SUSTAINABILITY SHOULD BE PROMOTED FOR INCLUSION IN GOVERNMENT FISCAL POLICY, UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL TELLS COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

1 May 1996

Press Release
ENV/DEV/360

SUSTAINABILITY SHOULD BE PROMOTED FOR INCLUSION IN GOVERNMENT FISCAL POLICY, UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL TELLS COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

19960501 Commission Begins High-Level Segment; Chairman Of Global Environmental Facility, 11 Environment Ministers Also Speak

The Commission on Sustainable Development should promote the inclusion of sustainability into government fiscal policy in preparing for the 1997 special session of the General Assembly that will review implementation of Agenda 21, Nitin Desai, Under Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development, told the Commission this morning. Addressing the opening of the Commission's two-day high-level segment, Mr. Desai said that sustainable development should be embraced in financial policy in the same way that it had been regarding trade, including in the work of the World Trade Organization. Rumen Gechev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development of Bulgaria, and Commission Chairman, encouraged the inclusion of sustainable development strategies into public and private aspects of agriculture, forestry, fisheries, industry, energy, transport, telecommunications, women, labour and business. Speaking before the high-level segment of the Commission this morning were: the Chairman of the Global Environmental Facility, Minister of the Environment and Tourism of Zimbabwe, Minister of Environment and Public Works of Italy (on behalf of the European Union), Minister of Environment and Conservation of Natural Resources of Poland, Minister of the Environment of Bolivia, Minister of the Environment of the Republic of Korea, Federal Minister for the Environment, Youth and Family Affairs of Austria, Vice- President and Head of the Department of Environment of Iran, Minister of the Environment of France, Minister of the Environment of Colombia, State Secretary for Housing, Spatial Planning and Environment of the Netherlands, Secretary of State for Environment and Regional Policy of Hungary, and representatives of the Russian Federation and the Philippines. A representative of the International Collective in Support of Fish Workers, on behalf of 25 non-governmental organizations, also spoke this morning. When the Commission on Sustainable Development meets again at 3 p.m. today, it will continue its high-level segment.

Commission Work Programme

The Commission on Sustainable Development met this morning to begin the high-level segment of its fourth session. The high-level segment, which is being held at the ministerial level, is to review the progress made in achieving the goals of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro.

Statements

RUMEN GECHEV, Commission Chairman and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Economic Development of Bulgaria, said that the high-level segment was of great importance because it finalized the Commission's multi-year working programmes, thus, concluding the full cycle in the monitoring of the implementation of all chapters of Agenda 21. It also served as a bridge to the preparations for the 1997 special session of the General Assembly.

He said that the current session of the Commission benefited from a large number of special and side events which complemented its deliberations. Panels on education, finance and transportation, as well as "a day of the workplace", had involved high-level officials of governments, top executives from the private sector and prominent specialists in respective fields. Also, the two days devoted to exchanges of national experience were a success. More than 30 presentations, workshops and brainstorming sessions had been initiated by countries, international agencies and non-governmental organizations on the margins of the session.

He expressed satisfaction at the active involvement and constructive participation of the young people in the discussions.

He said that the work of the Commission should be focused increasingly on implementing sustainable development in economic sectors such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, industry, energy, transport, telecommunications, and on the crucial role of major groups such as youth, women, labour and business.

NITIN DESAI, Under Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development, said that the present meeting of the Commission was going to "kick off" preparations for the 1997 General Assembly special session, which would undertake a review of the implementation of Agenda 21.

The post-Rio process had important achievements to its credit, but in many areas there was unfinished business. One such area was the issue of finance for sustainable development. The challenge at present was to inject sustainability into the way that financial decisions were made.

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Trade, for example, had traditionally been considered an issue peripheral to the whole matter of sustainability, he continued. But today, consistent with the parameters set by Agenda 21, sustainability had been placed at the heart of intergovernmental negotiations on trade policy, including at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The same shift should take place regarding the placement of sustainability into discussions of fiscal policy. Sustainability should not only be injected into policies regarding land and water; it should be internalized into agricultural policy.

