G8 Environment Ministers meeting: On the Road to Johannesburg

Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström will attend the meeting of the G8 Environment Ministers this weekend in Banff, Canada. The meeting will primarily focus on three issues: the Environment and Health ; the Environment and Development and Effective National and International Environmental Governance. These items will be high on the agenda at the Johannesburg Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) to take place in August/September this year. Ministers will also discuss climate change. Commissioner Wallström will urge all other countries to take the necessary steps to ratify the Kyoto Protocol in time for Johannesburg.

Environment and Development

This will be a key item on the agenda, since Environment and Development interrelation will be the central theme at the Johannesburg Summit.

Commissioner Wallström will emphasize that the WSSD should be a central theme for the G8 Summit in Kananaskis, where G8 leaders must reaffirm their commitment to sustainable development and make a clear contribution to the success of the WSSD by announcing concrete initiatives.

Such initiatives could include a strategic partnership to promote sustainable water resource management, to enhance access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation in developing countries. Action in the field of energy and sustainable development is also necessary to reduce the number of people without access to energy supply (currently 2 billion) and to increase energy efficiency and the share of renewable energy in all countries. A special initiative for Africa, the continent that faces the greatest sustainability challenges, is also needed.

Commissioner Wallström believes the adoption in Johannesburg of an ambitious action plan to address major sustainability challenges and to integrate economic, social and environmental requirements in implementing internationally agreed development targets will be the key to measure the success of the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

Implementation is a fundamental issue, but has been lagging behind as far as Agenda 21 is concerned. Therefore, industrialized countries have to ensure that the new initiatives from Johannesburg are backed by corresponding means, including adequate financial resources. The increase in Official Development Aid (ODA) announced in Monterrey should facilitate progress in Johannesburg.

Effective National and International Environmental Governance

In order to make progress in sustainable development, improving governance is also an important priority. This requires more effective governance structures at the international, regional and national levels. The Johannesburg Summit will provide an opportunity to build upon the work carried out throughout much of 2001 and 2002 by a ministerial-level group on international environmental governance.

Commissioner Wallström will be pushing for further progress in the run-up to Johannesburg, reinforcing the UNEP politically and financially. In her view, the priority now is to seek universal membership for the Global Ministerial Environment Forum in order to increase its political authority. This will allow the Forum to play its role in ensuring coherence and co-ordination at international level.

At national level, the elaboration and implementation of national sustainable development strategies is essential. The European Union has already established an internal sustainable development strategy and will seek to demonstrate in Johannesburg how its strategy forms part of the global effort. G8 countries should help developing countries to do the same, in particular through capacity building, transfer of environmentally sound technologies, education and institutional arrangements.

Health and Environment

Among other topics, G8 Environment Ministers will discuss the environmental health of children and other particularly vulnerable groups. This discussion is very timely, since health is likely to be one of the priorities of the Johannesburg Programme of Action.

Prevention and precaution are fundamental principles in this field. This in no way contradicts a science-based approach. Concerning children's environmental health, it is necessary to do more research to understand the particular exposures and sensitivities of children to environmental hazards.

Commissioner Wallström will be supporting the development of an inventory on current research, an exchange of information on environment and health linkages, and the development of children's environmental health indicators in consultation with the relevant multilateral organizations, such as the WHO. An option for advancing this work could be the establishment of an ad hoc G8 task force or working group.

Climate change

Ministers will also discuss climate change, with the main purpose of exchanging views and ideas on domestic measures that are being undertaken by G8 countries. On 4th March 2002, the EU Council of Environment Ministers adopted the decision to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. This decision, together with the timely completion of national procedures by the Member States, will enable the EU to deposit the ratification instruments by 1 June at the latest, so that the Treaty will come into force by the time of the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

Commissioner Wallström has stressed that ratification of the Kyoto Protocol by the EU and others will be a very important contribution to the Summit. In Banff, Commissioner Wallström will urge all other countries to take the necessary steps to ratify the Kyoto Protocol in time for Johannesburg.

Background

The G8 Environment Ministers have met annually for a number of years to address current topics of mutual interest. The outcome of their deliberations is reflected in a communiqué that is subsequently fed into preparations for the annual G8 Summits. The meetings of G8 Environment Ministers are also an important tool to help promote consensus among G8 partners on major and emerging environmental issues.

Since Canada is currently holding the G8 Presidency, this year's meeting will be chaired by the Canadian Environment Minister, Mr. David Anderson. The ministerial debate should provide useful input to the Kananaskis G8 Summit in June.

The Banff meeting will be attended by the Environment Ministers of all G8 countries.

| Arriba |

• Commissionner Wallström comments on transatlantic environment cooperation (25/4/2002)
• EU-US Joint Statement on climate change (23/4/2002)
• Commissioner Wallström's speech on WSSD (18/4/2002)
• Commissioner Lamy's speech on WSSD (18/4/2002)
• Commissioner Nielson's speech on WSSD (18/4/2002)
• Results of G8 Environment meeting (15/4/2002)
• Declaracion en el Tercer Foro Mundial de Ministros de Medio Ambiente (20/2/2002)
• EU Presidency Statement - EU Forward-Looking Positions for the General Debate on Sustainable Development (31/1/2002)
• EVALUACIÓN DE LOS PROCESOS REGIONALES. UNECE/GINEBRA (29/1/2002)