The strengthening of IFSD needs to be addressed across multiple levels of governance.
Regional, national, sub-national and local- level institutions are at the forefront when
it comes to dealing with the challenges and opportunities related to the implementation
of sustainable development. Promoting effective institutions and appropriate
framework conditions at these levels should be recognized as an indispensable
complement to efforts aimed at strengthening IFSD at global level. Taking into
account lessons learned, proposals should build further on the valuable work that is
already taking place, notably with regard to the implementation of sustainable
development policies and strategies (National Sustainable Development Strategies
(NSDS)), Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRS), Local Agenda 21), the work of local
governments and the work of intersectoral coordination structures.

23. Regional cooperation and South-South cooperation is a powerful tool for bridging
the gap between the global and national levels of sustainable development decision-
making and implementation. UN regional commissions have a role to play in facilitating
technical assistance, regional coordination, mobilizing financing and implementation.

24. Overarching sustainable development strategies are key instruments for the
implementation of sustainable development commitments at regional, national or sub-
national level. Rio should provide incentives to countries or regions which already have
such strategies in place for updating the existing strategies and ensuring that all relevant
line ministries and stakeholders are involved in this process. Countries without national
sustainable development strategies or poverty reduction strategies in place could be
provided with the supportive measures (including mechanisms to secure public and
private funding) necessary for developing and implementing the strategies that will
allow them to tackle in a holistic manner the complex and interrelated economic,
financial, environmental, climate and social crises and challenges.

The role of non-state actors

25. One of the fundamental prerequisites for the achievement of sustainable development is
broad public participation in decision-making. The IFSD package, therefore, should
include measures that encourage and facilitate an active and meaningful involvement of
all major groups and stakeholders as central actors in both policy development and
implementation. Possible measures could include:

The promotion of dynamic partnerships and flexible alliances aimed at ensuring an
efficient and effective participation of major groups and stakeholders,
acknowledging in particular the role of business and the private sector, non-
governmental organizations and trade unions.
Promoting and strengthening national Sustainable Development Councils (as set
out in Agenda 21) composed of stakeholders from the different major groups that
are active in pushing forward the sustainable development agenda. Integrative and
trans-disciplinary in nature, Sustainable Development Councils can be seen as a
model for efficient and effective multi-stakeholder involvement.

26. Similarly, reinforced governance structures are needed to make sure that the voice of
citizens is heard in international, national and local decision -making.

28
th
October 2011

FROM: Educators for Sustainable Societies Around The World - Rio +20
Petition - 1
st
November 2011

TO: United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Secretariat
Email: dsd@un.org
UN-DESA, DC2-2212
2 UN Plaza
New York, NY 10017

Dear United Nations,

We are writing with the support of million educators who still believe in the opportunity to
have a better world for us and the future generations.

We are participants of local and global initiatives looking for Sustainable Societies with
Global Responsibility as a task of all citizens of this planet, but specially of leaders who
have been appointed to respond in full measure to the present situation of the world.

With this purpose we include the Open Letter written by educators from different
continents in the context of Rio+20 process.. This letter is specially directed to leaders
who can make the difference for a sustainable world recognizing the importance of long
life learning education for sustainability for individuals and organizations .

www.tratadodeeducacaoambiental.net
2nd Journey on International Environmental Education

OPEN LETTER FROM EDUCATORS
for a just and happy world!
Rio +20 in the transition to Sustainable Societies.

We, educators from all over the world, now when our Planet once again brings forth the major
issues that were addressed in Rio 92, we reaffirm our adherence to the principles and values
expressed in planetarian documents such as Treaty on Environmental Education for Sustainable
Societies and Global Responsibility, the Earth Charter, the Charter of Human Responsibilities,
the Rio Declaration, among others. (1)

But it is not enough just to reaffirm! Plethora of theoretical references enlighten us, its the
principles, values, policies and action plans proposed in the cited documents must truly out of
paper, despite of the "development", that has kept 80% of humanity apart of the minimum
conditions of life in Culture of Peace, with environmental and social justice. (2)

It is unacceptable that we still have wars, spending on weapons, a billion hungry and miserable,
lack of clean water and sanitation for huge portions of humanity. It is unacceptable violation of
human rights (gender diversity, ethnic, generational, social and geographical conditions), the loss
of species diversity, culture, language and genetics, greedy gains, urban violence and all forms of
discrimination and projects of oppressive power. (3).

