EU Presidency Statement - United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development/Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting: Inter-linkages and Crosscutting Issues

Sumario: EU Presidency Statement - United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development/Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting: Inter-linkages and Crosscutting Issues (1 March 2007: New York)

Statement by Mr. Stephan Contius, Federal Republic of Germany, on behalf of the European Union, United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development/Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting: Inter-linkages and Crosscutting Issues, New York

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and the EFTA countries Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this declaration.

We are dealing with a group of issues that are deeply interrelated. We cannot talk about one without talking about another. Recognising this is critical. Pursuing sectoral commitments in isolation can compromise the achievement of other policy objectives.

By addressing all of these issues together, CSD15 offers an opportunity to maximise synergies and adopt coherent and complementary action orientated measures.

Inter-linkages

This CSD needs to deliver benefits in each thematic area. In doing so, we will be taking steps towards tackling climate change. It is for this reason that the EU sees climate change as a key interlinking issue within this thematic cluster.

As was broadly acknowledged during the Climate Change session on Wednesday, the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol are the main international instruments to address climate change. CSD15 needs to complement and provide additional momentum to that process.

Urgent action is required to meet the shared and multiple objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving the global environment, enhancing energy security and cutting air pollution in conjunction with vigorous efforts to reduce poverty. It is in the global interest for developed countries to work together, and in partnership with major emerging economies, to take urgent action to find ways to achieve substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

Adopting an Integrated Approach

A key message from CSD14 was the need for all countries to adopt an integrated approach to environmental, economic, social and development objectives. One way of achieving this is to integrate the thematic cluster issues, as well as broader environmental sustainability objectives into national sustainable development strategies, poverty reduction strategies (PRSs) and national development plans. The EU has recent experience of achieving this, during the development of our own sustainable development strategy.

As a result we have experience of some of the challenges associated with achieving such integration. We recognise that developing countries will require capacity building and support in the development of national strategies, including the adoption of a participatory approach. The EU welcomes the joint work of UNEP and UNDP in supporting this and looks forward to the further implementation of the Bali Strategic Plan on Technology Support and Capacity Building, which needs to deliver real benefits.

CSD provides an unparalleled forum for enabling exchange of experience and skills, which are key to capacity building. We would like to see an exchange at CSD of national experience in integrating policies and measures regarding the thematic cluster issues, their inter-linkages and crosscutting issues into national strategies.

Furthermore, we believe a more coherent framework within the UN could promote an integrated approach and address inter-linkages.

Cross-cutting issues

We are very pleased to see cross-cutting issues addressed in their own right, as well as being discussed within each thematic cluster issue.

To talk about real progress and practical implementation we also need to talk about improving access to resources, including by creating the right investment conditions; achieving good governance ensuring human rights, gender equality and non-discrimination. It is also necessary to promote and assist technology development, in particular low carbon emitting technologies, and access and to build capacity including through education and the provision of information.

If we are asking for more to be achieved we need to talk about improved levels of and access to investment and financial resources. Those that we think deserve detailed consideration at this meeting include:

• Utilise and further develop innovative economic instruments (such as the Clean Development Mechanism and the carbon market) to mobilise and leverage additional private and public funding, and to mobilise clean technology and knowledge. In the cross sectorial area of climate change, this would require an ambitious global and comprehensive post 2012 agreement, able to integrate the existing instruments and to extend them to other sectors.

• Establishment of The World Bank's new investment Framework for Clean Energy and Development and the adequate funding of all three pillars as leverage for private investment.

• Improve understanding of the negative impacts of the inappropriate use of incentives, subsidies, taxation and tariffs with a view to eliminating the use of harmful subsidies, as well as improving the understanding of the potentially positive impacts of other market instruments such as certification, and develop their use in ways that encourage clean investments.

• Encourage the assessment of real versus perceived costs of policy options applying SEA to policies, plans and programs where practicable.

We cannot talk about sustainable development without talking about good governance. Good progress has already been made in strengthening governance, but this CSD we need to consider how we:

• Create "enabling environments" for investment, private international financial flows, public-private partnerships, and effective use of ODA and synergies and leverage between these flows.

• Enhance networks including at the regional level to improve the sharing of information / experience / cooperation on the development of action orientated measures to overcome regional specific challenges within the CSD14/15 thematic cluster.

We cannot expect implementation to happen without first providing the people, the governments, and the institutions with the capacity to bring about change. We therefore need to look at means of building human, institution, and infrastructure capacity in response to country led needs assessment. Of course there is much to be done, but we took away from CSD14 the need to work in the following areas:

• Build the capacity of environment departments to better engage with and influence national strategies and budgets and improve coordination between government departments to ensure coherent policy and decision making

• Build the administrative capacity of local/national and regional authorities to enforce regulation cooperating with other stakeholders such as business and NGOs.

• Providing all societal groups with an improved understanding of the linkages between social, economic and environmental aspects of lifestyles and individual behaviour. The role of education and raising awareness on sustainable development is critical in this respect. A specific target is to achieve primary education for all by 2015.

Progress in energy, climate change, air pollution and industrial development will to an extent be dependent on technological development. The EU recognises the need to improve access to affordable environmentally sound technologies, including through the use of subsidies and/or fiscal incentives, improved technology cooperation and capacity building. To achieve this, we believe it's important for CSD to make progress in the following areas:

• Improve R&D in new technologies, including by enhancing investment in R&D and bridging the gap between R&D and deployment/commercialisation

• Develop mechanisms for leveraging of private sector funds, including those from local investors and financial institutions, using existing sources of funding and for mitigating risks

• Promote partnerships, in particular at the regional level, with involvement of the regional development banks, to promote the application of low-carbon, energy efficient technologies, including the CDM

The EU is committed to achieving sustainable patterns of production and consumption. In this regard, we encourage all countries to increase international cooperation and exchange of experience on key sustainable production and consumption issues. The Marrakech process and its taskforces are particularly useful, where developed countries in partnership with developing countries are building proactive approaches in order to change behaviours and decouple economic growth from environmental degradation and social inequity.

Achieving gender equality should be integrated in all of our actions and policies. We need to work towards improving gender equality in business and removing all forms of discrimination on grounds of gender in terms of legal rights (including inheritance and equal access to secure tenure of land and finance).

The significant health burden borne by women and children, without access to modern energy services also needs to be considered in the context of each of this cycle's themes.

We need to promote women's equal access to and full participation in decision making, including in the development of national sustainable development strategies and poverty reduction strategies and mainstream gender perspectives in all policies and strategies. Further, we need to ensure women are engaged in enterprise and all stages of industrial development, including through the use of micro-credit, education and capacity building.

Ref: PRES07-029EN
Fuente UE: Presidencia de la UE
Foro NU: ECOSOC (Consejo Económico y Social), (Comisiones funcionales incluidas)
Fecha: 1/3/2007

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