EU Statement - United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development: Closing Statement

EU Closing Statement, by Sigmar Gabriel, Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Germany, President of the Environment Council of the EU, at the 15th Session of the UN Commmission on Sustainable Development , High Level Segment, New York

Mr. Chairman, Ministers/Colleagues, dear Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am taking the floor on behalf of the EU and its 27 member states. From the outset, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all ministers and all partners in these negotiations for their hard work during the last days.

Mr. Chairman,

This is not only the end of a two-week session but the end of a two-year implementation cycle that was to deal with major challenges of our time.

The EU welcomes the strong statements and the personal commitment expressed by the Secretary General of the UN and Gro Harlem Brundtland during the opening plenary. The world outside expects the UN to tackle energy for sustainable development. The challenges posed by climate change, energy security, and air pollution are now seen more clearly than five years ago. They require strengthened and more ambitious international policy commitments.

We acknowledge the sincere efforts of most negotiating partners to find common ground and advance sustainable development.

And of course there is nothing fundamentally wrong in the draft decision text submitted by the chair. But unfortunately the text does not offer any solution to the pressing challenges I just mentioned. We think that by agreeing to this text we would send the wrong signal to the world.

We can only regret that the outcome of this session of the CSD falls short of our expectations and even threatens the commitments taken by the international community in Johannesburg, not even five years ago. It does neither meet the challenges nor the expectations of the outside world, and therefore the EU has to reject this tabled text.

In the face of the challenges confronting us, the EU came to New York with an ambitious agenda. We were also ready to find compromise. Not all did seem ready or willing to take this path yet.

However, looking forward from here we believe it is critical for us to find ways to ensure that we don't arrive at this situation again, but to ensure that future CSD cycles achieve a progressive outcome as is necessary for pursuing our common goal of sustainable development. Let me stress this, the EU remains convinced that global challenges can only be addressed through multilateral cooperation.

To conclude, Mr. Chairman, let us not forget that the CSD has a mandate to be the high level commission on sustainable development within the UN system. Sustainable development is far too important to run the risk of failure. We must improve the way decisions are made in this forum. The very relevance of this commission is at stake.

We are convinced that we can work differently and ensure much more ambitious and progressive outcomes at future CSD cycles. In particular, we very much hope that the 2008/2009 implementation cycle of the CSD will more effectively deliver results that are meaningful to people throughout the world, especially the poor. Let me assure you that the EU will continue to engage constructively in this endeavour.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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• EU Presidency Statement - United Nations 2nd Committee: Sustainable Development and Human Settlements (29/10/2007)
• 15th Session of Commission on Sustainable Development - Joint Press Statement by EU Presidency and European Commission (12/5/2007)
• "EU leadership in energy for sustainable development" - Speech by EU Commissioner Dimas (10/5/2007)
• "Climate change and sustainable use of energy" - Speech by EU Commissioner Dimas (25/4/2007)