Felix Dodds and Preparing for Earth Summit 2012

Rio+20 Informal

2012-01-29T06:26:00.000-08:00

Rio+20 informal meeting finishes (Jan 27) with a feeling of hope.

The Sustainable Development Goals idea is gaining interest and support from many countries. Of course the devil is in the detail. How will they relate to the MDGs? What can be done for Rio? How many? are some of the questions which will be the discussions ahead.

Stakeholder Forum release their analysis of the zero draft for groups to use in their lobbying process. UNDESA released the study Stakeholder Forum have undertaken for them for Agenda 21 and Rio Declaration - a twenty year review.

The idea of a new Sustainable Development Council for the United Nations General Assembly is also gaining traction in the corridors.

The questions are mostly around the Green Economy. Monday (30th Jan) the UN Global Sustainability Panel Report will be released calling for sustainable development criteria for credit rating agencies and sovereign wealth funds. Also support for a global framework on sustainability reporting for companies. Some good material to be mined for Rio+20.

Over 30 Heads of State have now announced they are attending Rio+20 including India, China, Germany and Denmark. Still a defining silence from Number 10. With John Major and Tony Blair going to the previous two events (Rio92, Johannesburg02) it looks like the UK is no longer taking sustainability seriously, or are they?

Cameron not going to Rio

2011-10-26T05:38:00.000-07:00

Cameron announces he isnt going to Rio. Reprintign Richard Blacks article from the BBC web site on this below

Richard Black (BBC)

David Cameron to miss Rio+20 earth summit for Jubilee

Prime Minister David Cameron will not be going to the Rio+20 Summit in Brazil next year despite his pledge to lead the "greenest ever government".

The meeting will mark 20 years since the seminal Earth Summit of 1992, and is regarded as a chance for leaders to put humanity on a sustainable track.

But the June date clashes with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

The clash raises the question of whether other Commonwealth heads of government will also stay away.

Protocol would be likely to demand the presence of the 54 countries' leaders in London.

The Jubilee celebrations run 2-5 June, and the Earth Summit 4-6 June; so leaders could theoretically pay their respects in London before heading to Rio for the summit's final day.

But Mr Cameron will not, a Downing Street spokeswoman told BBC News.

Instead, Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman will lead the UK delegation.

"It's a shame Mr Cameron is not going," said Felix Dodds, director of Stakeholder Forum, which is playing a leading role in preparations for the summit.

"There has been inadequate progress on sustainable development since the 1992 Earth Summit,”

End Quote EAC report

Summit seeks big idea

"It would be important for the British government to show leadership at the highest level in Rio, and we'd hope he'd show leadership by coming to the final preparatory conference the week before."

A spokesman for Ms Spelman's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the UK "will be pushing for an ambitious outcome" at the summit.

"Rio+20 must make the case that growth does not have to come at a cost to the environment, and that sustainable use of natural resources will be essential for long-term prosperity," he said.

And Margaret Ounsley, head of public affairs at WWF-UK described the news as "disappointing".

"In 1992, John Major managed to make it to the historic Earth Summit against a backdrop of IRA bombs in the City.

"There is never an easy time for the prime minister to leave the country, but he has sent out an early signal that the Rio+20 summit is not a priority for the UK, and there is a danger that other leaders might follow suit.

"We would hope that at the very least Mr Cameron will reconsider attending towards the end of the Summit."
Off target
The prospect of 50-plus leaders staying away would dismay the Brazilian hosts.

Its government has lobbied passionately to stage this sequel to the 1992 summit, which launched global treaties on climate change, biodiversity and desertification and elevated discussions on sustainability within the United Nations.

Groups in Brazil are already preparing the summit - but others might have a problem going

Mr Cameron's non-attendance will also dismay the UK parliament's Environmental Audit Committee (EAC), which after months of taking evidence from various parties has just released its report on UK preparations for Rio.

Its top line: that David Cameron should commit now to attend.

"The Rio+20 Earth Summit is a vital chance for world leaders to take action to avert a global environmental crisis," said committee chair Joan Walley MP, in a statement issued to reporters before the PM's position became clear.

"The prime minister should lead by example.

"He could make a big difference by demonstrating his commitment to Rio+20, and letting other world leaders know that he will personally be attending."

The EAC's broader conclusion is that humanity is not at present heading along a sustainable path.

"There has been inadequate progress on sustainable development since the 1992 Earth Summit," it says.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made a similar point last year, noting that although the global economy had grown by 60% since 1992, the benefits were not felt by all.

Half of the countries with data on their Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) performance were set to miss the target of halving the proportion of their population on less than $1 per day by 2015, Mr Ban said.

The EAC notes that many indicators of environmental health - such as biodiversity - continue to decline.

It recommends that the UK should support initiatives on new goals that aim to reduce unsustainable consumption in developed nations, and back the "greening" of economies by more constructive use of taxation and other financial levers.

In the run-up to the summit, a number of companies led by insurance giant Aviva have called for a UN declaration requiring businesses to report on the sustainability of their operations.

"The UK should support the call for a convention on corporate sustainability as part of a contribution to the Green Economy," said Mr Dodds.

"And what we'd hope is to have a high-level former politician being given the role of special envoy."

The EAC also called for the appointment of a UK special envoy soon, although it is not clear that the government will go ahead.

If it does, one argument doing the rounds is that appointing an ex-prime minister would give the role a lot of prominence.

But the field is rather limited - basically, John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown - and it may be that an ex-minister such as John Gummer (Lord Deben) would command more support.

Financing Sustainable Development

2011-10-22T06:19:00.000-07:00

I attended the UNEP FI’s 13th Global Roundtable which came at a crucial time for the international community, with the recent financial crisis and occupy washington tents outside. The conference offered a stark reminder that instability constantly looms over the horizon when issues of sustainability are overlooked in day-to-day financial operations.

Held under the theme “The Tipping Point: Sustained stability in the next economy,” UNEP FI’s 13th Global Roundtable looked at the decades-long niche discussion over sustainability and discussed has it finally become part of mainstream business and policy-making. The tipping point, in other words, has been crossed, and there is no turning back.

The 13th Global Roundtable conference brought in one place the men and women who have produced the most forward-looking thinking in the global finance and investment community.

It was followed up by a workshop for governments whcih Stakeholder Forum hosted at the Bloomberg offices in New York to see how it might help with Rio+20. Some discussion on the AVIVA Convention on Corporate Sustainability, the UNEP FI Principles for Sustainable Insurance (UNEP FI-PSI) and the Principles for Responsible Investment.

The 64th DPI NGO Conference: Sustainable Societies - Responsive Citizens

2011-09-17T18:50:00.000-07:00

The 64^th UN DPI NGO Conference was attended by 1600 stakeholders, discussing issues for the Rio+20 conference and the UN General Assembly debate on voluntarism. Over 40 workshops and side events took place and saw the launch of the Global Transition 2012 project by Stakeholder Forum, New Economics Foundation and New Economics Institute – for more details click here.

You can now watch the plenary discussions and round tables here.
The Declaration has now been finalised and can be downloaded from here.

The media coverage for the event was put together jointly with the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle and can be found here.

A blog on the conference by the conference chair Felix Dodds, Executive Director of Stakeholder Forum can be found here.

UN DPI NGO Conference

2011-08-22T05:34:00.000-07:00

The major Rio+20 conference focusing on global to local concerns in Bonn 3-5 September closed its pre-registartion with nearly 2500 registartions. The largest UN DPI NGO pre-registration ever.

The conferece zero draft declaration is up for comment until the 25th of August and has kicked off the debare on sustainable development goals on the green economy with some suggestions. THe declartion also deals with sustainable development governance at all levels and support for two conventions. One being promoted by WRI on Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration, the other on Corporate Environment and Social Responsibility and Accountability.

High Level Dialogue on Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development

2011-07-22T18:03:00.000-07:00

The high level dialogue on the Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development was organized by the Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the Rio+20 Secretariat and held in Solo, Indonesia, during 19-21 July, 2011.

It was attended by most governments, UN Agencies and Programmes and some stakeholders.

The purpose of the dialogue was to have a frank and open high-level discussions on the options for strengthening the institutional framework for sustainable development, with a view to progress towards formulating concrete proposals which could be taken up for consideration and possible adoption at Rio+20.