The human manifestations in several countries for the overthrow of dictators of all kinds are
indicators of the need for new proposals for organization of 7 billion humans. It is evident that
governance and governability of the planet must be in the hands of local communities in which
there must be the overall responsibility for the common good of humans and non humans and all
natural systems and life support. (4)

We need to learn and practice other ways of making public policy from the communities, and
State policies require to be committed to quality of life. Therefore, it is urgent to strengthen the
processes educators committed to human emancipation and political participation in building
sustainable societies, where every human community feel committed, active and included in the
sharing of wealth and abundance of life on our planet. (5)

The carrying capacity of Mother Earth is nearing its limit, due to the mode of occupation,
production and consumption irresponsible of capitalism, which has become the global
economical model, and now also features the Green Economy speech. For us, whatever concepts
or terms used, the essential is that the socioenvironmental vision is always ahead. Building
Sustainable Societies in Global Responsibility is based on the values of life to which the
economy must serve. (6)

Sustainable Societies are made of environmentally educated citizens in their communities, where
they decide for themselves and from their own needs what it means Green Economy,
Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Climate Change and many other concepts that can be
moved away of their original meaning or motivation - which is the transition for another world
possible - , being co-opted o coined to serve the hegemonic liberal rationality. Each community
can see and feel beyond words and semantics, while maintaining its course towards the planetary
union, tracing its own history. (7)

Retake and to appropriate locally of these concepts under the force of the Planetary Identity
empower learning communities, from the practice of dialogue, the sense of belonging and
manifestations that are necessary to Well Being and individual and collective happiness. In these
practices the essence of the spiritual dimension emerges as a radical practice of ethical
valorization of life, respectful care to all living things, conecting hearts and minds through love.
It is a process that empowers the individual to the practice of dialogue with oneself, with others,
with the planetary community as a whole, restoring a sense of citizenship and overcoming the
separation between society and nature. (8)

It must then ask: where is the role of Education for Sustainable Societies and Global
Responsibility? The answer in the XXI century can be only one: in the center. In the center of
daily life, of education management, policy management, economic and environmental
management. Thus, environmental education is consolidated into another world, with
environmental and social justice, ensuring the development of an effective participatory
democracy that can assure the social, cultural and spiritual development of communities, as well
as its social control. (9)

We want to establish and strengthen local and planetary action plans, which focuses an education
able to unravel the structures of class and power between people, nations and institutions that
currently exist on our planet Earth. (10)

Educating ourselves for Sustainable Societies means situate ourselves in relation to the current
global system, to reshape our presence in the world, leaving the comfortable position of
neutrality. Because education is always based on values, there will never be neutrality in
education, whether formal, non-formal, informal, face or distance learning. (11)

Educators from all over the world agree that the way to real sustainability can be done by various
currents or tracks which are based on values and principles that link to sustainability.
Transformative Learning, Ecoliteracy, Popular Environmental Education, Ecopedagogy, Gaia
Education, Environmental Educ-Action are some of them. All these currents have in common to
bring contributions to the construction of new models of society, and all remind us of the need to
develop knowledge, awareness, attitudes and skills necessary to participate in the construction of
these new models, integrating them into our way of being, of producing, of consuming and
belonging. (12)

More than ever we claim for an education able to arouse admiration and respect for the
complexity of life support, with the utopia to build sustainable societies through the ethic of care
to protect the bio and socialdiversity. In making this educational process, the transdisplinarity
intrinsic to socio-environmental education leads to interaction between the various areas of
science and technology and the different manifestations of popular and traditional knowledge.
This allows the integration of existing knowledge and production of new knowledge and new
social and environmental actions while carrying out the Dialogue between Wisdom and Care as
High Technology in the Education for Sustainable Societies and Global Responsibility. (13)

2nd Journey on Environmental Education for Sustainable Societies Rio+20

Brazilian Institutions (Executive Secretary of the Journey) : Instituto ComSol, Instituto
ECOAR; Instituto Paulo Freire; Instituto ComSol; REBEA - Rede Brasileira de Educao
Ambiental; Instituto Ipanema; Centro de Educao Ambiental de Guarulhos; OCA-
ESALQ;Instituto Ipanema

International Institutions ( International Facilitator Group) : Centro de Saberes e Cuidados
Socioambientais da Bacia do Prata; ASPBAE Association of Education Centers from Asia and
South Pacific; Siglo XXIII(El Salvador) ; ICAE-nternational Council for Adult Education; REPEM
Red de Educacin Popular entre Mujeres de Amrica Latina; World Spritual University
Brhama Kumaris.
Partnership of: the Brazilian Ministry of Environment and Brazilian Ministry of Education. Local
Governments of Guarulhos/SP, Suzano/SP, Americana/SP, So Carlos/SP, Rio de J aneiro RJ ;
Governments of the States of Bahia, Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de J aneiro; IEA-USP; ITAIPU
Binacional.

