Emerging Issues Can the Existing Institutional Framework Adequately

Address Them?

Felix DoddsStakeholder Forum

International Framework for Sustainable Development

www.earthsummit2012.org

1Sustainable Development Governance

2Fragmentation of the science

3An important Issue

Sustainable Development Governance

Lessons learnt from the first twenty years

1

Commission on Sustainable Development - mandate

• “3(a) To monitor progress in the implementation of Agenda 21 and activities related to the integration of environmental and developmental goals throughout the United Nations system through analysis and evaluation of reports from all relevant organs, organizations, programmes and institutions of the United Nations system dealing with various issues of environment and development, including those related to finance.”

The first seven years

• 1994 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

• 1996 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

• 1997 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 (1997-2000), and the establishment of multi-stakeholder dialogues with governments within the UN CSD

The first seven years

• 1998 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.

• 1999 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.

• 2000 CSD: set out the terms of reference for a new permanent body – the United Nations Forum on Forests.

“143. The General Assembly of the United Nations should adopt sustainable development as a key element of the overarching framework for United Nations activities, particularly for achieving the internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration, and should give overall political direction to the implementation of Agenda 21 and its review.”

WSSD JPoI.

World Summit on Sustainable Developement

1. Incremental change2. Overhaul3. New Institutions

Options for the CSD

Incremental changea. Instituting a standing agenda item on ‘Institutional Framework for Sustainable

Development’ which would allow governments to review direction and change path;

b. Balancing normative and non-normative outcomes;c. Addressing politically sensitive issues eg energy security (request from UN

Security Council 2007);d. Ensuring continuity and momentum between the review and policy years

through an integrated two-year cycle;e. Identifying champions (to lead within the two year process);f. Establishing linkages with other meetings and international bodies;g. Strengthening the role of the bureau as a management body, chair as a

facilitator;h. Enhancing the contribution of Major Groups;i. Strengthening the role of the secretariat;j. Partnerships focused on delivering CSD decisions

OverhaulThe original mandate of the CSD included:

“3(c) to review the progress in the implementation of the commitments set forth in Agenda 21, including those related to the provision of financial resources and transfer of technology;

3(d) to review and monitor regularly progress towards the United Nations target of 0.7 per cent of the gross national product of developed countries for official development assistance; this review process should systematically combine the monitoring of the implementation of Agenda 21 with the review of financial resources available

Overhaul

• c) Keep under review the implementation of Agenda 21, recognizing that it is a dynamic programme that could evolve over time, taking into account the agreement to review Agenda 21

Overhaula. Returning to one year cycleb. Restoring 4-5 weeks of annual meeting space for the CSD c. Ensuring the mandate of the CSD includes reviewing means of

implementation to ensure that development ministries are engaged

d. Reviewing partnerships and how they might play a more significant and impacting role in implementing decisions

e. Reviewing national reporting through peer group review within the meeting (similar to phase 1 of UN CSD and now the UN Annual Ministerial Review)

f. Creating a high level segment to deal with new and emerging threats/issues.

“The Trusteeship Council should be given a new mandate over the global commons in the context of concern for the security of the planet.”

Commission on Global Governance

New Institution

• Trusteeship Council requires a charter amendment

• A Council of the UN General Assembly does not

• World Summit 2005 – changed the Human Rights Commission to the UN Human Rights Council

New InstitutionEmerging Issues or review?• A council at the highest level that addresses not

only issues such as climate security, energy security, water security, ecosystem and bio-diversity security, green economy, increased migration, natural disasters and urbanization but also the inter-linkages among them could be a real advance ahead of that agenda’s full impact being felt.

New Institution

Review Council at the GA Level continuing the review of implementation and policy development of UNCSD, JPOI and Agenda 21. This would be done by recreating the present Commission at a UN GA level and hoping that doing so would add to a higher political commitment. From its inception, it would be important to ensure that part of it was attended by Heads of State and by ministries other than just the environment.

New InstitutionA Council of the UN General Assembly enabling text from the World Summit 2005“160. We request the President of the General Assembly to conduct open, transparent and inclusive negotiations, to be completed as soon as possible during the sixtieth session, with the aim of establishing the mandate, modalities, functions, size, composition, membership, working methods and procedures of the Council.”

What about EcoSoc

There were a number of interesting experiments within the CSD in its first ten years, which could be brought together into a new process within the UN Economic and Social Council. These could include:• National Reporting• Involvement of National multi-stakeholder

platforms• Partnership learning processes• Good practice.

non policy forum The creation of a non-policy forum to review implementation at the EcoSoc level could have some interesting features. It could be a:• Problem solving forum• Peer group review of national reports; this was undertaken in

the first five years of the CSD and is a feature of the EcoSoc Annual Ministerial Review of MDGs

• A forum with a governance model which includes stakeholders• Scaling up of good partnerships• An annual session of the National multi-stakeholder platforms• Review of new innovative financial mechanisms for

implementing agreements.

Solutions By having a non-policy forum, EcoSoc could: • develop some real momentum towards

implementation and addressing the obstacles around it. • Bring in relevant stakeholders such as parliamentarians

to look at legislative obstacles and develop guidelines to help governments overcome them.

• Work with local and regional government authorities in addressing local and regional planning regulations or financial frameworks to generate funding for public investments and risk management.

Establish a Sustainable Development Council of the UN General Assembly

2 Fragmentation of the science

Stylize, edit, and animate your media

What are the plans for science?

• With the establishment of the IPCC and the more recent Intergovernmental Panel of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, there is a danger that just as there was fragmentation of the MEAs there may develop fragmentation of the science bodies.

Intergovernmental Panel on Sustainable Development

• There are growing calls for scientific bodies similar to the IPCC and IPBES for: chemicals, oceans and seas and desertification. Governments might want to consider strategies for considering this for UNCSD 2012. One option could be an over-arching Intergovernmental Panel on Sustainable Development under which present panels and any future panels would sit and report to the UNCSD.

Establish an Intergovernmental Panel on Sustainable Development to ensure scientific coherence

3 An important Issue

Building a more sustainable, safe and secure world

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

Commission on TNCs (1973-1993)

When the General Assembly formally created the Commission and the Centre, it approved three broad objectives to guide the work of the UN on transnational corporations : • to further understanding of the political, economic, social, and

legal effects of TNC activity, especially in developing countries; • to secure international arrangements that promote the

positive contributions of TNCs to national development goals and world economic growth while controlling and eliminating their negative effects;

• to strengthen the negotiating capacity of host countries, in particular the developing countries, in their dealings with TNCs

Framework Convention on TNCs

In 2010 the International Standards Organization agreed to ISO 26000 on Social Responsibility which takes consideration of seven principles these are on:

• Human Rights• Labour Practices • Consumer Issues• Community involvement and development• The environment• Fair operating practices • Organizational governance

Aviva Investor’s Earth Summit proposal

• Aviva is UK largest insurance company (and 6th in the world) and is proposing for the United Nations member states at the 2012 Earth Summit to commit to develop a global framework convention requiring companies to produce an Annual Report and Accounts that integrates sustainability throughout.

• They are particularly keen to see sustainability integrated into the forward looking strategy, but we also want the recent performance data as well as have the reassurance that those responsible for audit, risk and remuneration within the company are also considering this performance.

• In order to allow companies time to adjust, we are recommending that this be required on a comply or explain basis.

Slide 31

Aviva Investor’s Earth Summit proposal

• They are also advocating that the quality of the integration of sustainability - or the explanation - be put to the vote at the AGM.

• This framework flows from the work we have been doing to encourage stock markets to take on the challenge of promoting corporate sustainability

A UN General Assembly Sustainable Development CouncilAn Intergovernmental Panel on Sustainable DevelopmentA Framework Convention for TNCs listed on Stock Exchange

Summary