He said sustainability could not be secured by international action alone. It needed to be integrated into national planning. National councils on sustainable development, coordinated by the Earth Council, were also a major achievement of the post-Rio process. The continuing involvement of non- governmental organizations and activist groups was essential, but so was an active partnership with the private sector. That was particularly true regarding the transfer of sustainable technology.

MOHAMED EL-ASHRY, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), said that both Agenda 21 and the GEF had emerged from the Rio Conference. In 1994, agreement had been reached on a restructuring of the GEF, which was then replenished with a $2 billion trust fund. The Facility had been the first major financial accomplishment of UNCED. It now operated in 60 countries and had 153 members. It was the interim financial mechanism guiding the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The GEF Council had planned steady growth of project funding, he continued. Some $415 million had been allocated for fiscal 1997 and a target of $520 million had been established for fiscal 1998. The GEF could best fulfil its mandate by acting as a catalyst, leveraging the resources and efforts of others. It also had an essential role in integrating global environmental concerns into national environmental planning.

The year 1997 would be crucial, he said. During that year, the first GEF assembly would review its programmes and policies. Also, negotiations would be undertaken regarding the next GEF replenishment. Great support had been expressed in the Commission regarding that replenishment. The partnership between the GEF and the global environmental conventions needed to be underscored.

C. CHIMUTENGWENDE, Minister of Environment and Tourism of Zimbabwe, said that his country's sustainable development programme was given an organizational framework in 1987 with the launching of the National Conversion Strategy, which documented the state of the environment in Zimbabwe. His country had set up institutional arrangements to facilitate the implementation of the outcome of the 1992 Earth Summit, including District Action Plan initiated in 1994. That action plan involved the use of local community

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leaders in assessing the environmental degradation in their respective villages.

Also, he continued, based on the principles of the Communal Area Management Programme for Indigenous Resources, such as control by and with full participation of the people in the communal areas, Zimbabwe had granted appropriate authority for the creation of buffer zones between national parks and heavily degraded communal area. In the buffer zones, the protection and conservation of biodiversity was managed directly by the resident local communities. Proceeds from the harvest of sustainably managed resources were ploughed back into the development of the communities concerned. In addition, Zimbabwe established a National Environmental Advisory Committee following the Rio Summit. It was comprised of representatives from both the private and public sectors.

The environmental dimension must be integrated into development, he said. The efforts of African countries had been constrained by international trade imbalances, inadequate resource support from the developed countries, effects of persistent droughts and the debt burden. The economic recovery and the achievement of sustainable development in Africa would depend both on ideal policies and actions by the African countries and on the fairness of the international economic system. Achieving sustainable development also necessitated altering the way international financial institutions measured the economic progress of African countries. A system of resource accounting would better reflect the extent to which economic development activities had increased or decreased environmental degradation. The industrialized countries should curtail wasteful production and consumption patterns.

PAOLO BARATTA, Minister of Environment and Public Works of Italy, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said that in the few years since UNCED, growing world population, increasing poverty, degradation of the oceans, changing of the climate, advancing desertification, loss of forecasts, loss of natural resources and increased industrial pollution still threatened the global environment.

The European Union had made a number of important commitments for the "greening" of the industrial and economic sectors, he continued. It was committed to the reduction of energy consumption, of ozone depleting substances, of greenhouse gases, of all global and transboundary pollutants, and of the land-based marine pollution. It was also reviewing its fifth Environmental Action Programme; reinforcing the regulation for the control of substances that depleted the ozone layer, taking into account the Vienna Meeting to the Montreal Protocol; focusing on new proposals for the Framework Convention on Climate Change; and elaborating incentives and disincentives to promote more environmentally friendly behaviour.

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The European Union had also reviewed its development cooperation policy, he said. Projects focusing on poverty, demographic dynamics and gender had been reviewed. The Development Policy to the Year 200 Strategy was of great importance since the Union and its member States provided more than 50 per cent of world development aid.