I was able to make a presention in the session on Strengthening, Transforming & Reforming the Intergovernmental Institutions’. This addressed the changes through incremental change, overhaul or new institutions of UNEP, the CSD, ECOSOC and suggested:

A Sustainable Development Council of the General Assembly
An Intergovernmental Panel on Sustainable Development to oversee other scientific panels and reduce fragmentation
An Interagency sub committee of the Chief Executive Board to ensure coherence within the UN family
An approach to have regional conventions for Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration
A Corporate Environment and Social Responsibility Convention

A full copy of the presentation is available here.

July 4th

2011-07-02T08:04:00.000-07:00

Only know less than 11 months until the Rio Earth Summit and so much still to do. Some good developments new Brazlian head of FAO Graziano da Silva. Preparations for the Indonsian high level meeting on sustainable development governance. The first real chance to discuss reform of the UN CSD and national sustainable development governance.

The UN DPI NGO Bonn 3-5th September Sustainable Socieities - Responsive Citizens Confernce will will be the big civil society conference on rio+20 which is looking at sustainable societies at all levels and will be the main stakeholder meeting prior to the november 1st deadline for contributions to the zero draft.

If you are interested in havign an impact this is the event to attend!!!

Rio+20 video

2011-06-07T19:24:00.000-07:00

Letter to UK PM published in the guardian on June 6th

2011-06-06T03:20:00.001-07:00

This time a year from now leaders from around the world will convene for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Brazil. Rio+20 in June 2012 will take place 20 years after the groundbreaking 1992 Rio Earth summit – an event that marked a watershed in international collaboration on social and environmental issues.
The British government has an international reputation for championing development aid and playing a critical role on climate change. With just a year to go before Rio+20, there is a real opportunity and need for the UK to show similar leadership for sustainable development, and for the prime minister to publicly demonstrate his commitment to ensuring a successful summit.
We ask the government to demonstrate leadership towards Rio+20 by, first, pledging that the prime minister will attend. Second, it should appoint an ambassador or envoy on Rio+20 to promote Rio+20 across the government, involve the public and engage in dialogue with other countries. And, finally, it must host a high-level dialogue with leaders from around the world to forge a consensus on increasingly urgent issues, such as the green economy, the food system, and building a low-carbon future.
British civil society is ready to play its own role in contributing to these endeavours. We look forward to hearing the government's plans for ambitious action on the Rio+20 agenda between now and June 2012.
Barbara Stocking Oxfam GB
Andy Atkins Friends of the Earth
Christine Allen Progressio
Brendan Barber Trades Union Congress (TUC)
David Norman WWF-UK
Paul Valentin Christian Aid
Chris Bain Cafod
Matthew Frost Tearfund
Felix Dodds Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future
Stephen Hockman QC, ICE Coalition (International Court for the Environment)
Camilla Toulmin International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)
Jake Leeper and Hannah Smith UK Youth Climate Coalition
Sharifin Gardiner Sushila Dharma International Association
Caryll Stephen Commonwealth Human Ecology Council
Karen Newman Population and Sustainability Network
Sue Riddlestone BioRegional
Nick Roseveare Bond
Simon Trace Practical Action
Halina Ward Foundation for Democracy and Sustainable Development
David Woollcombe Peacechild International

world environment day - one year before rio+20

2011-06-05T01:34:00.001-07:00

June 5th is World Environment Day. In an article by Juan Somavia and Achim Steiner Heads of the ILO and UNEP respectively on the BBC web site explores the role of the G8, Rio+20 and the role of the green economy.

Greenpeace have brought out a challenge for Rio+20 as have Christian Aid and Stakeholder Forum on Monday the 6th.

We are one year from Rio+20 and my prediction is that Rio will result in:

On Green Economy:

1. A set of principles for the Green Economy;
2. A set of Sustainable Development Goals with particular focus on sustainable development goals under the green sectors - Potentially 5-9 green economy sectors will be addressed. This would include energy, agriculture, urbanization, water, biodiversity. These could then be fed into the MDG Summit in 2015.

On Governance

1. In International Environmental Governance:
a. WEO: Probably not a WEO – maybe a process of clustering towards a point where governments feel comfortable with a WEO – this could be a 5-10 year processes starting with chemicals and biodiversity
b. Reform of UNEP with an Executive Board
2. In Sustainable Development Governance:
a. Sustainable Development Council: As the CSD isn’t working there is interest in the sustainable development council idea. This would upgrade the CSD to a Council of the UN GA similar to Human Rights. The Agenda for such a council might be new and emerging issues and part of Committee 2 of the UN GA might be folded into it.
b. IACSD: The re-establishing of the Interagency Committee on Sustainable Development to deal with UN coordination on SD.
c. Principle 10: The start of regional conventions on P10 starting with Latin America.

Many other issues are alive but this would be a firm outcome from 2012. Plus a convention on Corporate Environment and Soical Responsibility.

Main pre rio stakeholder conference

2011-05-27T08:51:00.000-07:00

This years UN NGO DPI Conference will have the dual conference themes: sustainable societies and responsive citizens, allows the host country, Germany, and NGOs world-wide to showcase the impact volunteers make on sustainable livelihoods.

It will also give NGOs the opportunity to contribute to the two-day special session of the General Assembly on the 10th Anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers in December 2011 and begin preparations for input into the 2012 conference on sustainable development known as Rio +20.

Go to register now to attend the main pre Rio+20 stakeholder conference. There will be major speakers such as Achim Steiner, roundtables on the major themes of Rio+20 and also what can be done to engage individually in creating a sustainable society. Soon over 24 workshops will be announced and other major speakers.

The output will be a declaration for Rio+20 and input to the GA debate on volunteers .

Tea Party and US fringe groups

2011-05-25T06:58:00.000-07:00

I think all the evidence we have from the IPCC Reports, the UNEP Global Environmental Outlook, the Planetary Boundaries work, etc should be enough to tell us that we are not living on this planet sustainably. What that means is we need to do things differently. Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation were roadmaps to how we might start to do that.

What is clear twenty years from the first Earth Summit is that our politicians did not take those warnings seriously enough.

Since 2002 a series of new terms have come into use such a climate security, energy security, food security and water security. The beginning of a new nexus of environment and security. What this should do is redouble our efforts to find a way to live in balance with each other on this planet.

What worries me is not just that the politicians do not understand the urgency but that those associated with the Tea Party are attacking Agenda 21. From the mother jones blog on what the TEa Party is saying: http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/11/tea-party-agenda-21-un-sustainable-development

"Agenda 21 paranoia has swept the Tea Party scene, driving activists to delve into the minutiae of local government."

Its as if Agenda 21 and the sustainable development community are the new communists. Of course underlying all this is the comments by President Bush in 1992 that "the US way of life is non negotiable" so we should all be entitled to that way of life if we do then we will need a few more planets to be able to achieve a similar standard of living.

Trump now not a US Presidential candidate went very close to in an interview with George Stephanopoulos saying that the US should secure its oil with force. What he did say was about the Iraqi oil. "To the winner belong the spoils. You go in you win the war and you take it."

These comments and approaches in part are due to the worry of many that the way of the life will have to change and that it will not look like it has for the last thirty odd years. There has been a role back of benefits for the poor in the north and a huge increase for those who have money. When President Reagan came to power the top tax rate in the US was 70% now its round 35%.

The question is what kind of world do we want to live in and how can we do that equitably. Agenda 21 gives a solution attaching it might seem fun for the Tea Party but what is their solution?

The next decade will need very fundamental change in our ways of consumption and production - it will need a change in our lifestyles. If we want to live in a fair, equitable and democratic world then there is much that needs to change. The approach of people in the tea party is just going to ensure we get to a unfair, unequal and non democratic and unstable world much quick. The new Earth Summit in 2012 needs to address this.

The last UN Commission on Sustainable Development

2011-05-24T11:02:00.000-07:00

A nice photo at the last morning session of the stakeholders attending the UN CSD in May. It was reported as the last CSD and with the failure later that day or rather the next morning of the CSD to pass any text the question is what will take its place?

There is some discussion on a sustainable development council of the UN General Assembly to discuss new and emerging issues such as climate security, food security, water security, energy security and the inter linkages. The UN has no where yet to discuss this and that would place sustainable development at the highest level of the UN. Another idea is reform of the UN Economic and Social Council but this has been tried before with out much success. In addition there is a concern at the lack of UN inter agency coordination which after the UN Inter agency Committee on Sustainable Development was closed down in UN reform process in 1998 and replaced in the next century by UN Oceans, UN Water and UN Energy. So some work to be done here.

