Transcript Felix DoddsStakeholder Forum

Emerging Issues Can the Existing
Institutional Framework Adequately
Address Them?
Felix Dodds
Stakeholder Forum
International Framework for Sustainable Development
Sustainable
Development
Governance
Fragmentation
of the science
An important
Issue
www.earthsummit2012.org
Sustainable Development
Governance
Lessons learnt from the first twenty years
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 openended 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.
World Summit on Sustainable Developement
“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
.
Options for the
CSD
1. Incremental change
2. Overhaul
3. New Institutions
Incremental change
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
Instituting a standing agenda item on ‘Institutional Framework for
Sustainable Development’ which would allow governments to review
direction and change path;
Balancing normative and non-normative outcomes;
Addressing politically sensitive issues eg energy security (request from UN
Security Council 2007);
Ensuring continuity and momentum between the review and policy years
through an integrated two-year cycle;
Identifying champions (to lead within the two year process);
Establishing linkages with other meetings and international bodies;
Strengthening the role of the bureau as a management body, chair as a
facilitator;
Enhancing the contribution of Major Groups;
Strengthening the role of the secretariat;
Partnerships focused on delivering CSD decisions
Overhaul
The 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
Overhaul
a. Returning to one year cycle
b. 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.
Commission on Global Governance
“The Trusteeship Council should be given
a new mandate over the global
commons in the context of concern for
the security of the planet.”
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 Institution
Emerging Issues or review?
• A council at the highest level that addresses not
only issues such as climate security, energy
security, water security, ecosystem and biodiversity 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 Institution
A 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
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
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:
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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
Summary
A UN General Assembly Sustainable Development
Council
An Intergovernmental Panel on Sustainable Development
A Framework Convention for TNCs listed on Stock
Exchange