He said that to achieve sustainable development, commitments by both developed and developing countries required: substantive progress in the WTO Singapore Ministerial Meeting in making multilateral trading systems sensitive to environmental concerns; the widening of negotiations on environmental issues and the role of companies which operated in various continents; implementation of chapter 33 of Agenda 21 through the commitment of developed countries to contribute with a significant percentage of their gross national product (GNP) to developing countries efforts; the continued involvement of multilateral financing mechanisms in the dissemination of innovative technologies; designation of the Global Environmental Facility as the financial mechanism of the climate change and biodiversity conventions; the implementation of multilateral agreements aiming at sustainable development; and action to address the debt problem of heavily indebted poor countries.

The 1997 special session of the General Assembly should send a clear political message in support of the Rio process and should reaffirm the role of the Commission in the United Nations institutional framework, he said. The Commission should increasingly focus on how sustainability could be achieved in such sectors as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, industry, energy, transport and tourism. Resource issues such as fresh water and food security would also be important, as would unsustainable patterns of production and consumption trade, internalizing environmental costs in prices, development of indicators, and employment.

STANISLAW ZELICHOWSKI, Minister of Environment and Conservation of Natural Resources and Forestry of Poland, said that there had been an elaborate application of legislative instruments on sustainable development in his country. The country had also set up a system of rotation of natural resources, which covered cases of environmental violations, as well as an ecological fund to protect the environment. Expenditure on sustainable development had also been increased on an annual basis, and a high-level Commission on Sustainable Development was set up by the Government in 1994.

He proposed that the special session of the General Assembly scheduled for 1997 take into consideration a discussion on national reports, as well as on the issue of the institutional strengthening of the sectoral arrangements for the areas covered by Agenda 21. It should also address the question of the accumulation of financial means for the achievement of sustainable development, as well as the utilization of those financial means. In addition, it should discuss the GEF.

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JARMUSZ LEVI, Minister of the Environment of Bolivia, said that his Government had become a pioneer in the implementation of Agenda 21 by designating a Ministry of Sustainable Development to integrate environmental, economic and social policies. Sustainable development meant facing the future on the basis of equality opportunity, economic growth and satisfying human needs. The fight against poverty was an integral aspect of sustainable development. His Government was attempting to incorporate all of its multi- ethnic, multi-cultural citizens into its sustainable development planning. He hoped that the Commission would adopt practical decisions that could provide guidance to the upcoming Summit Conference of the Americas on Sustainable Development, which would take place from 7 to 8 December in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

TONG-TAECK CHUNG, Minister of Environment of the Republic of Korea, said that President Kim Young Sam had taken the initiative to make the country a "green environment country". The country had also formulated its "Green 21" vision, which embodied the national commitment towards environmentally sound and sustainable development in the twenty-first century. In addition, the country had established a National Action Plan for Agenda 21, as an integrated national strategy for sustainable development in order to express its growing national commitment to sustainable development.

He said that the Asia region was faced with the possibility of degradation due to rapid economic growth. Given the complexity of that problem, strengthened regional cooperation and continuous support of related United Nations organizations should be promoted. Changing consumption and consumption patterns were critical to achieving sustainable development.

DANILON DANILIAN (Russian Federation) called for a comprehensive approach to the environment. There should be a concentration on national policies and plans in the area of national development. Russia agreed with the reports of the Secretary-General that, at times, there was too much involvement in developing plans. What was more important was the implementation of those plans.

He said that, biannually, Russia reviewed its governmental plan of action in the area of the environment. The country had adopted and was carrying out plans in the several areas related to sustainable development. There was legislation governing the rational use of resources. He was opposed to a rigid selection of indicators of sustainable development being imposed on countries. A more flexible list of indicators would make for better adherence. He also felt that the future work of the United Nations in the area of the environment should be considered during the special session of the General Assembly in 1997.

MARTIN BARTENSTEIN, Federal Minister for the Environment, Youth and Family Affairs of Austria, said that the work programme of the Commission

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beyond 1997 should focus on sectoral issues, such as the relationship between economic development and sustainable development alliances, and on public awareness and education, beginning with early childhood. Sustainable development should be mainstreamed into all sectoral policies. The Commission should also seek to exchange best practices information, act as a clearing- house for cooperation and provide a global framework for regional cooperation.

Urgent action was required regarding climate change, he continued. A stabilization of atmospheric carbon dioxide at 450 parts per million by the year 2050 would be required to return global anthropogenic carbon dioxide to 1990 levels. But even such stabilization would have a serious impact on the global climate. Industrialized countries must return their greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000. The "North" had to take the lead in combating climate change and its adverse impacts, consistent with the principle of "common but differentiated responsibility".

The development of transportation must adhere to precautionary principles, he said. Austria was attempting to reduce transportation demand, improve efficiency and vehicle technology and expand sustainable transport infrastructure, such as pedestrian and cycling paths, noise protection walls and tunnels, and other measures. There were no United Nations agencies that dealt with conventional and renewable energy. That issue should be explored in the preparatory work leading up to the 1997 special session. Finally, given the persistent high risk of some nuclear installations, Austria urged their decommissioning.

HADI MANAFI, Vice-President and Head of the Department of Environment of Iran, stressed the need for the developed countries to implement their commitments enumerated in Agenda 21, particularly the provision of new and additional resources and the United Nations target of 0.7 per cent of their GNP required for the achievement of the objectives of Agenda 21. The transfer of environmentally sound technologies, exchange of information and experience, technical assistance and cooperation were among the integral aspects of effective and efficient ways and means of tackling the problem.

He said that unsustainable consumption and production patterns, particularly in the developed countries, continued to be the main cause of pressure on the global environment. Changing the production and consumption patterns on the basis of the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities was, therefore, a challenge ahead. He stressed that the eradication of poverty continued to be an overriding priority of developing countries. That issue was connected to degradation of the environment and should, thus, be dealt with as the cornerstone of common endeavours.

He said that the right to development was an inalienable right of human beings. Aggression, occupation, bloodshed and war against nations, such as the recent atrocities directed against the Lebanese people, deprived peoples

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from exercising their right to development. In identifying the impediments to sustainable development, the adverse impacts of violence and aggression against the territories of other nations should be addressed.

CORINNE LEPAGE, Minster of the Environment of France, said that on 25 January her Government had established an independent Commission on Sustainable Development composed of actors from government, the non- governmental organization sector, industry and labour. The Commission would attempt to define a "sustainable city" based upon public and private partnership and on sustainable planning. It would also stress the close relationship between sustainable development and public health.

The Commission must actively reinforce sustainable development within major global bodies such as the Bretton Woods institutions and United Nations agencies by integrating sustainability into every aspect of their agendas, she said. The Commission should consider dedicating its annual agenda to certain sectoral areas. It should also emphasize concrete political action by national governments.

She said this year's concentration on oceans, for example, had made clear the importance of integrating plans regarding many sectors -- transportation, environmental protection, food security, fisheries management and others. She welcomed the recent decision to create a Mediterranean Commission for Sustainable Development. The Commission's work regarding the atmosphere had rightly stressed the need to change patterns of consumption and development. It should give priority to the provision of new and renewable energy sources, including the decentralized generation of electricity.

JOSE VINCENTE MOGOLLON, Minister of the Environment of Colombia, said that the upcoming General Assembly special session would represent an unprecedented review of production and consumption patterns. Economic successes and efforts to combat poverty would have to focus on providing basic necessities, especially in rural areas. Colombia's national development plan had sought to balance rates of economic growth, social development and protection of the environment. Colombia was considering protection of the Darien rainforest and was considering transportation alternatives to highways. There was also a national effort to protect areas of great biodiversity, such as the Amazon and Choco. Colombia was undertaking a large-scale reforestation effort employing indigenous species.