August-september 2011

****************************************************************************************************

PS:
As educators we fully support and reinforce the demands of young people around the
world already sent to the UN:
- First, we need all world leaders to recognize the urgency of the current situation.
They need to understand and inform their own people about the dangers of not
acting to move us toward a green economy and a more sustainable future. Youth
are worried about the inequity and corruption that contribute to the overtaxing
and mismanagement of critical natural resources and ecosystems and
undermine the basis for ensuring decent livelihoods for the next generation. The
United Nations should urge presidents and prime ministers from every nation to
commit as early as possible to come to Rio and to initiate their preparations for
the Earth Summit.
- Second, world leaders must deliver more in Rio than another agenda with lofty
goals for a distant future. Over the last half-year, young people meeting around
the world have called out the weak implementation of scores of existing treaties
and action plans adopted at previous summits. These young people are
demanding that the next Earth Summit instead generate specific commitments to
real actions from governments at all levels, corporations, communities and civil
society groups. I agree, and the United Nations should ensure that we are
holding everyone accountable for their promises.
- Third, governments and corporations need to commit to major new investments
in education, employment and empowerment of young people in the transition to
a green economy bases on social justice.We cannot wait another generation for
sustainability; the world's young people need their leaders to act now.
Our Open Letter is a collective work done by educators from all over the world.