What about the work at the national level? With the hope in Rio in 1992 of National Councils on Sustainable Development to be set up in all countries not fulfilled what can Rio+20 do to relight this approach at the national level? Perhaps these national Councils should be formerly linked to a new UN process on sustainable development at the global level. If it was then countries might re-establish these multistakeholder platforms post Rio+20.

Finally what about the local level? Rio+20 should relight the Local Agenda 21 process that was so intense after 1992 but now with the knowledge of what works and doesn't it could be a real bonus to making the link between local and global.

Just a few thoughts on this Tuesday afternoon.

What Now?

2011-05-22T18:29:00.000-07:00

The next six months will be critical is setting the bar high for the Earth Summit in Rio.

The process of developing a negotiating text is that governments and stakeholders alike have been asked to input their views to what is being called a zero draft of text by the 1st of November.

Already there are a set of core green economy themes on many peoples lists. These are: the blue economy, agriculture, energy, water, urbanisation -- then others that are on many but not all lists: SCP, CESR, biodiversity.

In light of the failure of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development to agree any text that leaves in particular sustainable consumption and production requiring to have it discussed in Rio so expect a big push here.

We have now moved in to a period of informal workshops on aspects of the green economy organised by the UN, governments or stakeholders they are an attempt to bring the negotiators up to speed in areas that haven't traditionally been ones they have covered - economy.

One of the big questions that has been asked by stakeholders and governments is where is UNEP and the Bank? Neither so far have been evident at the highest level. If this Summit is to really have the impact it needs then it needs to move from the environment departments in governments to their economic and development ministries supported by their environment ministries.

2011-05-22T17:12:00.000-07:00

To kick off the preparations for the Earth Summit Stakeholder Forum have produced the first t-shirt - Earth Summit 2012

It is available in all sizes and some colours.

There will be more to follow coming on the Earth Summit 2012 web site

New book out

2011-05-22T16:57:00.000-07:00

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Insecurity- A Planet in Peril - edited by Ahmed Djoghlaf and Felix Dodds is the third in a series covering environmental security. The first Human and Environmental security edited by Felix Dodds and Tim Pippard (2005) and the second Climate and Energy Insecurity edited by Felix Dodds, Andrew Higham and Richard Sherman (2009) attempts to iutline the increasing links between environment and security that have become clearer since the World Summit on Sustainabke Development in 2002. The lack of implementation of the Rio and the Johannesburg agreements have made the world a more dangerous and less equitable place.

The latest book has contibutions from Bob Watson, Thomas Lovejoy, Achim Steiner, Pavan Sukhdev, Monique Barbut and Johan Rockstrom.

new dates for rio+20

2011-03-29T00:57:00.000-07:00

hi i am sorry for not updating this very often -- its a late new years resolution. The new dates for rio+20 are 4-6th of June. The last prepcom in March did add additional dates for the Summit at present not yet agreed. These will be in: December (2011) the November meeeting is moved to here January 2012 (3 days) February 2012 (5 days) March 2012 (5 days) April 2012 (5 days) May 2012 930.31 and 1st of June) Best to keep checking on the Stakehodler Forum diary

preparing for the second prepcom

2011-02-13T02:44:00.000-08:00

Just a few things. The date of the Summit on Stakeholder Forum web site is May and is the one we took from the UN web site when it was up. It has been taken down. There is widespread discussion of the Summit moving anywhere from end of May to August. I think we should know by the end of the prepcom. There is also talk of new prepcoms in January and February

We should know also by the end of the prepcom the issues under the Green Economy. I have heard a number of topics suggested such as:
• Energy
• Agriculture
• Biodiversity
• Human settlement
• Fisheries
• Land use
• Water

Stakeholder Forum have a number of initiatives that might be useful to link up with.

On Sustainable Development Governance we have set up the Sustainable Development Governance Network. The first two papers are up online. We will have further papers coming out in the next month:

• International Environmental Court (by ICE)
• Policy Science Interface (by ICSU)
• World Environmental Court (by Prof Frank Biermann)
• Sustainable Development Council (by Felix Dodds)

And then further ones planned are:
• Re-establishing the IACSD
• Local Sustainable Development Plans (by ICLEI)
• National Sustainable Development Councils
• Reforming Climate Governance
• Sustainable Development Board
• Environmental Ombudsman
• Reporting on Sustainable Development to EcoSoc

The Network is open and if the Forum wants to join and produce a paper it would be very welcome. We are with UNEP organizing a conference on Governance on Sunday the 6th of March information to go out very soon.

The Challenge and Spirit of Rio panel presentation to the UN GA Committee 2

2010-11-01T11:43:00.000-07:00

By Felix Dodds

Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future, Executive Director

Thank you for inviting me to speak today and share my thoughts on Rio+20. Although I have been asked to speak on the contribution that stakeholders might play, I do want to start by making comments on the agenda for Rio+20 as well. In doing so I will draw on the article Maurice Strong and I did for the BBC in May this year.

To start with, I would like to commend Brazil for the leadership they have shown in
persuading the world that another Earth Summit is needed. Unfortunately, some developed countries have had to be dragged to the table.

There is a simple question we should all ask ourselves - is the world going in the right direction?

If the answer to this question is no, then we should ask what are the current challenges that the world needs to address, how can we address the challenges together and how long do we have to address them?

Broken promises

The answer to the last question is “not long”. Most of the problems the world now faces have been on the international agenda for decades, some going back as far the Stockholm environmental conference in 1972 where the seminal report from the Club of Rome warned us of the ‘Limits to Growth’.

We know from the UNEP GEO4 Report, the IPCC, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
that the problems we are facing have not reduced but become more acute - not as a result ofthe lack of proclaimed government commitments to action, but due to their dismal performance in implementing their agreements.

Indeed, if governments had implemented the many conventions, treaties and declarations they negotiated from Stockholm to Rio to Kyoto to Johannesburg, we would be well along the road to sustainability and then we would be better placed to address the challenges we now are facing.

But governments have not done enough by far to carry out their commitments, particularly as to helping finance developing countries' movement towards sustainability.

This failure has only added to the anger of most developing countries at the continued broken promises and has undermined their ability to make commitments of their own.

As a result, we now face challenges on a number of fronts: I want to highlight five:
1. Human societies are living beyond the carrying capacity of the planet;
2. Climate change has emerged as an out-of-control driver;
3. There is now becoming an increasing link between environment and security;
4. Governments have still not given the UN the mandate, the resources or the
institutional capacities required to monitor and enforce international agreements;
5. The still-prevailing, consumption-based economic model is not only failing to deliver progress to enormous numbers of the world's population, but is seriously threatening the economic stability of all nations, and compromising the prospect for any of us to live on this planet sustainably.

Despite all that, I do believe that these issues can be positively influenced by Earth Summit 2012. We still have time to change direction, but this time there can’t be any more failed promises. Successfully addressing the challenges we face will require an ambitious and creative agenda and us all working together governments, intergovernmental organisations and stakeholders.

The green economy in the context of poverty alleviation and sustainable
development

The current economic model, which has brought unprecedented prosperity to the more
developed countries and to particular people in those countries, has only deepened the disparity between them and most developing countries.

The parallels of the ecological problems with the financial crisis are clear. The banks and financial institutions privatised the gains and socialised the losses.
We are doing the same with the planet’s natural capital. According to WWF, we are
operating at 25% above the biological capacity to support life and that is before adding another billion people by 2020. We are going to see an even greater ecological crunch in the years to come

Our present lifestyles are drawing down the ecological capital from other parts of the world and from future generations. We are increasingly becoming the most irresponsible generation our planet has seen.

The past 30 years have been characterised by irresponsible capitalism, pursuing limitless economic growth at the expense of both society and environment, with little or no regard for the natural resource base upon which such wealth is built.

Today, the principal goal of our economy must be to improve the lives of all the world's people and to free them from want and ignorance - without compromising the planet itself.

An economy that integrates sustainable development principles with responsible capitalism can produce enough wealth to meet the needs of people in all nations, equitably and sustainably.

Earth Summit 2012 can clearly draw a roadmap to set the world on the path to a new
“economy” that is sustainable, equitable and accessible to all.

Emerging issues
Environmental and security issues are becoming increasingly intertwined.
The "environment-security/insecurity nexus" covers such overlapping issues such as climate security, energy security, ecosystem destruction, biodiversity loss, food security, water security, health security –all of which are contributing to an increase in environmental refugees. All this was reflected in the chairs text from Prepcom 1.

Rio+20 should give a roadmap on how these issues will be addressed.

Sustainable development governance

The present global institutions are wholly inadequate to deal with the Earth's major
challenges.

As most of the necessary changes are economic in nature, primary responsibility for
decision making cannot be made by environmental ministries. They will continue to be
vested in the ministries' of finance, development and trade.

Perhaps its time to ask the finance, economics and industry ministers and not the
environment ministers to take the leading role in preparing the Rio Summit addressing the sustainable development agenda in front of us, to ensure that the economic decisions will further the necessary transition to sustainability.

Earth Summit 2012 needs the input from not only the formal preparatory process but also NEPAD, the African Union, OECD, the regional development banks, the World Bank, the G20 as well as stakeholders if it is to see take forward the green economy.
Earth Summit 2012 should agree on strengthening and upgrading the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP), which should be the most influential champion of the
global environment.

We need a review of the environment Conventions to reduce fragmentation and increase
cooperation and coordination. Perhaps they should even be put under UNEP coordination.

Just as we have had problems mainstreaming environment we need to strengthen and
mainstream sustainable development in the UN system. I suggest that it may be time to
return to the idea of transforming the Trusteeship Council, a core body of the UN, into a Sustainable Development Council. Something Maurice Strong advocated in 1992.

A Sustainable Development Council that can address the emerging and critical issues that will need to be addressed in the coming years would be better than the Security Council doing it.

Additionally, Rio+20 should revisit the idea of a sustainable development board that was suggested by the High Level Panel on System Wide Coherence to ensure coordination of UN activities at the country level on sustainable development

We were asked to identify gaps in the institutional architecture? I am not going to go into depth but will leave you with three thoughts on this. The gaps that some stakeholders have been suggesting are:
• A framework convention on corporate accountability built from the new ISO 26000
• A global convention on Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration – access to information,
public participation and environmental justice perhaps built on the UNEP guidelines
• A global framework convention on Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration on the
Precautionary Principle. This could then address issues like nano technology, geo
engineering, cloning

Stakeholders Role

For my final comments I want to share my thoughts on what stakeholders might bring to the table for Rio+20. This is considerable.

One of the indicators that sustainable development is no longer a central part of
governments thinking has been the demise over the last ten years of sustainable
development councils and commissions.

In fact, the United Kingdom has just closed down its council in the last month. That was a mistake.

The logic of National Councils on Sustainable Development has been that involving
stakeholders in the national decision making processes means that those decisions are
more likely to be right and that they are more likely to be implemented often through
partnerships between government and stakeholders.

For Rio+20 a minimum for governments should be the re-establishment of national councils for sustainable development. They should then take a significant role in mobilising for the Summit. Maybe one role could be national assessments and of course they should then work with governments to implement the outcome from Rio.

Rio+20 should be seen nationally as a partnership opportunity for governments and
stakeholders.

What we need as far as Rio+20 is a bringing together of the good practices that exist in all countries of the green economy. For example I was very impressed with what Cuba has done in becoming a low carbon economy. The work they have done on urban agriculture is something that could be shared with all of us. Collecting good practice from governments, intergovernmental organisations and stakeholders could create a knowledge bank which can help the transition to a sustainable economy. After Rio perhaps then focusing on rolling out the best five replicatable projects in each economic sector, in each region or sub region which could make a real difference.

Stakeholders already are working through the UN Summit collaborative partners in inputting to the Rio+20 process and planning events to add substance. ICSU plan a global conference in London prior to Rio, ICLEI plan a conference in Rio around the Summit, there is to be a Global Youth Assembly the week before Rio. If you compare the preparations with Rio in 1992 there is huge interest and mobilisation of stakeholders involved already compared to prepcom for Rio when there was only 10 NGOs there.

Rio+20 should strengthen science-policy links, and scientists should be asked to make their work more policy relevant and solution oriented.

Governments could be asking stakeholders to bring their own targets on a sustainable and green economy to the table.

Local and regional governments have already made commitments on CO2 emission
reductions. They should be encouraged to do this under Rio+20 and should be challenged to re-launch local their Agenda 21 program as a concept around the green economy. All local authorities should create a local green economy to take forward the outcomes from Rio and to engage their population in a journey to a more local sustainability. There is already being planned a Cities Climate Registry by local government prior to Cancun cities plan to sign a pact and will commit to Monitoring Reporting and Verification targets.

Industry sectors should be asked what they will do to address the key elements of a
sustainable and green economy – there are some interesting examples out there with Coke Cola and Pepsi moving to water neutrality and Pepsi begin the first company I know accepting water as a basic human right.

In addition to the traditional industry groups – Rio should reach out to the social market networks and entrepreneurs. Companies should work with their trade unions to help green the companies’ workplace and their activities. A move to zero carbon, zero water, zero waste strategies will require cooperation of governments and stakeholders.

As the US Summit Bureau member helpfully reminded us, Rio+20 should be a 'Rio for 20-
somethings': there must be moves to recognize our inter-generational responsibilities
towards young people, starting by ensuring that they have an education system that is reoriented towards Sustainable Development as promised by Agenda 21. They have to be educated, empowered and mobilized to rise to their generational challenge of creating a green, post-carbon economy in their lifetimes.

The Youth Caucus WCSD in Johannesburg called on governments to "See youth as
resource, not a problem." Hearing that, Kofi Annan remarked: "Of course they are: youth are the most precious resource any nation possesses." We need to learn to engage with them better, and hopefully, at Rio+20, we shall. For it is the youth of today who will be the major beneficiaries of a successful outcome of the Rio 2012 Summit; likewise they will be the major victims if it fails.

Rio+20 should ensure meaningful participation of relevant stakeholders on all levels in the 2012 process as we can play a significant role in implementing the agreement.

Rio should become a festival of the best ideas and best practices on how we move towards a more sustainable and green economy.

Perhaps the RiO+20 outcome document should have an annex with all the
stakeholders own commitments.

Is there a Common future?

Since 1992, awareness of the Earth's environmental challenges has become universal.
What has been lacking is the will of governments to act. Perhaps we all thought we had more time; we don’t!

Rio+20: needs to utilise communications media assertively and creatively - to engage the global public in a global conversation on how we are able to live on this "one planet" together. “One planet living” echoes the idea of equity, fairness and planetary boundaries.

We need a ‘Yes We Can’ approach to Rio+20.

We can reboot sustainable development.

We can refocus our local, national and global economies around a sustainable economy.

We can reform our sustainable development institutions so that they can cope with the
challenges of the 21st century.

We can re-establish National Councils for Sustainable Development

We can re-launch multi-stakeholder partnerships for sustainable development

We can learn to live on this planet together equitably taking into consideration not only this generation but future generations – who have a right to a good quality of life.

The Earth Summit 2012 presents a unique platform for negotiating the co-operation needed to achieve a new deal between North and South, between rich and poor, between
governments and stakeholders and between present and future generations. This cooperation is critical to the future of all people on the planet. It is a co-operation we must achieve.

Perhaps the time has at last come for governments to adopt the Earth Charter as a value base to guide us.

The future is not a gift: it is an achievement.

In 1992 governments showed considerable leadership in adopting Agenda 21 and the
conventions on biological diversity and climate change.

People are willing to make the right choice. But they need leadership.

They're hungry for leadership. The question I leave with you is can you give that leadership?

Stakeholder Forum website for Rio+20

www.earthsummit2012.org

UN web site for Rio+20
www.uncsd2012.org

UN GA Second Committee Rio+20 event

2010-10-30T16:51:00.000-07:00

Special event
Second Committee, 65th Session of the General Assembly
“Advancing Sustainable Development: What Should Rio+20 Achieve?”
Friday, 29 October 2010

Background
The concept of sustainable development is like a bridge. It seeks to bring together not only the three domains — economic, social and environmental — but also developed and developing countries, Governments, businesses and civil society, scientific knowledge and public policy, the city and the countryside, and present and future generations. It has also created the awareness that the environment and development are not two separate agendas, but two faces of the same agenda. Development is the midwife of sustainability, just as sustainability is the life support system for development.

In order to secure a renewed political commitment for sustainable development, Member States decided at the 64th session of the General Assembly to organize, in Brazil in 2012, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) . The Conference is to assess progress and remaining gaps in implementation of commitments made at major summits on sustainable development. It is also supposed to address new and emerging challenges. The two themes of the Conference are: green economy in the context of sustainable development, and the institutional framework for sustainable development.

To guide the preparatory process, a 10-member Bureau co-chaired by Permanent Representatives from Antigua and Barbuda and Republic of Korea has been elected at the First Preparatory Committee meeting held from 17 – 19 May 2010. Other Vice-Chairs are from Argentina, Botswana, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Italy, Pakistan and the USA. Brazil is a member ex-officio.

To support preparation for the Conference, the UN Secretary-General has nominated the Under-Secretary-General of Economic and Social Affairs as the Secretary-General of the Conference with the dedicated Secretariat at the Department of Economic and Social Affairs. System-wide coordination in support of the preparatory process is pursued through the Executive Committee of Economic and Social Affairs , supported by the UN Development Group and Environmental Management Group .

Objective of Conference: Renewing political commitment
The political outcome of the Conference will determine its legacy.
Will it be an occasion to reinforce political resolve to tackle the main sustainable development challenges facing the international community?
What concrete outcomes should we be working for?

Green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication
Green economy is a term which has generated much interest of late, particularly following the financial crisis and global recession and the “green stimulus” packages assembled by a number of governments. Also, in the run-up to Copenhagen, many countries developed plans and policies to promote low-carbon development, which can be encompassed by the term “green economy” or “green growth”.

The concept is used in several senses, to refer e.g. to promotion of structural change towards less energy-, resource- and pollution-intensive sectors, as well as to broad policies designed to shift all economic activities onto a more resource- and energy-efficient and less environmentally damaging foundation. Opinions differ on whether the economic adjustments involved will be gradual and small-scale or more transformational.

The newness of the concept means that many are still uncertain about how to interpret it and what its implications are for their own countries. Many countries have experience with policies which could be given a “green economy” label (e.g., eco-taxation, investments in green infrastructure, sustainable procurement, etc.). Some have pursued them more comprehensively and ambitiously than others.
• Does green economy offer a useful framework for capturing synergies among the three pillars of sustainable development, or are the trade-offs more apparent?
• What are the benefits, costs and risks of pursuing a green economy, green growth path?

Institutional framework for sustainable development
There exists a dense network of institutions and instruments related to sustainable development at the international, regional, national and local levels. The UNCED/Rio Conference marked the culmination of a fertile period in the development of institutions responding to concerns about sustainable development. UNCED saw the adoption of a number of crucial agreements, including the Rio Declaration, Agenda 21, and the UNFCCC. It also created new international institutions, among them the Commission for Sustainable Development, tasked with the follow-up to UNCED.

The rise in social and economic interconnectedness (globalization), the failure to make adequate progress in eradicating poverty, and the impacts of global environmental change are some of the key drivers behind demands for strengthening the institutional framework for sustainable development. An effective and equitable framework would provide a way of ensuring adequate progress in the social, economic and environmental dimensions. Maximizing outcomes along more than one dimension is a challenging exercise. The response has been to advocate an integrated approach to strategy formulation and policy making – evaluating options in accordance with the three dimensions of sustainable development – and benefiting from multi-stakeholder engagement.

Some questions considered vis-à-vis the institutional framework for sustainable development included:
• What functions are existing intergovernmental bodies and processes currently performing well, and where are the major shortcomings?
• Where are the major gaps in the institutional architecture?
• How can the links between various intergovernmental bodies and processes be strengthened and made more effective?

Preparatory process
The Earth Summit in Rio and the World Summit in Johannesburg introduced important advances in the engagement of civil society in international decision making on sustainable development. Carrying on that tradition, multistakeholder engagement of Major Groups will be critical in the preparations for Rio + 20 and in maximizing the likelihood of a successful outcome.

Speakers:

Professor Subhan– Poverty eradication and Sustainable Development

Dr. Soogil Young, Chairman, Presidential Committee on Green Growth, Republic of Korea - Green economy in the context of sustainable development

Prof. Adil Najam, Frederick S. Pardee Professor of Global Public Policy, Boston University - Institutional framework for sustainable development

Mr. Felix Michael Dodds Stakeholder Forum – Key issues and Stakeholder engagement in the UNCSD Preparatory Process

Green Economy discussion at the UNEP stakeholder meeting in Geneva

2010-10-26T03:20:00.001-07:00

We are doing a round table discussion on Green Economy. UNEP Green Economy coordinator Steven Stone suggests that the green economy is ‘low carbon and social inclusive’. I suggested it might be more like the WWF vision of ‘One Planet Living’ offers us the vision and what our economic system needs to support within planet boundaries.
Lots of people seem to focus on the carbon part of the discussion but it must be more than this. Others here to find out what the green economy might be --- ‘a set of ? marks’….. Its going to be a long road to Rio+20!!

The presentations by IISD -- they are saying that to create an enabling environment for the green economy should include:
• Green public investment and incentives
• Sustainable public procurement
• Legislation, institutions and enforcement
• Leveling the playing field of prices
• Supporting actions: capacity building and transitional arrangements
Questions to be asked for moving to a green economy:
• Prioritizing between policies?
• Incorporating a specific poverty reduction agenda?
• How to implement enabling conditions?

We need to discuss Green Economy Principles……..before we dig deep on sectors. What is guiding our discussion?

Some of the objectives could be:
• Poverty eradication
• Employment generations
• Decoupling growth from pollution
• •Sustainable production and consumption

UNEP IEG Stakeholder discussion

2010-10-25T01:48:00.001-07:00

Geneva 25^th of October UNEP are hosting a discussion for stakeholders to discuss how to reform the International Environmental Governance. Bradnee Chambers of UNEP is presenting on the fragmentation of the IEG system. He identifies as key problems:

Use of financial resources
Inconsistency in interpretation of rules
Neglect of interlinkages
Structural inefficiencies
There is no coherent system wide environmental strategy
Lack of implementation and capacity
Lack of monitoring, review and accountability

UNEP are suggesting that the environmental pillar is the foundation of sustainable development

The 2009 and 2010 Consultative Group set up under UNEP GC decision 25/4 and SSXI/1 respectively is the process now leading up to Rio+20 on IEG.

This identified that present IEG discussion should be based that form should follow function. There needed to eb a set of functions that were critical.

Creating a strong, credible and coherent science base
Developing a global authority for the environment
Secure financial base

Still the Rio+20 process has still to identify how to address the more important issues of sustainable development governance.

dates out for Rio+20

2010-09-19T12:18:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

Stakeholder Forum is launching Earth Summit Network News, the newsletter that will keep you informed about developments by the UN, governments and stakeholders in the buildup to Rio+20. SF will manage and distribute this publication each month so that various stakeholders remain connected, up-to-date and can share information via our network as we work towards the Summit.

You can also stay informed by joining our Earth Summit 2012 group on Facebook (click here to join) or by following developments around the Summit on Twitter at @RIOPLUS20

If your organisation has news or an announcement you would like to make please send your proposed entry to earthsummit2012@stakeholderforum.org. The entry could share information about an event, meeting, report or article. You can also make contributions to our blog about your experiences in the build up to Rio+20.

Earth Summit and intersessional dates announuced

The United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) has confirmed dates for the Earth Summit (14-16 May 2012) as well as meetings of the Preparatory Committee, known as PrepComs, and intersessional meetings. Key dates:

2011
Rio+20 Intersessional 10th and 11th January
Rio+20 PrepCom March 7th and 8th
Rio+20 Second Intersessional meeting 14,15,16th November

2012
Rio+20 3rd Intersessional 5,6,7th March
Rio+20 third PrepCom 9th,10th 11th May
Rio+20 conference 14,15,16th May

Rio+20 questionnaire released
The UNCSD have released new Rio+20 Questionnaires via its official website. Three questionnaires have been made available for Major Groups, Member States and United Nations System Organizations (and other stakeholders) focusing on; Experiences; Success Factors; and Risks and Challenges with Regard to Objective and Themes of UN Conference on Sustainable Development. The questionnaires are to be filled in before 31 October 2010. To view the questionnaires go to www.earthsummit2012.org

New UN High Level panel on Sustainability announced
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has unveiled a new panel on global sustainability that is tasked with finding ways to lift people out of poverty while tackling climate change and ensuring that economic development is environmentally friendly. To read the article in , or to view the panel's Terms of Reference and a full list of members.

