The role of the General Assembly in supporting Rio+20 Felix Dodds Stakeholder Forum 1

President Mbeki (2006) “Precisely because of the absence of a global partnership for development, the Doha Development Round has almost collapsed. we have not implemented the Monterrey Consensus on Financing for Development, thus making it difficult for the majority of the developing countries, especially those in Africa, to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, and have reduced the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation to an insignificant and perhaps forgotten piece of paper.” 2

International Framework for Sustainable Development 1 Sustainable Development Governance 2 National Level Implementation 3 Important SD Issues Important SD Issues 3

Sustainable Development Governance Lessons learnt from the first twenty years 1 4

The first seven years CSD: called for the development of an “effective legally binding instruments concerning the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure on the importation of chemicals” 1995 CSD: established the United Nations Inter-government Panel on Forests 5

The first seven years CSD: set out the requirements for the establishment of the institutional arrangements for the implementation of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities 6

The first seven years UNGASS: called for by the year 2002, the formulation and elaboration of national strategies for sustainable development, the establishment of the UN Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF) for three years ( ), and the establishment of multi- stakeholder dialogues with governments within the UN CSD 7

The first seven years CSD: called on UNCTAD, UNEP and UN DESA to help develop a vulnerability index for the quantitative and analytical work on the vulnerability of Small Island Developing States and the establishment of a review of voluntary initiatives within industry. 8

The first seven years CSD: established an expansion of the United Nations guidelines on consumer protection to include sustainable consumption. It also established an open-ended informal consultation processes on oceans and seas under the UN General Assembly CSD: set out the terms of reference for a new permanent body – the United Nations Forum on Forests. 9

Institutional Framework on Sustainable Development - There is a need to establish a high level body to deal with sustainable development issues at the UN – This SD body will have a set of functions that will be the same irrespective of what this body will look like or where this body will be situated in the UN hierarchy. 10

Functions of a new SD body Ensuring implementation by a periodic review mechanism for increased implementation and cooperation; •Monitor progress in promoting, facilitating and financing, as appropriate, access to and transfer of environmentally and sustainably sound technologies 11

Functions of a new SD body To follow up commitments made in Agenda 21, JPOI, Rio+20, BPOA, MSI and other relevant outcomes of major UN summits and Conferences To review and monitor regularly progress towards the United Nations target of 0.7 per cent of the gross national income (GNI) of developed countries for official development assistance (ODA). 12

Functions of a new SD body To review new and emerging issues as well as monitor the implementation of sustainable development goals; • It should be universal, and ensure system- wide participation and coordination including of MEAs, UN Agencies funds and programmes, and other relevant multilateral financial and trade institutions, as appropriate, such as the IFIs and the WTO, 13

Functions of a new SD body To enhance the science--‐policy interface and progress tracking – to be achieved by institutionalizing a regular sustainable development assessment on that global scale; • To strengthening inter‐agency coordination through a sustainable development subcommittee of the Chief Executives Board (CEB) of UN bodies to follow--‐up and provide advice to the Secretary General on coordination; 14

IFSD and stakeholders Rio and the CSD brought stakeholders to the UN in an interactive manner never practiced before. This has inspired other UN institutions to involve all stakeholders in processes at all levels. The UN counts on stakeholders to carry out many of its decisions. 15

Functions of a new SD body A twenty first century governance structure utilizing some of the approaches in the Committee on Food Security and UN AIDs where Major Groups and other stakeholders are part of the governance structure - 16

2 National Implementation For sustainable development 17

National Level Implementation National Councils of Sustainable Development/ Economic and Social Councils – Report to the new level body – with a day of debate on their reports – Parliaments should instigate an annual debate on implementation of Rio+20 – Sub national and local government should set up equivalent councils on SD and report annually to their national bodies 18

3 An important Issue Building a more sustainable, safe and secure world 19

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Missing MEA A proposed Chapter 41 of Agenda 21 was put forward in 1991 by the UN Centre for Transnational Corporations. The Chapter called, ‘Transnational Corporations and Sustainable Development’ had many good suggestions on: Global Corporate Environmental Management Risk and Hazard Minimization Environmentally Sounder Consumer Patterns Full Cost Environmental Accounting Environmental Conventions, Standards and Guidelines 21

Corporate Sustainability reporting- Para 24 What: A Global framework for corporate sustainability reporting will harmonize sustainability reporting and support implementation of policies and policy tools, so corporations publish this information as part of their reporting cycle. Who: Listed and large corporations How: “Report or explain” basis. Flexibility: regulation, stock exchange listing rules. Why?: - Voluntary mechanisms worked up to a point, we need faster progress different versions: not cost-efficient for companies

Supporters Private sector: AVIVA (coalition of investors), HSBC, the World Business Council for Sustainably Development, and most recently Dow Chemical Civil Society: Oxfam, ITUC, Greenpeace, Vitae Civilis, Brazilian NGO Forum, UN: Global Sustainability Panel, UNSG: “Let us work together to forge a global policy framework for companies publicly disclosing information on sustainability performance – and explaining why if companies do not.”February 16, 2012 New York

Stakeholder Forum web sites for Rio+20 24