27
th
October 2011
2
nd
International Journey for Sustainable Societies - Rio+20

PERMANENT Onspnvn MIssIoN
op rnB Horv Sn
To rHE UNTTED NrroNs
N. 73611 I/FAX
25 East 39 Steet, New Yorlc NY 10016
Phone
(212)
370-7885 Fax
(2r2)
370-9622
e-mail: offce@holseem ission.org
The Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations presents its
compliments to the Bureau for the Preparatory Process of the United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development and has the honor to submit the following input for the peparations of
the Rio+20 outcome document:
The Holy See believes that in addressing the overarching
pillars of environmental,
economic and social development, a human centered approach, as reflected in the first principle
of the original Rio Declaration, must form the foundation for all development policies. The
centrality of the human person and the promotion of the dignity and wofih of all persons without
distinction are fundamental in order to avoid a reductionist approach which views the human
person as an obstacle to development. States must work to promote true human development
through the recognition of the need for integral development which values all of its aspects:
environmental, economic, social, ethical, moral and spiritual.
In the area of environmental development, we must start from the foundation that the
environment is God's gift to everyone and thus the human family has a responsibility to.serve as
a steward of creation to ensure that our use of the environment takes into account the impact of
our actions on future generations, especially on the poor and the least ploteoted. Through the
recognition and promotion of intra-generational and inter-generational solidarity we can better
ensure that development does not come at the expense of the poor ad the least fortunate in
society. In our discussions on 1s ftio+2O outcome document, we must work to ensure that all
peopie have access to clean air, water and 1and, and to assist those States and peoples who lack
access to these most basic of resources.
Preparatory Committee for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Developmenl
United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development-Secretariat
LiN-DESA
DC2-2212
2 IIN Plaza
NewYork,NY 10017
Fax: 1-272-963-1257
{tyr
I
Ton+
V'.f","i
./
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2
In exercising our role as stewards of creation we must avoid the false thinking,
consistently disproven, that views increasing populations as the cause of environmental
degradation needing to be countered by population reduction. This view not only seeks to replace
a human centered approach to development with one which places the environment as the center
of development policy, but also fails to recognize that those countries whose population's growth
ae stagnant or falling, are often the same countries whose patterns of consumption and growth
are the driving forces behind environmental degradation. Our discussion on the Rio+20 outcome
document must reject this logic and instead replace it with environmental policies which respect
the human person and work to ensure the rights of all people to life's most basic resources,
namely clean air, water, land, nutrition, safe sanitation and shelter.
Just economic development policy must also recognize the rights of the human person
and the indispensable responsibility to promote the common good. Such development must take
into account both the material well-being of society and the spiritual and ethical values which
give meaning to material and technological progress.
The international community is confronting an ongoing challenge to the existing
economic order as countries face difficult decisions in addressing national budgets while at the
same time addressing the challenges of stagnation and, in some cases, economic conaction. The
ongoing economic crisis has been driven in large part by ideas which place utilitarian and
individual self-interest above, and sometimes at the expense of, the broader community. That is
why a renewed commitment to the indispensable role of human-centered ethics in economic
decision makine is necessary in order to promote a more effective and sustainable economic
development. For too long financial systems and economic models have sought only to find
ways to increase profits ad financial capital without having taken into account whether these
new models and programs would be
just
and promote the common good. In order to break this
cycle of financial boom and bust, economic policy makers must therefore place human centered
ethics at the heart of frnancial and economic planning.
The promotion of economic development requires also renewed commitment to global
solidarity which recognizes the universal nature of goods and the responsibilities we have to one
another. Through the transfer of technology, access to an equitable and
just
global trade system,
fulfillment of official development assistance promises, greater use of innovative financing
mechanisms for development and reassessment ofthe global financial governance structures, we
can work to create a more fratemal and
just global community.
This solidarity must also take into account the need to address growing inequities within
society and between States in order to promote
just
and equitable f,rnancial and economic
policies. In the end, economic policies must be
judged
not on their ability to generate wealth for
a select few but on how well the
poorest and the least fortunate in society are fairing. This
3
prefetential option for the poor meets the moral demands of social
justice
and sustainable peace
and development.
The Rio+20 Conference also provides an opportunity for States to begin the discussions
on how States can work together to create more effective international financial and economic
govemance structures. In an interconnected world where financial and economic failures have
consequences in all comers of the globe it is no longer tenable for States to look only inward
when developing economic policies. A new govemmental structure, guided by the overarching
need to respect human dignity, must place itself at the service ol all States for the promotion of
the common good.
In order to be effective and
just,
such a govemmental structure must not be seen as an
opportunity to consolidate decision making into one body which dictates to States and
communities or be seen as a means by States to exert political or economic authority over each
other. Rather, such a body must work to promote the very conditions which make economic
advancement and opportunity a reality for all people and States and must consist of different
levels of actors which work together to assist one aother in fulhlling their individual and
joint
responsibilities. This requires respecting the ptnSip-Af-$flda{ty and assisting individual
States and communities in making the necessary reforms to their social, economic, ecological,
political and legal systems so that they are able to address the need for sustainable energy
supplies, develop social protection floors ad provide solutions to address the specific needs of
both the urban and rural poor.
While environmental and economic development provide the technical structures
necessary for society, social development seeks to address the social structures and social
institutions necessaty to promote people's welfare. At the hearl of such social structures is the
need to provide support for the family. The family is the fundamental unit of society and the
place where chiidren first learn the skills and virtues needed within society, vr'here the elderly
ad disabled are given care and where social, spiritual and personal development s first
nurtured. It is therefore of utmost imporlance that policies and programs created during the
upcoming Rio
+20
Conference recognize that without legal, political ad economic support for
the family, attempts to address broader economic development will remain elusive.
The Holy See also believes that in order to promote social development, States and the
pfivate sector must work together in order to provide full and decent employment for all or, in
other words, to realize the riqht to work. Decent work provides persons with the living wage
necessary to suppofi themselves and their family and with an ability to contribute their talents to
the betterment of society. Access to decent work provides the most effective tool in fulfilling the
goal of
poverty
eradication.
4
In every comer of globe, social development increasingly needs to address the issue of
migration. People from around the world continue to cross national borders in the search for
better social, economic and political opporlunities. The particular needs of migrants, especially
irregular immigrants, require policies and programs which respect their dignity, protect them
from economic and sexual exploitation, and respect the right of families to stay together, address
their social and spiritual needs and work to integrate them into their new communities for they
are members of our same human family.
The Holy See believes that the upcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable
Development in Rio will provide an opportunity for States to work together to address these
concerns and many others in order to draw up a framework for a more
just,
equitable and
sustainable future for the global community.
The Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations avails itself of
this opportunity to renew to the Bureau for the Preparatory Process of the United Nations
Conference on Sustainable Development the assurances of its highest consideration.
New York, 31 October 201 1
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FOR THE NEXT TWENTY YEARS
UNITED STATES VIEWS ON RIO+20
SUBMISSION TO THE UNITED NATIONS ON NOVEMBER 1, 2011

