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The Earth Summit in 1992 was a very significant event. Not only did it agree on Agenda 21, but also the Rio Declaration, two conventions (Climate and Biodiversity) and the Forest Principles. It set in motion a series of processes that are impacting on our lives in many different ways. The Summit provided enormous amounts of energy and commitment to people to try and find solutions to the problems that Agenda 21 identified. It helped to show people the link between themselves, their environment locally and globally and the links between social, environmental and economic decisions.
The UN General Assembly Special Session in 1997 (Earth Summit II) took many governments by surprise. They hadn’t prepared for this session and the enormous work that had gone into creating the political climate for 1992 was not repeated in a satisfactory manner. Most governments started preparation less than a year before the Special Session and did so with the realization that the Rio accord had not been kept to by many countries notably the developed world. In particular funding for the implementation of Agenda 21 had decreased from 1992 to 1997, and not increased as had been promised. The result of this was an event that did not give a clear message of where we might be going and how we might get there together. Instead it was filled with disappointment and frustration.
The world has changed enormously since the 1992 Summit. We have seen globalization come to the forefront; we have experienced the outcome of the changes in Eastern Europe, as well as the increased role for multi-national companies, to mention but a few changes. For us to address these, Earth Summit 2002 needs to rekindle the fire of the Rio accord and to update it in light of what we have learnt in the last ten years.
Many of the environmental concerns that were highlighted at Rio have not improved and have been joined by others. The politicians of the first decade of the 21st century will have to deal with increased poverty with more people and less water, food, serious health problems through AIDS and TB in particular, a loss of biodiversity and increased problems of global warming. This will require the world to come together in a way that allows it to address these issues in a more systematic way.
The next Summit needs to map out a clear agenda for the first part of
the 21st century in a way that enables people, their communities, Major
Groups, governments and the UN, to understand what role they have and they
need to play.
The Earth Charter being developed by the Earth Council should become the initial text for the Charter negotiations for 2002. It will be the equivalent to the Rio Declaration. The Charter could have an annex including guidelines for the implementation of its principles.
Many of the developed countries have Governments that are now willing to consider increases in aid flows. This is the first time since Rio that this has happened, already Canada and the UK are increasing aid and the Nordic Governments and the Government of the Netherlands are still providing very high levels of aid. In preparation for 2002 developed countries should be honest about what is possible in aid giving. By itself aid will not be sufficient to ensure that we implement sustainable development policies in developing countries.
The UN has a series of finance related meetings which should help develop the background agenda for Earth Summit 2002. These are:
Financing Development - the financing development conference/General
Assembly in 2001 which is having a series of preparatory meetings
throughout 1999 and 2000 on issues such as:
(1) Mobilizing domestic resources for development;
(2) Mobilizing international private financial flows for development;
(3) International financial cooperation for development; and
(4) External debt (bilateral, multilateral and commercial) .
High Level ECOSOC - the high level meetings between Ecosoc and
the Bretton Woods Institutions;
CSD - the CSD discussion on finance, trade and investment in
2000.
Millennium Round - under the WTO;
There are also a series of other debates that may impact on this process.
World Bank - the more progressive role that the Bank is taking
– the need to target the work of the Bank to delivering sustainable development;
GEF – The Global Environment Facility should be expanded to
cover the additional international costs of the implementation of Agenda
21;
Debt - the Jubilee 2000 debt relief campaign;
UNDP - the focusing of UNDP on poverty targets;
Public Goods - the work by UNDP on Public Goods could open up
a significantly debate. Issues such as equity and justice, market efficiency,
environment and cultural heritage, health, knowledge and information, peace
and security. The public goods debate also looks at the key weaknesses
in the current arrangements for providing global public goods – the jurisdictional,
participation and incentive gaps;
Investment - should there be a new multi-lateral agreement on
investment negotiated under the United Nations, taking into consideration
the environment, human rights and labour conventions? Promotion of the
UNEP Banking and Insurance Initiatives;
New Financial Mechanisms - the development of new financial
mechanisms such as:
(1) Airfuel Tax - If Europe could agree an Airfuel Tax
by 2002 the income could be focused on sustainable development in developing
countries;
(2) Tobin Tax - now needed even more than before to put a damper
on current speculation.
This issue is probably the most important the world has to face in the near and medium term future. The richest 225 persons in the world now control more than $1 trillion in wealth equal to the annual income of the poorest 47% of the World's population. When one adds to this the amount of private capital under the direction of mutual funds and other investment mechanisms, we have a situation where a small group of individuals and institutions have the power to determine the economic development or collapse of economies world wide. This situation calls out for supra national or multilateral regulatory mechanisms, without which development for most of the world will be outside the control of the countries who most need it. The Regional Preparatory UN Conferences should address this and bring recommendations forward.