New UN Website for Rio+20 set up

The United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development has launched an official website for the Rio+20 Earth Summit in 2012.

A Timeline for Sustainable Development

Stakeholder Forum has produced a timeline of key events in sustainable development over the past forty years, it.

UK Stakeholder Meetings on Rio+20
On 15th July 2010 Stakeholder Forum brought together a diverse range of UK stakeholders to discuss the Rio+20 Earth Summit and the outcomes from the first preparatory meeting (PrepComm1), which took place in New York from 17th-19th May 2010.

Earth Summit Updates
Follow us on Twitter @RIOPLUS20

Join the Earth Summit 2012 Group on Facebook

On 27th September 2010 the 10th Annual Conference of the German Council for Sustainable Development will take place in Berlin to discuss the challenges ahead of Rio+20. #

Outcomes From Prepcom1

Stakeholder Forum endeavours to keep stakeholders informed about issues and outcomes from PrepComs and intersessional meetings in the build up to Rio+20.

Consultative Group established for Sustainable Development Governance

A new consultative group has been established on by the UNEP Governing Council to build upon the work of the previous group and consider options for broader reform of the current International Environmental Governance (IEG) system. The outcome of the Group's discussions will be contributed to the preparatory process for the Rio+20 Conference in support of its second theme: The institutional framework for Sustainable Development. The Group's last meeting was
held in July.

Earth Summit Special Advisors Group appointed

Earth Summit Secretary General Sha Zukang has appointed two special advisors to help with Summit preparations, Nikil Seth and Juwang Zhu.

SF and Scottish Sustainable Development Forum (SSDF) to host multi-stakeholder dialogue

How can Scotland's experience of local green economies inform global policy discussions on sustainable development? SSDF has partnered with Stakeholder Forum for a day of discussion and debate with high profile speakers and workshops on 21st September.

National Report guidlines due out this week

2010-08-24T23:10:00.000-07:00

hi

looks like the national report guidlines will be out this week from the UN with a date of completition of October 31st. There will be a chance for all stakeholders to input directly as well. So contact your government find out what process they are setting up to consult and participate in Rio+20. All information will be posted as we have it on our Earth Summit 2012 site.

New UN web site for Rio+20

2010-08-11T08:25:00.000-07:00

The UN has redesigned its web site for 2012 ---its much more user friendly and information richer. Have a look at it here.

The Stakeholder Forum web site has a diary of events up to 2012 -- have a look at that here.

New High Level Panel on Sustainabilty set up

2010-08-10T09:57:00.000-07:00

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today unveiled a new panel on global sustainability that is tasked with finding ways to lift people out of poverty while tackling climate change and ensuring that economic development is environmentally friendly.
“I have asked the Panel to think big,” the Secretary-General told reporters in New York today. “The time for narrow agendas and narrow thinking is over.”

To be co-chaired by Finland’s President Tarja Halonen and South African President Jacob Zuma, the 21-member High-Level Panel on Global Sustainability brings together representatives from government, the private sector and civil society in countries rich and poor.

It is essential, Mr. Ban said, to promote low-carbon growth and enhance resilience to climate change’s impacts, as well as to tackle the intertwined challenges posed by poverty, hunger, water and energy security.

“In short, we need a new blueprint for a more livable, prosperous and sustainable future for all,” he stressed.

The Secretary-General said that he expects the new Panel to come up with practical solutions to address the institutional and financial arrangements necessary to put a new scheme into practice.

The new body is expected to deliver its final report by the end of next year, ahead of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development scheduled for 2012, as well as annual conferences of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The Panel also comprises Gro Harlem Brundtland, Han Seung-soo, Yukio Hatoyama, Luisa Dias Diogo and Kevin Rudd, former prime ministers of Norway, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Mozambique and Australia, respectively, as well as Barbadian Prime Minister David Thompson, United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdallah Bin Zayid Al Nahayan, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan, and Switzerland’s Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey.

They will be joined by Alexander Bedritsky, Aide to the Russian President on climate change; Hajiya Amina Az-Zubair, Adviser for the Nigerian President on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); Zheng Guogang, Director of the China Meteorological Administration; Jim Balsillie, Chair of the board of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI); and Susan E. Rice, the United States’ Permanent Representative to the UN.

The Panel will be rounded out by current and former environment ministers – Jairam Ramesh of India, Julia Carabias of Mexico and Cristina Narbona Ruiz of Spain – as well as Connie Hedegaard, the European Union’s Commissioner for Climate Change.

prepcom 1 for rio+20 finished

2010-05-23T15:44:00.000-07:00

The first prepartory meeting for RiO+20 finished on Wednesday. We are still waiting for the Chairs text to come out but it was a good start. The Stakeholder Forum, UN NGLS conference on May 15th attended by over 200 people set the seen for the prepcom. Report will be on Stakeholder Forum Earth Summit 2012 site soon.

At the UN Commission on Sustainable Development the previous week Felix Dodds of Stakeholder Forum presented some governance reform ideas in the session "Multi-stakeholders Dialogue on Advancing the Implementation of CSD Decisions.2 This can be watched on the UN TV site

Secretary General Paper on Rio+20 now out

2010-04-06T06:29:00.000-07:00

As preparations for Rio+20 are building with the first prepcom on the 17th,18th and 19th of May the UN Secretary General releases his background paper -- the UN web site for 2012 is now up as well.

UN NGLS and Stakeholder Forum are organising a conference on the 15th of May to discuss the themes of the Rio+20 Conference.

Rio+20 in MEA Bulletin

2010-03-31T16:51:00.000-07:00

he April issue of MEA Bulletin has a guest article by Felix Dodds on Rio+20.

Stakeholder Forum and UN NGlS to host Rio+20 Conference in New York on the 15th of May just before the first preparatory meeting. It will cover

One Planet Living: Green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication
Emerging Issues
Scenarios for 2032
Sustainable Development Governance
Role of Stakeholders

Register through Hannah Stoddart at hstoddart (at) stakeholderforum.org

Revamped 2012 Web site launched

To help people and organizations keep abreast of 2012 developments the web site has undergone a transformation have a look at it click here.

UNEP Nusa Dua Declaration

2010-03-12T09:24:00.000-08:00

UNEP Global Minsiters Environmental Forum agrees its first Ministerial Declaration for ten years. The Nusa Dua Declaration gives UNEP a key role in the Rio+20 deliberations over the next three years.

Stakeholder Forum and UN NGLS are organising a Rio+20 Conference in new York on the 15th of May. Details from Stakeholder Forum.

UN Agrees to new Earth Summit

2010-01-03T13:18:00.001-08:00

The United Nations General Assembly in December agreed to a new Earth Summit in 2012. The Summit will be held in Brazil and will focus on four areas:

The Green Economy
Emerging Issues
Sustainable Development Governance
Review of previous commitments

Follow developments on the Earth Summit 2012 web site.

Commonwealth Peoples Forum backs Rio+20

2009-11-28T07:20:00.001-08:00

The Commonwealth Peoples Forum meeting prior to the Commonwealth Heads of State meeting endorsed that Rio+20 should have a major focus on the green economy

EU Welcomes Green Economy discussion for Rio+20

2009-11-06T14:18:00.000-08:00

Sweden speaking for the Euroepan Union and the Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Montenegro and Serbia as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Armenia align themselves with this statement Mr. Jakob Ström, Counsellor with the Permanent Mission of Sweden to the UN said to the UN General Assembly

"With appreciation for the G77 proposal, the EU values a High-level Event on Sustainable Development in 2012 as an opportunity to make further progress on the mainstreaming of sustainability policies that foster green economy and reduce poverty. For an event to be meaningful there has to be broad agreement in this Assembly on how it can complement already ongoing processes in the field of sustainable development and be planned so as not to divert resources from or negatively affect them. The EU looks forward to engage actively in the forthcoming discussions on developing the content and agenda of the HLESD. We are very much encouraged by the quality of the debate held in this Committee last week on green growth."

