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PrepCom II: A Critical Milestone - 7 Mar 2011

This week we welcome delegates to the Second Meeting of the Preparatory Committee of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20). Joining them will be representatives from the UN system and representatives of the nine Major Groups.

The PrepCom II will be a critical milestone in the preparation and organization of the Conference. The third and last PrepCom will take place in Brazil, prior to the Conference itself. PrepCom II will therefore take important decisions on the next steps in the preparatory process, including the process of drafting the outcome document.

Reports in support of PrepCom II deliberations

In order to assist Member States with further deliberations on the objective and themes of the Conference, the Secretariat has submitted two reports to the Committee: (1) the Secretary-General's Report on Objective and Themes of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, and (2) the Synthesis Report on Best Practices and Lessons Learned on the Objective and Themes of the Conference.

The Secretary-General's Report on conference objective and themes highlights several key points for consideration.

On the theme of green economy, there are four main messages. First, creating a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication will need to be built from the bottom up, responding to national and local priorities and challenges. Second, an increasing number of developed and developing countries are pursuing green growth strategies, including low-carbon growth initiatives. Efforts do not yet add up to a level of ambition equal to the global challenges, but it?s a start. Third, the strategies and policies of green economies need to consider impacts on poverty and human development. However, this does not replace the need for increased social investments and continued attention to education and health. Fourth, countries remain concerned about near-term transition costs from loss of competitiveness, economic dislocations, unemployment, as well as worsening terms of trade and restrictive trade practices.

The report also highlights a number of points related to the institutional framework for sustainable development. First, the institutional framework must be considered at the local, national, regional and international levels. Second, institutional governance on sustainable development is facing fragmentation - in international environmental governance, as well as in social and economic areas. At the same time, the challenges we face are becoming more inter-linked and cross-cutting. It begs the question: can the existing institutional framework adequately address them all? The report underscores the need for strengthening the three pillars of the institutional framework for sustainable development: environmental, economic and social, in a balanced way in order to ensure convergence of all three agendas.

The second report, the Synthesis Report, is a revised version of a report that was circulated during the first Intersessional meeting in January. This new version takes into account two new items: responses from 7 additional countries, three of which are developing countries, as well as the Statements delivered by various stakeholders at the first Intersessional meeting. Among these are statements from a number of countries who have not submitted responses to questionnaires.

The report?s Way Forward section is also updated to reflect emerging areas of convergence, as well as areas of disagreement that require further discussion.

In addition, a report prepared by a panel of experts, titled ?Transition to a Green Economy: Benefits, Challenges and Risks from a Sustainable Development Perspective?, has been made available to the Committee by the Secretariat. The panel was selected jointly by DESA, UNCTAD and UNEP. While the views expressed are those of the experts, I hope it will help shed new light on the interface of the green economy and macroeconomic policy.

UNEP Green Economy Report

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, the UN system plays a critical role in supporting the preparatory process. Indeed, UNEP has been playing such a role. Among other activities, it has just published a report on the green economy, which is helping propel the discussion on this theme.

I see the UNEP green economy report as an important substantive contribution to the preparations for Rio+20. A key message of the report is that relatively small investments in strategic sectors, such as renewable energy? sustainable agriculture? energy efficiency in buildings and sustainable transport? and low carbon mobility, will lead to higher long-term growth and improved environmental outcomes. And we can do this with no negative impact on employment in the long run.

From the perspective of Rio+20, the impact of a shift to a green economy on the poor is very important. The report notes this, and finds that the poor would indeed benefit from a shift to a green economy. This is due to increased investments in basic services for the poor, as well as in the natural assets from which the poor often derive their livelihoods, such as agriculture, forests and fisheries.

Furthermore, it finds that the green economy is expected to create jobs in labour-intensive sectors.

UN system support

Substantive support is just one aspect of the UN system contributions to the preparations.

As I reported to you previously in my blogs, efforts have been underway to deliver coordinated and integrated inter-agency support to the preparatory process. In this regard, we are tapping the capacities of existing coordination mechanisms within the UN system, such as EC-ESA plus, UNDG and EMG.

We have intensified efforts to support both regional and national level preparations. Regional commissions are taking the lead in organizing the regional preparatory meetings. On the national level, we developed a proposal with UNDP to begin preparations. We are now in the process of raising funds to enable us to start early implementation.

Leadership by Member States

Most important, Member States are spearheading the preparatory process. More and more donors are contributing to the Trust Fund, which has enabled us to support the participation of representatives from developing countries and Major groups in this PrepCom.

Another important development is that many countries have announced an intention to organize preparatory meetings on issues related to the Conference themes.

These countries include: Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Monaco, Republic of Korea, as well as our host Brazil. These meetings will take place during the second half of this year. Their results, as well as those of the Regional preparatory meetings, will provide important inputs for the outcome document.

Outcome document

A key decision before the PrepCom relates to the process of drafting the outcome document. Member States and all other stakeholders are striving for a meaningful outcome from the Conference, one which galvanizes political will from Member States and other stakeholders and partners, and advances the implementation of sustainable development.

To address the challenges we face, we need a forward-looking, action-oriented outcome, encapsulated in a focused political document. This document must build on Agenda 21, JPOI and other outcomes of the intergovernmental processes. It must add value by addressing new and emerging issues, tackling gaps. Particularly, it must accelerate implementation.

We hope that Member States at the PrepCom II will provide clear guidance on this critical matter, as entrusted by the General Assembly.