There are a series of Conventions that were negotiated for Rio or came out of Rio/CSD. These are known as the Rio Conventions.
2002 should produce a review of the implementation of the present set, a quantification of their impacts and the obstacles that need to be addressed by 2002. This analysis should also include conventions such as Basal, CITES and the Montreal Protocol which predated Rio.
The relationship between these conventions and the WTO needs to be agreed formally and may need to be incorporated into the Millennium Round of the WTO.
There are some possible new conventions that might be negotiated by 2002:
7. Emerging and Emergency Issues
Earth Summit III will have to deal with a set of issues that are thought
to need urgent international action. These are likely to include the issues
addressed in the convention section and the following:
Education. One of the key issues underlying all of the issues in Agenda 21 is Education. The development of Chapter 36 into a more coherent work programme is crucial. Education must support the other work areas within Agenda 21. UNESCO should be asked to prioritize outreach to young people on sustainable development for Earth Summit III.
Capacity Building.
Technology Co-operation.
UN Agency Involvement: UNCTAD, UNDP, FAO, WHO, ILO
7.1 Environmental Security Issues
Freshwater. We know that this is becoming an increasing problem. The World Water Commission should be asked to input formally to the preparations for Earth Summit 2002 with their analysis and recommendations for solutions.
Food. With an increasing population - we are at present at or near the steepest part of the increase in population, even though it will stabilize. The access to adequate food in the early part of the millennium will be crucial. Issues such as GMOs may need to be addressed by the Summit.
Consumption and Production. The present and future impacts of our consumption patterns need to change to enable us to retail our resource base. The promotion and integration of factor 4 and factor 10 will have an important impact but we also need to look more closely at consumer behaviour, what the drivers to consumption are e.g. age and gender, to be able to influence it more effectively. The UK organized Down to Earth Conference, the Norwegian and Brazil process and the new Oxford Commission should work together to ensure that we might be able to address these issues with more clarity by 2002.
Health. particularly HIV and TB. Development is not possible in a society, which does not have access to adequate health care. There are two diseases or plagues, which are decimating societies in the South: HIV and TB. Today, there are already more than 34 million people infected with HIV and 14 million have already died. At current rates of infection by the year 2016 we will have an infection rate numbering somewhere in the neighbourhood of 140 million, more than 96% in the developing countries. TB will have killed more than 30 million people this decade. These are development issues, which must be addressed in any review of Agenda 21.
Science and Technology. One of the new emerging issues here is the rights to compulsory licensing of patents, particularly as regards pharmaceutical products and patent extensions. In addition, one has to address not only the issue of biotechnology and bio prospecting but also the patenting of naturally occurring human proteins and enzymes.
Energy. The use of fossil fuels and nuclear power are both security issues as they impact beyond the boundaries that countries have. The need to address energy as an issue outside of the climate debate is vital particularly to enable there to be development of sustainable patterns of production and use of energy.
Tourism. The CSD in 1999 dealt with tourism for the first time. Tourism offers an important driver for sustainable development. A set of sustainable tourism guidelines for any tourist development should be agreed.
Transport. We are seeing a massive increase in the use of transport using fossil fuels. This increases not only CO2 emissions but also other gases’,, which contribute to pollution that results in numerous health hazards and environmental damage - both domestically and internationally. The negotiating of a UNECE Convention on Transport should offer a model for other UN Regions.
Oceans and Seas. The 1999 CSD set up a new process for reviewing the work and progress on Oceans and Seas. For 2002 we would want to know the progress in implementing:
The Role of Multinational Corporations. Agenda 21 has brought in an unprecedented development of partnerships between all stakeholder groups. This has been a positive outcome but at the same time with globalization we have seen the ability of companies to move quickly around the globe at times with very negative impacts. The CSD in 1998 agreed to look at the role of Voluntary Initiatives but a larger discussion is needed about a possible Global Charter for Multi-National Corporations (possibly the new ICC Charter) also taking into consideration the OECD Review of Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.. This would not be legally binding but would enable countries to ask companies coming in to abide by the outlined principles. Such a charter might form the basis of guidelines for national legislation.
8. Obstacles to Implementation
One of the key problems in the implementation of Agenda 21 has been
the lack of systematic and shared understanding of what the obstacles are.
Earth Summit 2002 will need to agree to address these issues. They may
be:
At the end of 2002 we should be able to see: