Commission on Sustainable Development

Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting

1^st & 2^nd Meetings (AM & PM)

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PREPARATORY MEETING BEGINS CONSIDERATION OF POLICY

OPTIONS FOR ENERGY, INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT, AIR POLLUTION, CLIMATE CHANGE

One Week Meeting to Lay Groundwork

For Commission’s Second Policy Segment, 30 April – 11 May

The Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting of the Commission on Sustainable Development this morning opened its week-long session to consider policy options and possible actions to equip Governments with better tools to address energy for development, industrial development, air pollution/atmosphere and climate change, complex and interlinked issues unparalleled in their importance for achieving agreed development goals.

The meeting, which kicked off with presentations from the United Nations regional commissions and major groups, and an introductory panel discussion on challenges faced by small island developing States, was convened to lay the groundwork for the Commission’s second policy segment –- set for 30 April to 11 May.  It will draw on the obstacles, lessons learned and best practices identified in those priority areas since the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa, as well as the 1992 Conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro, and its environment-targeted Action Plan, known as “Agenda 21”.

Opening the preparatory meeting’s first day, Chairman of the fifteenth Commission on Sustainable Development, Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Energy and Industry for Qatar, said that, given today’s global challenges, few were as urgent, complex and inter-linked as the four themes of the Commission’s current work cycle -- energy for sustainable development; industrial development; air pollution/atmosphere; and climate change -– “which affect every part of our economies and every segment of our societies, and impact on the health of our planet at local, regional and global levels”.

Further, the issues in the Commission’s current cycle posed daunting global environmental challenges, he said, noting that developing countries, including small island developing States, bore the brunt of rural and urban air pollution, as well as indoor air pollution.  They also faced the greatest risks from climate change.  He also stressed that industrial development could not take off without an efficient and reliable modern energy infrastructure.  Lack of access to modern energy services, lack of institutional and human capacities, and limited availability of modern technologies and financial resources, were further inhibiting progress in sustainable development in many developing countries.

Recalling that the Commission’s fourteenth session had focused on constraints and obstacles for implementing measures in those areas, he said the Intergovernmental Meeting must use the next four days to come up with policy recommendations.  Going forward, the Commission must take decisions on the specific policy options and practical measures to overcome barriers and to expedite implementation, in partnership with United Nations agencies and other international and regional organizations, as well as other major groups.  The fifteenth Commission should, therefore, be a forward-looking and policy-oriented session.

[In 2003, the Commission, the key United Nations forum bringing countries together to consider ways to integrate the three dimensions of sustainable development -- economic growth, social development and environmental protection -- approved a multi-year programme of work organized on the basis of seven two-year cycles, featuring different thematic clusters of issues for each cycle.  The first, addressed in 2004 and 2005, was water, sanitation and human settlements.  The 2008/2009 cycle will focus on agriculture, rural development, land, drought, desertification and Africa.]

After Joanne Disano, Director of the Division for Sustainable Development in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, presented the relevant reports of the Secretary-General that will guide the work of the meeting, representatives of the key United Nations regional negotiating blocs -– the “Group of 77” developing countries and China and the European Union -- as well as the United States, made brief statements and highlighted their expectations for the outcome of the Intergovernmental Meeting, as well as for the fifteenth Commission session.

Also making brief presentations were representatives of the major groups, speaking on behalf of farmers, the scientific and technological communities, business and industry, workers and trade unions, local authorities, non-governmental organizations, indigenous people, children and youth, and women.

The meeting devoted its afternoon session to an interactive discussion with experts from small island developing States on efforts by those nations to overcome the unique challenges they faced in the areas of energy for development, industrial development, air pollution/atmosphere and climate change.

Setting the stage for the dialogue was Leslie Walling, Executive Director of the Caribbean Conservation Association, Paul Fairbarn, Manager of the Community Lifeline Programme of the Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC), and Tom Goreau, President of the Global Coral Reef Alliance, who addressed a range of diverse issues and challenges, but generally agreed on two key points:  that security of energy supplies and access to energy were pivotal for small island developing States; and that islands were usually the “first and worst” victims of climate change.

When delegations took the floor to exchange their experiences, speakers from small island nations agreed that their countries were highly vulnerable and faced exceptionally severe and complex difficulties in the pursuit of sustainable development.  They were often clusters of small and remote islands, responsible for a biologically rich exclusive economic zone.  But, the heavy reliance on fossil fuel imports and high exposure to external shocks were formidable challenges for their development. 

Many said that the threat of climate change presented the most pressing environmental challenge confronting their countries, noting the irony that, while small island developing States contributed the least to global climate change, they were the most threatened by its impact.  A speaker declared that best adaptation strategy to mitigate the impact of climate change would be meaningless without global action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address other related issues.  With the rise of sea levels threatening the very survival of some small islands, he called for the creation of a Climate Change Trust Fund to help such States, and urged States that had not done so to ratify and implement the Kyoto Protocol.

Other speakers touched on the need for renewable energy sources and the need for transparency and inclusiveness for both men and women in energy development in the Pacific region and called on the international community to focus on financing technologies that addressed poor women’s energy needs and indoor air pollution, among others.  Some said that the international community must support small island developing States in creating an enabling environment for industrial development and called for a global partnership aimed at:  increasing access to foreign direct investments; the reduction of tariff and non-tariff barriers to industrial imports; and the transfer of environmentally-sound technologies.

But several speakers from developed countries taking the floor said that, while small islands were a barometer for climate change, the Commission was not the venue for climate change negotiations.  Indeed, the body was a key forum for jump-starting worldwide action to address the matter.  One representative added that developing nations should lead the way in elaborating relevant policies and strategies, particularly as they were the countries whose carbon emissions were set to increase most significantly in the coming years.

In other business today, the Intergovernmental Meeting approved the requests of both the Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific, and the Organization for Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries, to participate as observers in its work.  The meeting also approved its provisional agenda and programme of work for the session (document E/CN.17/IPM/2007/1).

The meeting also endorsed Luiz Alberto Figueiredo Machado ( Brazil) for the remaining Vice-Chairmanship on the Commission for the Latin American and Caribbean Region.  The Chairman announced that formal election to fill the seat, which had been postponed last year, would not take place until the Commission’s next session.  The Chairman also announced that Alain Traore ( Burkina Faso) had been designated to serve as Rapporteur of the Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting and the Commission.

The Intergovernmental Meeting will reconvene tomorrow at 10 a.m. to continue its discussions of policy options and address possible barriers and constraints, as well as lessons learned in relation to energy for sustainable development.

Background

The Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting for the fifteenth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) opened this morning, with member Governments gathering to discuss possible policy options and actions to facilitate the work of the Commission’s substantive session.  In addition to the outcome of the fourteenth session of the Commission, the Secretary-General’s reports and regional contributions will be important inputs to the interactive discussions.  The Commission’s Chair will prepare a text based on these talks, which will capture the various proposals and suggestions for action that are likely to emerge from the preparatory meeting, for consideration at the fifteenth session.

The fifteenth session of the CSD will be held between 30 April and 11 May 2007.  The new work programme for the Commission, based on two-year cycles with a clear set of thematic issues, provides the global community with a unique opportunity to focus in-depth attention on specific issues.  Building on the outcomes of the fourteenth session, where the Commission focused on its 2006/2007 thematic cluster -- energy for sustainable development, industrial development, air pollution/atmosphere and climate change -- the fifteenth session will be a “policy year”, and strive to be forward-looking and action-oriented.

Secretary-General Reports

The Secretary-General’s report on policy options and possible actions to expedite implementation:  energy for sustainable development (document E/CN.17/2007/2) highlights options and measures that could be taken at the international level with regard to improving access to energy, encouraging energy efficiency and promoting the use of advanced and cleaner energy technologies.

The report points out that enhancing energy efficiency can reduce air pollution as well as contribute to industrial development efforts.  Strengthening the development and use of cleaner energy technologies has a myriad of co-benefits including improving access to modern energy services, improving the way in which energy is produced and used, increasing industrial efficiency and reducing atmospheric emissions.  Possible policies and measures with respect to renewable energy and cleaner fossil fuel technologies include technical standards, long-term collaborations and partnership arrangements, as well as ways to achieve cost reductions.

Policy options and possible actions that could be considered at the international level on increasing access to modern energy services include:  increasing engagement of countries at the regional level, including activities to interconnect national power grids; utilizing microcredit schemes for users of modern cook stoves; financial instruments to support the development, expansion and/or refurbishing of the electricity infrastructure; and international arrangements that could assist least developed countries in the development of small local natural gas reserves for domestic use.

Suggestions for improving energy efficiency include:  increasing international support for national efforts to adopt standards and labelling for energy-efficient appliances; increasing support for information exchange and expanded capacity-building; and expanding multi-stakeholder partnerships to improve energy efficiency in transport.  Strengthening the development, use and transfer of clean energy technologies could be supported by information-sharing activities and provision of technical assistance, as well as by considering the establishment of a mechanism for regularly evaluating data to review progress made in achieving the renewable energy goals of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.

The report on industrial development (document E/CN.17/2007/3) notes that industrial development has rarely occurred by virtue of free market forces alone and that Government policies and investments have played an important supportive role.  Trade can help boost industrial development through access to imported technologies and through the scale and learning economies of access to global and regional markets.  The openness of the international trade regime to developing a country’s industrial exports is an important enabling condition.  Public investment in basic infrastructure, research and development, as well as in education can support industrial development.