OUR VISION
The United States welcomes the opportunity to join the global community and engage representatives from
across society to chart a course for the future of sustainable development. At the upcoming UN
Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) we aspire to explore ways to better integrate the
economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, building on the successes of
the 1992 Earth Summit and the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development. Since we last convened,
world population has risen to 7 billion and is expected to increase to 9 billion by 2050, with many still
living on less than $2.00 a day. Rio+20 must prioritize resource productivity and efficiency as ways to
promote sustainable development. At the same time, global institutions have shifted to recognize the rise,
roles, and responsibilities of major emerging economies. Within this new landscape, we recognize that
sustainable development is not a luxury; it is a necessity for countries at all stages of development.
The Obama Administration has set a strong foundation and trajectory for enhancing sustainability and
building a green economy at home and abroad. Our Global Development Policy recognizes that
sustainable development offers a promise of long-term, inclusive, and enduring growth that builds on
accountability, effectiveness, efficiency, coordination, and innovation. Rio+20 should seek to make
governments around the world more transparent and accessible, to better engage citizens, and to build
new networks across all sectors of our societies. The role of women and youth is also fundamental to
securing a sustainable future.
We recognize that sustainable development offers pathways out of short-term disruptions, such as
financial shocks, and long-term challenges, such as climate change. We are also committed to spurring
developments in science and innovation through the use of incentive systems; investments in education,
the workforce, and basic research; and promoting innovative, open, and competitive markets, supported
by strong protection for intellectual property rights and transparent, science-based, regulatory
approaches and standards. Respect for international obligations as we chart a future course for
sustainable development is also critical.
At Rio+20, the global community should re-energize action on sustainable development through a
concise, political statement that focuses on actionable high-level messages. Each conference participant
should also come to Rio with their own compendium of commitments that describes in detail how the
individual groups or coalitions of participants will undertake action to help build a sustainable future.
The meeting itself should be a marketplace of ideas, and we look forward to presentations, side events,
and the launch of networks and initiatives during the civil society days and the Conference that advance
inclusive action on sustainable development.
In this submission, we highlight three key messages that speak to the evolving sustainable development
agenda:
1

THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT: CLEAN ENERGY AND URBANIZATION
THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT: ECOSYSTEMS MANAGEMENT AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
THE INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT: MODERNIZING GLOBAL COOPERATION
These key messages guide the U.S. approach to Rio+20, building on the global transformation that has
taken place since 1992. For the first time in recorded history the majority of people live in cities and
coastal areas; our natural infrastructure is being used more intensively and straining our global
capacity; and advances in technology are revolutionizing the way we connect, interact, and take
cooperative action that is more inclusive of all stakeholders to address sustainable development
challenges. Leading up to the Conference, the United States will come forward with our commitments
that describe the national, regional, and global actions we propose for collaboration and partnership in
each of these areas.

THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT: CLEAN ENERGY AND URBANIZATION
Clean Energy, New Infrastructure, and Access for All
Energy is a critical component of development, and it is essential that new supplies of energy are
generated and delivered in a commercially viable and environmentally sustainable manner. Modern
energy services are critical to creating economic opportunities to allow people to rise out of poverty,
advance prospects for education and health services, and address climate change. The International
Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that 1.3 billion people do not have access to electricity. Development
aid alone is grossly insufficient to meet the need. The challenge, therefore, is for the global community
to scale up investments in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and energy access by creating a
commercial landscape that demonstrates a return on capital and attracts private sector investments to
underserved areas and populations. To achieve this, governments must put in place enabling policies
and regulatory frameworks, and target public resources carefully, to leverage private capital, reduce the
risk and cost of capital, stimulate innovation, and create competitive and viable markets for electricity
and energy.
Also important are programs for reducing the energy consumed by buildings, vehicles, equipment, and
appliances. We should work to accelerate development and dissemination of clean energy, efficiency,
and conservation technologies; and remove market distortions, including phasing out fossil fuel
subsidies and barriers to trade in environmentally friendly goods and services; and leverage private
finance through public agencies, for example the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the
Export-Import Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Multilateral Development
Banks (MDBs). Through forums such as the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate and the
Clean Energy Ministerial governments can work together to catalyze greater global cooperation. We are
committed to enhancing existing institutions, mobilizing complementary networks from across the
private sector, and sharing best practices with a diverse network of actors.

2

Urbanization and Sustainable Cities
In the future, the majority of global population growth will live in cities. Cities are major consumers of
resources, and also centers for job creation, making them the front line of a green economy.
Opportunities abound to modernize service delivery, especially for underserved communities. This
includes: deploying green technologies and services; prioritizing green infrastructure and buildings;
protecting and restoring green spaces; creating more housing opportunities; reducing emissions, resource
use and waste; and making more sustainable urban system and land use decisions. Coordination of
place-based policies can enhance transportation choices, improve air and water quality, reduce waste,
maintain reliable water and energy supply, advance public health and awareness, enhance disaster
preparedness and response, increase climate resilience, use public resources more efficiently, help
mobilize private investment, and strengthen local decision-making. Cities offer opportunities for
capturing cross-cutting efficiencies, for example across water and energy systems, with joint strategies
for resource management and public-private finance. Such sustainable urban development not only
improves the health and wellbeing of current residents and businesses, but can also create jobs and
attract new business.
As part of our cooperative efforts on the new sustainable development agenda, the United States has
developed domestic cross-agency partnerships to integrate environment and infrastructure funding
decisions and has also expanded our global cooperation to launch initiatives, for example the recently
agreed U.S.-Brazil J oint Initiative on Urban Sustainability (J IUS). These kinds of efforts provide
concrete examples of the components necessary to build greener economies and smarter cities through
public-private partnerships, cross-agency and international collaboration, and improved networks across
sectors that can help cities mobilize financial and other support for sustainable urban development
activities. We are committed to expanding these partnerships bilaterally and multilaterally, to
demonstrate the benefits of a green economic pathway for rapidly urbanizing communities.
Water Systems
Water is both an essential and finite resource, and sustainable development is not possible without water
security. The provision of adequate water supply and sanitation services generates substantial benefits
for social well-being, the economy, and the environment. In many places throughout the world, the
treatment and transport of water is a significant consumer of energy, and water scarcity is becoming a
limiting factor in energy production. We need to work to better manage hydrological variability,
incentivize sound water resources management through policy and regulatory reform and better access
to information, and increase the productivity of water resources by improving both efficiency and reuse.
Sustainable Manufacturing and Environmental Goods and Services
A green economy is also built on sustainable manufacturing, industrial efficiency, open trade and
investment policies, and consumer-driven demand for environmental goods and services. Consumers
include not just households, but also business-to-business supply chains, retailers stocking and
marketing green products, as well as local and national governments, who through public procurement
3

policies represent a major market force in promoting sustainable manufacturing and green products.
Governments at the national and sub-national level can achieve these goals through an array of
regulatory strategies, economic and fiscal instruments, eco-innovation incentive programs, voluntary
partnerships and standards, and various information-driven initiatives. We also see important
opportunities to promote greener products and markets using science based life-cycle data systems and
tools, and to expand international knowledge hubs to support cleaner production and sustainable green
chemistry. Importantly, sustainable manufacturing, recycling, and remanufacturing, for example of used
electronics, are important sources of green jobs and we should seek opportunities to ensure that workers
benefit from the green economy.
Human Capacity and Green Jobs
The development of human capacity is essential to achieving broad-based economic growth, building
strong, sustainable communities, promoting social well-being, and improving the environment. Workers
must have the skills and protections necessary to participate in and benefit from the green economy.
New sustainable energy and infrastructure developments, sustainable approaches to disaster
preparedness and response, energy and resource efficiency, recycling, and agricultural and natural
resources conservation are examples of areas that can provide jobs and economic growth while
protecting the environment. Because the growth of green industries can be limited by a shortage of
trained professionals, collaboration among government, industry, non-profits, and academia is critical to
build human capacity to meet local and global demand.

THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT: ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture
Access to adequate, safe, and nutritious food is a necessary precondition to economic and social
development. Nearly 1 billion people suffer from chronic hunger, and more than 3.5 million mothers
and children under the age of five die annually as a result of malnutrition. In order to meet the food
security needs of a world population of 9 billion expected in 2050, global food production will have to
increase by 70 percent to feed the hungry and account for the increase in population. This will require,
in part, intensifying production on existing agricultural lands and expansion into grasslands, savanna and
forests. Sustainable intensification of agricultural production is required to meet the multiple challenges
of growing more food within a constrained natural resource base, and mitigating and adapting to climate
change. In order to increase yields with fewer inputs and smaller impacts on the environment, we need
both innovative agricultural technologies and improved understanding of agricultural systems, as well as
integrated resource management of our terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems. A range of
innovations will be needed, including, but not limited to crop improvements, soil conservation,
biotechnology, integrated pest management strategies, agro-forestry, and ecologically-based
management systems that require investments in research and science. Improving access to information
about best practices, enhancing interactions among farmers and experts through education and extension
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advisory systems, and increasing the use of connection technologies, such as cell phones, can help to
meet these challenges. We also support country-owned, multi-stakeholder networks to promote rural
development, integrated ecosystem planning, and sustainable agricultural intensification through
initiatives, such as the U.S. Governments Feed the Future, and efforts to reduce emissions from
deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+).
Oceans, Coasts, and Fisheries
Healthy oceans and coasts and their resources are necessary for global prosperity. Sustainable fisheries
and aquaculture practices also play an essential role in ensuring global food security and a green
economy. We support reducing excess fishing fleet capacity, including pressing for elimination of
fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing; maintaining or restoring fish stock
harvest to levels that do not exceed maximum sustainable yield; increasing transparency in fisheries
regulation, management, and enforcement; implementing and sharing sustainable aquaculture practices;
and combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU), and destructive fishing practices.
Ocean acidification and changes in sea level are emerging issues that endanger the survival of individual
marine species and entire marine ecosystems, increasing the vulnerability of coastal communities. Due
to the global and connected nature of the oceans, the need for international collaboration and
transparency is clear. Given the importance of data and assessments in oceans management, we support
implementation of an international observing network for ocean acidification; we also support increased
international collaboration on observation and research, including through the Process for the
Assessment of the Marine Environment, and the Global Ocean Observing System to better understand
and predict the changing conditions on the marine environment, biodiversity, and food security. Further,
we support integrated, ecosystem-based, and science-based conservation and management, including:
the use of spatial planning; addressing land- and ocean-based sources of pollution; and the continued
establishment of marine protected areas.
Ecosystem Services and Natural Resource Management
The planets natural ecosystems and biodiversity are key assets for economic growth and human well-
being. Ecosystem services such as fresh water, soil production and stability, pollination, coastal
protection, and carbon sequestration provide the natural infrastructure essential to sustainable
economic growth and poverty alleviation and serve as safety nets for many of the worlds most
vulnerable people. Our natural ecosystems also provide multiple economic goods worth many billions
of dollars, such as food, feed, fuel, timber, fish, and raw material for medicine, agriculture, and industry,
as well as the basic subsistence, cooking, and heating of billions of people, and important social and
cultural benefits. Two central challenges to ensure sustainable uses are: to develop and implement
ecosystem-based management and planning approaches, and for markets and government policies to
adequately recognize the values of biodiversity and ecosystems. While there is no one metric used
today that goes beyond GDP, an important first step towards better characterization of market
externalities such as depletion of natural resources or negative public health outcomesis for national
governments to systematically quantify, monitor, and assess our natural capital. Rio+20 should
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prioritize the ability of all countries to monitor and assess their own environment and integrate social,
economic, and environmental information to inform the development decision making process. Further,
we should continue to work together on methodologies to move closer to achieving multi-dimensional
measures of wealth.