Developed countries did not seem to have the political will to strengthen the national capacities of developing countries, he continued. He had noted with concern a noticeable decline in levels of official development assistance. Private investment could not replace such assistance. Colombia was attempting to incorporate environmental themes into national policy, the strategies of entrepreneurs, and in the work of more than 700 non-governmental organizations. Interests were naturally in conflict, but models of society

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should be reformed with a view to building bridges and changing thinking patterns. Education was the cornerstone of that effort.

D.K.J. TOMMEL, State Secretary for Housing, Spatial Planning and Environment of the Netherlands, presented the result of an international conference on sustainable development held in Amsterdam in February. He said that environmental issues had become increasingly complex and had expanded to include efficient use of raw materials, energy conservation, waste prevention and recycling. That situation called for an approach that looked at environmental pollution during the entire life cycle of the product or service. Such an approach was not readily tackled by means of direct legislation, because the necessary knowledge and capacity was found primarily within companies.

"By taking effective use of existing and new innovations in products, processes and services, we can create win-win solutions which improve the market position, as well as the environmental performance of industries, not only by developing and applying new technologies, but also by doing business differently", he said.

KATALIN SZILI, Secretary of State for Environment and Regional Policy of Hungary said that her Government had decided to integrate the principles of sustainable development into sectoral policies, to increase financial resources for the implementation of those programmes, and to improve conditions for development and the transfer of environmentally safe technology.

Hungary was stabilizing its economy through comprehensive restructuring, she continued. The abatement of environmental problems, conservation measures, and the prevention of new environmental hazards should not be considered as tasks to be dealt with after the solution of social, economic and financial problems. Environmental protection had to be integrated into all relevant sectoral policies, she added.

Hungary's new environmental law had been based on the principles of sustainable development, she said. Its first and most prominent objective was to "develop a harmonious relationship between humans and their environment, to protect the components and processes of the environment and to provide for the environmental conditions of sustainable development". It had stipulated also the development of a comprehensive national environmental protection programme.

Various governmental and non-governmental institutions and organizations in Hungary were discussing environmental concerns. An increasing number of environmental commissions, committees or councils of the Parliament, the Academy of Sciences, local and regional governments, the federation of the employers, professional societies and members of the media were discussing

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issues. The Hungarian Commission on Sustainable Development was established in 1993, and the National Environmental Council had started its work, she said.

The Commission on Sustainable Development should further enhance its role in exchanging national experiences, monitoring progress, and promoting international cooperation, she concluded.

CIELITO F. HABITO (Philippines) said that his country was among the first to establish a multi-stakeholder panel following UNCED in 1992, allowing for fuller integration of sustainable development at all levels of government in his country. The crucial role of local governments in pursuing sustainable development had been recognized, as was the role of the youths who had a direct stake in sustainability of developmental efforts.

He said that there had not been enough progress in regional and global undertakings in relation to the outcomes of UNCED. The world seamed to be running on a treadmill on issues like financing, trade and environment, and consumption and production patterns. There had been suggestions that the private sector should be involved in the area of finance, but the question was how to achieve such involvement. Such involvement was more applicable in the area of transfer and exchange of sound technologies, since most such technologies emanated from the private sector.

He proposed the establishment of an intergovernmental task force on the transfer of technology with the participation of key players. He stressed the need to recognize that environmentally sound technologies might need to be adapted before application in other countries. His own country was establishing a centre for such adaptation.

SEBASTIAN MATTHEWS, representative of the International Collective in Support of Fish Workers, speaking on behalf of 25 non-governmental organizations, said recent patterns of aquaculture that emphasized production for export had had a negative impact on food supply and food security. The report of the current session of the Commission would not address that issue, which was urgent for millions of people in different parts of the world.

He said that governments should ensure that artisanal fisheries and dependant coastal communities and their access to community resources were not adversely affected by aquaculture development or operations, including extensive and intensive aquaculture methods. The governments should also ensure the use of environmental and social impact assessments prior to aquaculture development. There should also be regular and continuous monitoring of the impact of aquaculture operations by the governments. In addition, the use of toxic and bio-accumulative compounds in aquaculture should be prohibited.

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