According to the report, public support to venture financing can encourage greater risk-taking by entrepreneurs in exploring new product markets.  Measures to encourage investments by the private sector in training of the workforce can be important to facilitating technology transfer.  The specific challenges facing small and medium-sized enterprises can be remedied through targeted Government programmes.  The internalization by enterprises of principles of corporate social and environmental responsibility and accountability can help relieve the enforcement burden on Governments, as can an active civil society.  Governments would benefit from technical assistance to strengthen monitoring and enforcement capacity of workplace and environmental regulations.

The report on air pollution/atmosphere (document E/CN.17/2007/4) states that most air pollution is a consequence of industrial development, energy production and use, and transportation.  Efforts directed at adopting cleaner production processes, cleaner energy technologies and cleaner fuels, therefore, contribute to improving air quality and protecting the atmosphere.  Policy options and possible actions are available for reducing air pollution, both indoor air pollution from traditional biomass fuels that adversely affect the health of women and children, and ambient air pollution from all industrial, energy and transport sources. 

Among policy options and possible actions, the report suggests that the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles should be supported in its efforts to complete the global elimination of leaded gasoline.  Capacity-building for the development of innovative economic and policy instruments for dealing with air pollution at the local level should also be supported, as should the establishment of regional and subregional cooperative agreements to reduce transboundary air pollution.  Studies to identify ways to effectively and economically reduce both aviation and shipping emissions also merit support.

On climate change, the Secretary-General’s report (document E/CN.17/2007/5) notes that the increasingly evident impact of climate change lends the issue a particular sense of urgency.  International cooperative efforts can help ensure that timely and effective action is taken to mitigate the causes as well as the effects of climate change, to further the implementation of Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, and to achieve the goals of sustainable development.  A comprehensive climate change strategy, including coherent policies and actions regarding energy, industry, forestry and waste management, could yield multiple benefits for greenhouse gas mitigation and sustainable development objectives.

The report states that countries vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change, especially least development countries and small island developing States, require increased assistance for the development and implementation of adaptation strategies.  This could include improving the dissemination of information, enhancing resilience to the adverse impacts of climate change and climate variability, and integrating adaptation measures into national sustainable development strategies and planning.

According to the report, policy options and possible actions could include a combination of improved energy efficiency, increased renewable energy use, better agricultural practices, and sustainable forest and waste management.  Such a strategy could also include stable incentives and measures to enhance the use of market-based mechanisms, including scaling up the carbon market, and expanding the range of clean development mechanism activities.

The report on inter-linkages and cross-cutting issues (document E/CN.17/2007/6) underlines the strong inter-linkages among the four issues.  Providing access to reliable, affordable, economically viable, socially acceptable and environmentally sound energy services may advance industrial development, reduce air pollution and lower greenhouse gas emissions.  Most cross-cutting issues identified at the eleventh session of the Commission on Sustainable Development, including those related to the means of implementation, are also relevant in the context of the thematic cluster of issues.  The report identifies inter-linkages and cross-cutting issues.  Its annexes provide contributions from the African region, the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), the Latin American and the Caribbean region and from the Asia and the Pacific region.

Statement by Chairman of Sustainable Development Commission

ABDULLAH BIN HAMAD AL-ATTIYAH, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Energy and Industry for Qatar, said that the Commission on Sustainable Development had the responsibility to review progress in the implementation of Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and to provide policy guidance to the follow-up to the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation at the local, national, regional and international levels.  That process had, thus far, resulted in a global commitment to undertake concrete actions to enhance international cooperation in the areas of poverty eradication, changing unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, and protecting and managing the natural resource base of economic and social development.

He said that the Commission’s fourteenth session had focused on constraints and obstacles for implementing measures in the four themes of the current work cycle:  energy for sustainable development; industrial development; air pollution/atmosphere; and climate change.  Now, the intergovernmental meeting must come up with policy recommendations on all four of those themes.  Given today’s global challenges, few were as urgent, complex and inter-linked as those issues, which affected every part of States’ economies and societies, and impacted on the worldwide health of the planet.

“A world in which one third of its population lacks access to modern energy services will not be sustainable,” he declared, adding that, when they had to trek miles to gather biomass fuels, only to suffer from health damaging pollutants, girls and women would never be truly empowered to pursue sustainable livelihoods.  Moreover, when children’s reading time was cut short at dusk because of a lack of electricity, they would never reap the benefits of schooling.  And, when they had only an intermittent power supply, hospitals and clinics could not provide basic medical services, not to mention maintain refrigeration as part of the “cold chain” required for storing vaccines.

