Daily report for 24 February 1997

The UN Commission on Sustainable Development’s Ad-Hoc Open-EndedIntersessional Working Group convened at UN headquarters in New York on Monday, 24February 1997. Delegates are preparing for CSD-5 and the UN General Assembly’sSpecial Session (UNGASS) to review implementation of the post-UNCED agenda.Delegations heard introductory statements and began their assessment of theimplementation of sectoral issues and strengthening the role of major groups duringmorning and afternoon meetings.

PLENARY

Paul de Jongh (Netherlands), CSD Vice-Chair, convened the first meeting of theIntersessional Working Group and stressed the importance of continuity in theCommission’s work. The Working Group elected Co-Chairs Derek Osborn (UK) andAmb. Celso Amorim (Brazil). Amb. Amorim said the goal of the intersessional meetingis to negotiate a detailed 10-15 page outline document for CSD-5 in April, to beaccompanied by a 2-3 page draft preamble or declaration. Chair Osborn said there hasbeen some loss of momentum since UNCED. The international community mustrediscover the spirit of Rio.

Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and SustainableDevelopment, asked delegations to recognize that UNGASS is the first to undertake afive-year review of a major UN process. Preparations are being made for UNGASSparticipation at the highest level. He suggested that the process be as innovative asUNCED. He said some Working Group resolutions could be dealt with at CSD-5 whilethe political purpose of the Special Session is to secure real high-level politicalcommitment on implementation, financing for sustainable development, technologytransfer and capacity-building. He stressed the need to integrate economics into theCSD’s work and to increase the Commission’s leverage with financing bodies.

REPORTS ON INTERSESSIONAL MEETINGS: UNEP Executive DirectorElizabeth Dowdeswell reported on the 19th Session of the UNEP Governing Council. Sheannounced the recent release of UNEP’s state of the environment report. The NairobiDeclaration, drafted at the Governing Council, indicates that UNEP has been and shouldcontinue to be the principle UN body focusing on environmental issues. The first of Aprilis the proposed date for resumption of the suspended Governing Council session. TheNETHERLANDS reported on the Fourth Expert Group Meeting on Financial Issues ofAgenda 21, chaired by Dr. Lin-See Yan (Malaysia). It met from 8-10 January in Santiago,Chile. Participants discussed, inter alia, the role of ODA, interlinkages betweenAgenda 21 financing sources and the potential for private sector initiatives, includinggreen investment funds.

NORWAY reported on the Workshop on Sustainable Production and Consumption heldin Brasilia, Brazil from 25-28 November 1996. The aim of the workshop was to identifypolicy instruments and to formulate a work programme for the CSD on this topic. Theworkshop highlighted the common interest between North and South in makingconsumption and production more sustainable and called for a partnership strategy forgovernments, business and civil society. Policies to change consumption in theindustrialized world should be accompanied by dialogue with developing countries andsupport to ease the transition process. AUSTRIA presented the findings of the “ExpertWorkshop Fostering the Linkage between Energy and Sustainable Development withinInternational Institutions,” held from 22-24 January in Vienna, Austria. The workshoprecommended that: the CSD dedicate a session to a sustainable energy future; theeffectiveness of the Committee on New and Renewable Sources of Energy and on Energyfor Development be enhanced; and a new global forum to discuss steps towardssustainable energy systems be considered.

BELGIUM presented the results of the second International Workshop on Indicators ofSustainable Development (ISDs), held in Ghent, Belgium from 20-22 November 1996.The conclusions of the workshop endorse guidelines and a timetable for national testingof ISDs and agree that regular reporting would be useful for all partners in the testingprocess. Regional meetings to continue the process and to provide training in the use ofindicator methodologies are underway. CANADA reported on the secondIntergovernmental Forum on Chemical Management, which met in Ottawa, Canada from10-14 February 1997. Funding for developing country participation has been difficult toobtain. One recommendation was for donors to ensure that development policies includesupport for the necessary capacity-building in developing countries and countries witheconomies in transition.

PREPARATIONS FOR THE SPECIAL SESSION: Delegates adopted theagenda (E/CN.17/WG/I) and began consideration of Agenda Item 3, preparations for theSpecial Session. Tanzania, on behalf of the G-77/CHINA, stressed that the cross-cuttingissues of financial resources, technology transfer, trade and investment and povertyalleviation should be given adequate attention in the preparatory process for the SpecialSession. The NETHERLANDS, on behalf of the EU and associated countries, said thereports tabled at the Intersessional indicate that progress requires enhanced integration ofpolicies. He invited the Special Session to: signal to the Framework Convention onClimate Change (FCCC) negotiators the need to control human influence on globalclimate change; promote common energy policies; address emission standards, trafficmanagement and infrastructural development; and prioritize food security and sustainabletourism.

JAPAN stated that the UNGASS report should be concise and based on previous reportsof other conferences. He stressed that no renegotiation of existing arrangements should beconducted. A joint political declaration should be issued focusing on: priority futureprogrammes and projects; the future institutional structure and role of the CSD; andrecommendations for urgent issues. It should also recognize the importance of regionallevel action. Achievable global targets should be established at UNGASS. NORWAYsaid that most follow-up action on UNCED decisions remains to be carried out. TheSpecial Session output should look toward future implementation, identify areas ofpriority, initiate new processes and invigorate existing ones. The CSD should notduplicate or replace work done in other fora. He noted that it is premature to negotiate alegally-binding instrument on forests because, for such an instrument to be effective, itmust be based on consensus. He emphasized the need to increase the role of civil societyin implementing the Rio agreements and to establish working modalities for the SpecialSession that encourage the active participation of major groups.

Two YOUTH REPRESENTATIVES spoke of the critical importance of providing aspace in the UNGASS preparations for youth. They noted work to shift the current realityof multiple forms of domination of both people and nature, and outlined their work onfair trade, consumerism and alternative energy. SAMOA, on behalf of AOSIS,recommended prioritization of: the Berlin Mandate’s completion and the adoption of alegally-binding instrument at FCCC COP-3; information systems on oceans and seasprotection; protection of the marine environment, which had been omitted from theSecretary-General’s report; renewed commitment on transport and storage of nuclearwaste; and the relationship between environmental quality and tourism. He noted thespecial contribution of regional initiatives.

Costa Rica, on behalf of the CENTRAL AMERICAN REGION, noted regional activitiesto implement those countries’ Rio commitments. The region has pledged strong politicalsupport for sustainable development and has established a subregional forestryarrangement. She expressed concern that many developed countries have not honoredtheir Rio commitments. COLOMBIA noted an imbalance between implementation ofAgenda 21 at the sectoral versus the cross-sectoral level. He expressed concern that thetrend in ongoing negotiations on certain legally-binding instruments may undermine theprinciple of common but differentiated responsibilities. He called for freshwater resourcesand ocean matters to be addressed according to national policies and priorities and, withregard to the atmosphere, for emphasis to be placed on transportation.

SWITZERLAND announced that it will present the second report on the state of theworld’s mountains and called for a lead role for the CSD in coordinating a global strategyon policies and measures for energy efficiency. She called for UNGASS support forfurther implementation of UN environmental conventions. Mostafa Tolba (EGYPT)called for agreed targets, including a 10% increase in alternative energy sourceinvestments over five years and the elimination of lead from gasoline in ten years. Hesaid the GEF should increase finances to deal with deforestation and desertification on anequal footing with other global environmental issues, and questioned the wisdom of theSecretary-General’s call for a global convention on shared river basins, suggesting localtreaties instead.

US Permanent Representative Bill Richardson called for the Special Session’s results tobe focused and implementable. He said: implementation can only be accomplished at themost decentralized level; UNGASS should recognize the importance of good governance;the dialogue on financing and technology transfer should expand to include privatecapital flows and investment; and consideration of sustainable production andconsumption should be renewed. GREENPEACE INTERNATIONAL, on behalf ofseveral NGOs, said the CSD NGO Steering Committee has developed a list of criticalissues. He highlighted four points, including calls for governments to: endorse a legally-binding CO2 reduction target of 20% of 1990 levels by 2005; establish anintergovernmental panel on oceans; redress fisheries problems; and ensure NGO accessand participation at UNGASS.

AUSTRALIA said the CSD should identify existing gaps and address the big picture. Hecalled for a search for integrated approaches rather than new forms of regulation. TheCSD should be the UN body to coordinate oceans and coastal areas issues. The NGOCAUCUS ON SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE called on governments to: review andreinforce the goals of UNDP’s Sustainable Agriculture Network and Extensionprogramme; facilitate and implement a global facility for urban agriculture; prioritizeintegrated pest management; and support programmes to achieve local, regional andglobal food security.

IN THE CORRIDORS

While strengthening the role of major groups was on Monday’s agenda, NGOs noted thatdelegations addressed the item only peripherally in their statements. Many NGOs whohave been active supporting Agenda 21 since the Earth Summit are concerned that theirparticipation in UNGASS will be restricted because they do not currently holdconsultative status with the UNGA, as they do with ECOSOC. Observers have notedmany governments’ resistance to extending NGO consultative status to the UNGA. Somesuspect it stems from their fear that this could open the door to calls for participation inmore politically sensitive areas of the UNGA’s work, such as security. One NGOrepresentative stated that, if governments are serious about partnership with major groupsin their pursuit of sustainable development, special arrangements must be made for civilsociety participation at the Special Session to review implementation of Agenda 21.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR TODAY

PLENARY: Delegates are expected to meet in Conference Room 4 during themorning and afternoon. They will continue to discuss implementation of sectoral issuesand strengthening the role of major groups, after which they will consider implementationof cross-sectoral issues.

RIO+5 FORUM: The Earth Council will present a briefing on the Rio+5 Forum(to take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 13-19 March 1997). The briefing will be held in Conference Room 4 from 1:00-2:15 pm.