It is vital to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This is the essence of sustainable development, from health and education for individuals to trade or biosafety regimes at the global level. The EU believes that promoting and integrating economic, social and environmental strategies is a core UN system function. We have 40 years of multilateral effort and experience to build on since Sweden proposed the first UN conference on the human environment. A new era could now be in the making, ushering an ecoefficient economy and an equitable development model.

Australia welcomes chance to discuss new Summit

2009-11-06T14:09:00.000-08:00

In a statement by Annette Ellis the Parliamentary Advisor to the Australian Mission to the UN, Annette said:

"We welcome the opportunity to discuss a possible high level event on sustainable development in 2012, and look forward to hearing the views of others on this proposal."

Pakistan Backs Rio + 20

2009-11-06T14:00:00.000-08:00

In the statement by Dr Asad Khan Minister of Pakistan to the UN concernign Rio+20 he said:

"Clearly the challenge of sustainable development has become far too acute and big for any country to tackle. The UN undoubtedly, has a central role to play in this regard, particularly in advancing the global sustainable development to meet new and emerging challenges in an increasingly globalized world.

The need for an integrated and coordinated response to arrest, reduce and rverse the negative trends is, therefore, vital. In this regard we look forward to an early decision on convening a world summit on sustainable development in 2012 in Rio, Brazil to carry out a comprehensive review of the implementation of Sustainable Development Agenda since Stockholm and to delineate a roadmap for future actions to effectively deal with new and emerging sustainable development challenges."

Norway endorse Rio+20

2009-11-05T12:15:00.000-08:00

Lastly, we have on our agenda a proposal to convene a high-level event on sustainable development in 2012. We are all aware what such an event takes of time and resources. Still, events of this nature are sometimes required when we are faced with new global challenges.

If we agree on the need for a new high-level event, it is crucial that its agenda is forward-looking and focused. It should in no way overlap with or undermine the work of neither CSD nor other intergovernmental bodies.

What pressing issues of a political nature may require heads of state and government to gather in order to find common solutions to common challenges? Two topics that have been suggested are green economy and water. Both represent important challenges that are not properly dealt with in existing international fora, and deserve serious consideration.

A third proposal concerns reform of the International Environmental Governance system (IEG). This is not a new topic. The challenges faced by today’s system are well known. They include fragmentation, overlap, lack of coherence, multiple and costly adminstrative entities, combined with insufficient funding for environment and sustainable development action. The need for reform is obvious, but our ability to act has so far been inadequate. The outcome of the current Belgrade process initiated by the UNEP Governing Council may give an indication of whether there is sufficient political will and enough momentum to take the process further. If so, a high-level event may be the right forum.

India backs Rio+20

2009-11-03T10:07:00.000-08:00

In its statement to the UN Committee Two India backs the Summit. It said:

"The need for sustainable development has perhaps never been felt as strongly as it is being felt today. The multiple inter-linked crisis that we face today necessarily need an integrated approach to sustainable development, with emphasis on all its three pillars of economic development, social development and environmental protection. This is key to achieving our devlopment goals, particularly that of eradicating poverty and hunger.

We agree with the views expressed in the report of the Secretary General that Agenda 21 was truly an attempt to bring diverse agendas together. It is important that we continue to strive for full implementation of this important consensus as well as its Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.

In this regard we also support the holding of a "Rio+20" event in Brazil in 2012 to comprehensively reveiw progress made in implementing the sustainable developmentagenda."

Switzerland backs the Summit

2009-11-03T09:48:00.000-08:00

In Committee 2 of the UN General Assembly the Government of Switzerland backs Rio+20:

"A new high level event on sustainable development - 40 years after Stockholm, 20 years after Rio and 10 years after Johannesburg - could offer a welcome opportunity to give new impetus to common approaches and solutions for addressing pressing ecological, economic and social challenges. To make sure that such an event is a success, a clear and shared vision of the scope and the expected outcomes will be needed, and a solid and constructive prepration process will have to be put into place.

With regard to the scope, we believe that such an event could serve the following purposes:
+ to assess teh implementation of the outcomes of the former major conferences in the area of sustanble development;
+ to identify and addtress existing gaps in the international regime with regard to the environmental, economic and social challenges which have not yet received the attention they merit and;
+ to critically assess the existing governance structures with regard to environment and sustainable development and make proposals to improve the coherence, effectiveness and efficency of governance in each of the three pillars of sustainable development."

The preparatory process will be decisive for the potntial success of a 2012 high level event. It must be adequately fine-tuned to the scope and expected outcomes of the event, transparent and inclusive. In our view, the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) is not the appropriate preparatory body for the high-level event. The CSD already has an established multi-year work programme. With regard to the outcome, the 2012 high level event would have to be set up in such a way as to enable it to achieve a far reaching declaration targeted on specific key subjects strenthening effectiveness, coherence and innovation of sustainable development worldwide.

US still not supporting Rio+20

2009-11-03T09:44:00.000-08:00

The following is the US statement to the Second Committee of the UN GA on a possible Rio+20:
"There has been substantial discussion of a possible “Rio+20” conference on sustainable development. We welcome continued work towards sustainable development and discussion on this particular topic. However, we continue to have questions on the necessity of such a conference. We already have a large number of agreements governing our ongoing sustainable development efforts; we must ensure that another meeting does not detract valuable attention from these priorities. Also, we must consider whether a high-level meeting is the most effective use of limited resources. Above all, we advocate continuing progress towards existing commitments and spending resources on actions that directly produce results."

UN General Assembly debate on Rio+20 starts

2009-11-02T09:49:00.000-08:00

The initial statements by G77 and China and the EU wer made today on Rio+20 in the UN General Assembly Second Committee.
G77 and China said:
"This cycle also concludes with the preparations for the World Summit,Rio+20. 2012 will mark the twentieth anniversary of the 1992 Earth Summit and the ten year anniversary of the WSSD held in 2002. It will be 40 years after the Stockholm Conference of 1972. Guided by the "Rio Spirit", we hope that this conference will provide us with an opportunity to thoroughly review and assess the progress achieved since those momentus summits and provide the necessary political impetus for action required to bridge the implementation gap. In this context, the G77 and China supports and welcomes the offer to host such a Summit in 2012 and looks forward to the discussions on the modalities of this conference during this session."

The EU statement by the Swedish Presidency said:
"With apprecitation for the G77 proposal, the EU values a High Level Event on Sustainable Development in 2012 as an opportunity to make furtehr progress on the mainstreaming of sustainability policies that foster green economy and reduce poverty. For an event to be meaningful there has to be braod agreement in this Assembly on how it can complement already ongoing processes in the field of sustainable development and be planned so as not to divert resources from or negatively affect them. The EU looks forward to engage actively in the forthcoming discussions on developing the content and agenda of the HLESD. We are very much encouraged by the quality of the debate held in this Committee last week on green growth."

EU Brazil Summit issues support for Rio+20

2009-10-07T14:05:00.000-07:00

The EU welcomed the Brazilian Government offer to host a United Nations high-level event on sustainable development in Rio de Janeiro in 2012. Both parties shared the view that the 'Green Economy' should be one of its main focus. The EU and Brazil agreed that the event could renew political commitment towards this key issue of sustainable development and define appropriate new initiatives. They agreed that the event could also offer an opportunity to advance issues that have taken up prominent positions in the international agenda.

US NGOs endorse Earth Summit and write to President Obama

2009-10-06T07:27:00.001-07:00

"We are writing, on behalf of civil society organizations representing more than a million Americans, to request that the U.S. Government enthusiastically support the proposal now before the United Nations to hold an Earth Summit in Brazil in 2012. We hope that you will see the Summit as an opportunity to consolidate the gains made in your first Administration towards sustainable development and to catalyze actions worldwide to build a new green global prosperity."

In a letter signed by groups that include NRDC, WEDO, Union of Concerned Scientists, Greenpeace and US National Wildlife Federation they remind the Preisend that:

"The last time a U.S. President participated in an Earth Summit was 1992. There is a whole new generation of leaders and a swell of youth behind them whose lives and understanding of the world will be shaped by the events in the next several years. As you told Ghana’s parliament in July 2009, “above all, it will be the young people – brimming with talent and energy and hope – who can claim the future ….” The 2012 Earth Summit can concentrate the talent, energy, and hope of young people for perhaps the greatest series of challenges our species has ever faced."

a full transcript can be read at www.earthsummit2012.org

French President endorses Rio+20

2009-09-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

President Sarkozy's visit to Lula on 6 and 7 September, saw him expresing the French support to the Rio +20 Earth summit.

"La France soutient pleinement le souhait du Brésil d’organiser en 2012 un nouveau sommet de la Terre, 20 ans après le premier Sommet qui s’était déjà tenu à Rio de Janeiro. Ce nouveau sommet pourra constituer une occasion privilégiée pour réaliser des progrès décisifs et nécessaires en matière de gouvernance internationale de l’environnement".

"France fully supports the desire of Brazil to organize in 2012 a new Earth Summit, 20 years after the first Summit had been held in Rio de Janeiro. This new peak may be an ideal opportunity to make decisive and necessary progress for international governance of the environment. "

A copy of the full text is downloadable at the www.earthsummit2012.org

Brussels Conference on Rio+20 October 1 and 2

2009-09-12T01:26:00.000-07:00

As it becomes clearer that a new Summit will focus on the Green Economy International Sustainable Development Governance and Environment and Human Insecurity issues Brussels holds the first conference to explore the agenda.

Full conference details can be downloadable from www.earthsummit2012.org organised by the European Economic and Social Committee and Stakeholder Forum the event an impressive list of speakers.

The event being held proir to the UN General Assembly debate on Rio+20 offers a great chance for governemnts to listen to views before the debate.

One of the key elephants in the room is what role will the Summit have for climate change. After all the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is a daughter of Rio. Until everyone recovers from Copenhagen and looks at the landscape it will be difficult to say. My hunch though is that it will play a significant role.

Brussels Conference on Rio+20 dates

2009-07-19T08:42:00.000-07:00

Euopean Economic and Social Committee and Stakeholder Forum are organising a Rio+20 Conference for the afternoon of the 1st of October and the morning of the 2nd of October in Brussels. Details to follow.

US Groups meet to discuss Rio+20

2009-07-19T08:38:00.000-07:00

In Washington on the 6th and 7th of July stakeholders met in two complementary meetings one hosted by Justice and Sustainability and the other by NRDC to discuss preparations for Rio+20. Over 50 organsiations attended the two meetings as US groups start to prepare their views on the issues for the Summit.

CSD 17 and Rio+20

2009-05-17T11:51:00.000-07:00

The UN Commission on Sustainable Development saw a number of people and organisatiosn write articles for Outreach Issues endorsing Rio+20. This included the tarde unions, local government, canadian youth and the business community. The Brazilian Governemnt side event in the second week had over 180 people from governments and stakeholders and UN bodies eager to hear what the Brazilian Government thought shoudl be the issues. Their presentation suggested reform of sustainable development governance, greening the economy, reviewing progress on Agenda 21 and the JPoI and looking at emerging issues such as water and energy.

The joint radio project for the CSD by Stakeholder Forum and the BBC World Serice Trust covered Rio+20 a number of times. This included the green table - listen to his provocative discussion with Juan Hoffmaister (Third World Network), Bedrich Moldan of the Czech Republic, and André Odenbreit of Brazil. In the last issue of Today at the CSD delegates are asked what they want from Rio +20
(http://media.stakeholderforum.org )

UNEP Enironmental Ministers Round Tables

2009-03-18T10:04:00.000-07:00

This week saw the publication of two related 2012 documents. The first was the ‘non paper’ from the dinner Stakeholder Forum held in New York on the 24th of February. The paper was a little longer in arriving as governments were given a week to review and make comments on the paper.

The second document was the Presidents summary from the UNEP Ministerial Round Tables on International Environmental Governance and the Global Green New Deal. What is fascinating is that in the IEG summary there is huge section on 2012 under the title: “The proposed Rio+20 summit provides an opportunity to put a full package on international environmental governance reform on the table for finalization by 2012.” Ministers are clearly engaged already in thinking about what a summit might achive

The papers arrived in government mailboxes within hours of each other. They start to fill in the blanks about: Why have a summit? What could a summit address? What could be the logistics for such an event? There are still huge questions that have yet to answered and Stakeholder Forum hopes that you will become involved in finding the answers to some of the questions that are at the end of the non paper.

We will endeavour to put up on the Stakeholder Forum Earth Summit site news as we hear it whether from governments, UN meetings or stakeholders.

UN Commission on Sustainable Development reflections

2009-02-28T14:15:00.000-08:00

Sitting at the airport after the Commission on Sustainable Development IPM seemed a good time to reflect on Earth Summit 2012 reflections. The week saw Stakeholder Forum host a dinner on Tuesday the 24th of February 2009. It certainly gave food for thought for those attending. Around 17 governments had people attending all in their personal capacity
The dinner looked at if the Summit was a good idea or not and report of it will appear on the Stakeholder Forum Earth Summit 2012 web site in about a week’s time. What I found interesting is the realisation by many that we are going to be facing multi crisis in the coming years and the present set up isn’t working. A summit is one way of addressing it but it may not be the only one.
This week also saw the BBC start to initiate a debate on the Summit through Richard Black's blog under the title 'Slow road to green reform'.

In the final speech by the Swiss Government to the CSD IPM they said:

"Lastly, Madam Chair, I would like to briefly address the issue of a possible Rio+20 or Stockholm+40 conference. In the UN General Assembly resolution on the implementation of Agenda 21 agreed upon last December, member states were invited to express their views on the possibility of convening a high-level event on sustainable development. We very much welcome this opportunity because it will help my Government and others to advance our thinking on this important issue. At the same time, we would like to invite all of us and also the Bureau and the Secretariat to think about ways to make use of the upcoming CSD session in May to continue this discussion in an inclusive and transparent manner."

UN Commission on Sustainable Development

2009-02-23T14:29:00.000-08:00

In an opening statement to the CSD17 Intersessional Preparatory Meeting, on the 23rd of February 2009, G77 Chair Sudanese Ambassador Abdalmahood Abdalhaleem Mohamed told the CSD:

“In 2012, the International community will reach the twenty-year mark of the Earth Summit held in 1992 and the ten-year anniversary of WSSD held in Johannesburg in 2002. It will be 40 years after the Stockholm Conference of 1972. The time will be opportune for the international community to thoroughly review and assess the progress achieved since these two momentous summits. Guided by the “Rio Spirit”, a Rio-plus-20 Summit should provide the necessary political impetus for the range and level of action required to bridge the implementation gap. In this context the G77 and China welcomes the offer of the Government of Brazil to host such a Summit in 2012."

Informally the discussion around the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development is if there is to be a Summit perhaps it needs to be seeking a more dynamic agenda. Stakeholder Forum workshop in San Sebastian in November 2008 suggested that might be around the agenda of Human, Economic and Environmental Security. Allowing to look at previous commitments through a new and more relavant lens.

UNEP Governing Council

2009-02-22T11:03:00.000-08:00

The twenty fifth session of UNEP Governing Council finished on the 20th of February . One of the really interesting discussions around the 2012 agenda was initiated by the South African Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk in a speech at the plennary session on International Environmental Governance (IEG). He outlined a roadmap on IEG:
"The first milestone will be when we meet in a year from now, in February 2010. At that meeting we should ideally adopt a Ministerial Declaration on the principles and objectives (on IEG) that will guide our further work in the run-up to Rio plus 20."

Other Ministers in the plennary and the working groups supported the use of Rio+20 for bringing a final decision on International Environmental Governance. Stakeholder Forum in the Ministeral Round Tables outlined three outcomes they hoped for on IEG - these included support for the South African inititiative but expanded to include sustainable development governance. The second outcome Stakeholder Forum wanted to see was support for the setting up of an adhoc Ministerial Working Group to prepare for the next UNEP GC in 2010 while keeping an eye on the climate change negotiations in December at the UNFCCC. This is to ensure it has a positive impact on international environmental governance. The final issue raised was to ask the UN Secretary General to consider setting up a High Level Panel or Commission on the Global Green New Deal.

All delegates at the UNEP GC were given a copy of the Donostia Declaration which was the outcome from a workshop on Earth Summit 2012 in November. If you want to follow developmengts on 2012 this can be done at the Earth Summit 2012 web site.