THE INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT: MODERNIZING GLOBAL COOPERATION
Making New Connections: Linking Governments, Communities, and Businesses for Action
The second theme of Rio+20, Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development (IFSD), speaks to
how participants in the Conference and broader networks of stakeholders can achieve the goals of
sustainable development. We have new and evolving means to stimulate international action that go
beyond traditional models for global cooperation centered on government to government meetings and
formal institutions. The rapid uptake and use of social media and connection technologies is making the
world a more inclusive place and the power of connectivity can transcend the walls of traditional
institutions. These advances can help achieve more rapid action on sustainable development, at lower
cost, with more inclusive stakeholder participation ranging from women, youth, and civil society groups
to non-government organizations, small businesses, large industries, and private sector finance
institutions.
These new technologies can be harnessed by countries at all stages of development to address
sustainable development challenges, including in the areas of agriculture, health, environment, and
economic growth. Governments should strive to create the enabling environments to allow innovation
to flourish and to spur greater investment in the development and application of ground breaking
technologies to solve global challenges. This February, the United States will host a conference on
Rio+2.0: Bridging Connection Technologies and Sustainable Development as one way to identify
strategic opportunities to generate solutions to specific challenges.
The worlds youth have an enormous stake in the outcomes of Rio+20 and can play a powerful role in
defining the next generation of sustainable development using the technologies of the future. There is
also a strong case for the inclusion of women as a vital source of economic growth. Every individual
has the opportunity to be a contributing and valued member of the global marketplaceglobally, we
must support removing barriers that have prevented youth and women from being full participants in the
economy and unlocking their potential as drivers of economic growth.
Transforming Traditional Institutions
At the 1992 Earth Summit, leaders recognized the importance of transparent, participatory decision-
making at the national level. These dialogues focused on brick-and-mortar institutions. Today,
technology is making it easier for governments to share information with the public and for the public to
hold decision makers accountable to realize the promise of Principle 10 through diverse and diffuse
networks. The Rio+20 Conference is an opportunity to further enhance these efforts for all
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participants to share best practices on good national governance and explore cooperative actions to
deepen implementation through formal institutions and informal networks.
The UN system needs to identify a focal point to efficiently bring together the environmental, economic,
and social elements of sustainable development. We see an opportunity to reform and modernize
existing institutions, such as the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) and the Economic and
Social Council (ECOSOC), in a manner that engages the entire UN system and provides the UN with
cohesive, government-driven policy guidance on sustainable development, a vehicle for engaging civil
society, non-government, and private sector stakeholders, and a coordination mechanism to track overall
progress.
Multilateral diplomacy has been enhanced by the growth of smaller and more flexible global
arrangements and partnerships such as the G20, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and
other regional fora that complement work taking place in the UN, Multilateral Development Banks
(MDBs), and International Financial Institutions (IFIs). All of these international and sub-regional
entities play a critical role in advancing sustainable development and must work closely with national
actors to help integrate the three pillars of sustainable development and translate policy and political will
into action. The development and adoption of strong environmental and social safeguards to avoid,
minimize, or mitigate potentially adverse environmental or social impacts of investments exemplifies
the type of activity that MDBs can help promote alongside UN institutions, especially in areas with
significant donor and lender engagement, such as fragile states. Any new institutional reform must also
engage IFIs and MDBs centrally to create opportunities for greater progress through coordinated action.
Strengthening International Environmental Governance (IEG)
We agree that the UN needs a body through which governments can cooperate to recommend
environmental policies, promote best practices, and build national capacity for governance, monitoring,
and assessment. That institution the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) already exists
and at Rio+20 we need to work together to strengthen it within the UN system to assure a viable
environmental pillar that can meet 21
st
century demands. We do not believe that alternative proposals
for a new statutory institution on the environment will strengthen environmental governance or solve
any of the problems that we all recognize persist. We think the more effective course is to focus
intellectual and financial resources on strengthening existing institutions that have already proven their
worth and avoid the distraction of trying to set up something new and untested.
At Rio+20, we want to pursue reforms to increase UNEPs stature and capacity to contribute to
sustainable development commensurate with the importance we attach to these issues. Reforms might
include seeking universal membership in UNEP, under appropriately-altered governance structures;
enhancing UNEPs leadership within the UN system on implementation and science; and strengthening
UNEPs ability to assist countries committed to good governance and science-based decision-making in
a manner that creates positive spillover into the economic and social domains of development. These
reforms can also improve UNEPs operational efficiency by streamlining administrative arrangements of
key multilateral environment agreements.
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These international efforts must be supported by a strong foundation of national environmental
governance. Systematic and coordinated efforts to assess and build national governance capacity
enhancing transparency, public participation in decision making, accountability, and institutional
arrangements for effective implementation and enforcement are critical to establishing a sound
foundation for sustainable development. These efforts should be promoted at all levels by improving
coordination among existing national and international institutions, including environment, finance,
trade, development, and energy ministries, among others.
Informing Decisions, Catalyzing Action, and Measuring Progress
Efforts to help countries obtain and provide environmental information to their citizens and global
experts are important contributions to Rio+20. For sustainable development to take hold, policies must
be based on sound science and reliable data. With advances in technology, it is now quicker and less
costly to collect, monitor, assess, and disseminate data. Countries need to have the capacity to monitor
the environment and to integrate that data with economic and social development plans. The United
States is cooperating internationally through other fora to share environmental information and promote
the use of compatible data systems so that we can better identify where we are achieving sustainable
outcomes and where work still remains to be done.
In this vein, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), if structured correctly, could be a useful means to
assess progress, catalyze action, and enhance integration among all three pillars of sustainable
development. Any goals that we might set should go beyond measuring traditional assistance and
towards data-driven and evidence-based tracking of intermediate and end outcomes that are realized
through all sources of investment in the green economy. We believe the concept of sustainable
development goals is worthy of consideration at Rio+20, and that the discussions at Rio+20 can inform
ongoing and future deliberations about the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as we approach
2015.
INSPIRING FUTURE GENERATIONS
The 1992 Conference on Environment and Development was a landmark event. Rio+20 marks a new
foundation for engaging the global community and building the greener and more inclusive economies,
smarter cities, and advanced institutions and networks that will define the future. Achieving these goals
will require new ways of working with diverse stakeholders and communities at all stages of development.
The United States stands ready to collaborate, innovate, and realize the promise of sustainable
development for the next 20 years and beyond.
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