He said that industrial development could not take off without an efficient and reliable modern energy infrastructure.  Lack of access to modern energy services, weak infrastructure and lack of institutional and human capacities, as well as limited availability of modern technologies and financial resources, were further inhibiting progress in sustainable development in many developing countries.  Those were key barriers in achieving the targets set by the Millennium Development Goals and the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development.

Increasing the transparency and stability of the global energy markets, improving the investment climate in the energy sector, including energy infrastructure development, promoting energy efficiency and energy savings, and diversifying the energy mix would contribute in the construction of the pathway for sustainable development.  Further, in addition to their social and economic dimensions, the issues in the Commission’s current thematic cycle posed daunting wide-scale global environmental challenges.  Developing countries, as well as small island developing States, bore the brunt of rural and urban air pollution, as well as indoor air pollution.  They also faced the greatest risks from climate change.

He said that the task ahead for the Commission was to take decisions on specific policy options and practical measures to overcome barriers and constraints and to expedite implementation, in partnership with United Nations agencies and other international and regional organizations, as well as other major groups.  The Commission should, therefore, be a forward-looking and policy-oriented session.  To that end, he invited Government delegations to take part in the current process and provide concrete policy options and practical measures that would help define and guide the international community’s collaborative efforts in the coming years to meet the Millennium Goals, and the objectives of the Johannesburg Summit.

Introduction of Secretary-General’s Reports

JOANNE DISANO, Director of the Division for Sustainable Development in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, introduced the reports before the preparatory meeting on energy for sustainable development, industrial development, air pollution/atmosphere and climate change.  She stressed that the documents were meant to stimulate discussion, not to be taken as an “exhaustive list” of available options.  On energy for development, she said the relevant report highlighted industrial development policy choices aimed at how to improve technologies, as well as better access to global and regional markets.  Policy options to facilitate technology transfer and public/private partnerships were also considered.

On air pollution/atmosphere, she said the relevant report noted that efforts to promote the use of cleaner technologies and cleaner fuel would have a marked impact on initiatives to protect the atmosphere.  International cooperation efforts could help to ensure that urgent and effective action was taken on that issue.  Indeed, the issue of climate change was now at the centre of international debate, and the report considered it within the context of sustainable development, but did not duplicate the work undertaken by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

She said the report went on to highlight such options and strategies as  improved energy efficiency, strengthened urban and costal zone management and sustainable forest management, and expanding the range of clean technologies.  It also noted that small island developing States might need technical and other assistance to effectively implement such strategies.

Finally, she said that the report on “cross-cutting issues” noted the connections between and among the thematic cluster topics, as well as the co-benefits of relevant policy options, women and children in policy planning, and, among other things, strategies for sub-Saharan Africa.  The report also highlighted recommendations on enhancing access to modern science and technology, which would have significant impact on the four policy areas.  It also noted that official development assistance at the country level was still a significant means of generating resources to implement polices and making infrastructure and other improvements in the area of sustainable development.

Statements

FARUKH AMIL (Pakistan), speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, said the fact that poverty was still rampant globally and on the rise in some regions lent greater urgency to seeking sustainable and development-oriented solutions to the challenges faced.  Natural resources were depleting, while natural disasters and pressures on the environment were on the rise.  Increasing energy demands were putting further strains on existing resources.  The situation demanded renewed and enhanced commitment for concerted actions based on concrete and equitable plans.  The need for a fully supportive and enabling international environment to facilitate and promote implementation of national development strategies by developing countries could not be overemphasized.  The challenges faced transcended the issue of commitment and will, but related more closely to lack of capacity, inadequate resources and external debt, as well as unfair trade and agricultural policies.

“Implementation remains the Achilles Heel of the global development agenda and the biggest challenge for sustainability,” he said.  Implementation of agreed commitments should be based on the Rio principles, including the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.  In order to build capacities, enhance coordination and strengthen scientific knowledge, and foster the transfer of knowledge and technology to developing countries, urgent implementation of the Bali Strategic Plan for Capacity-Building and Technology Transfer was one of the essential elements.   The innovation of partnerships, agreed on in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, required a more coherent approach on the corporate, environment and social responsibility and accountability level.

Approximately 1.6 billion people in developing countries still had no access to energy and 2.4 billion people had high exposure to indoor air pollution because they still relied on biomass for their energy needs, he said.  He recognized that heterogeneity among developed and developing countries was a very important step in designing policies to tackle the four themes in an equitable manner.  He hoped the Commission would play a more active role and serve as an effective forum to ensure implementation of development commitments and expected that the session would agree to a set of action-based and development-oriented policy options with a mechanism allowing for their follow-up and implementation.

STEPHAN CONTIUS ( Germany), speaking on behalf of the European Union, said the issues of sustainable development, climate change, air pollution and industrial development were deeply interrelated.  The Union would strive for an outcome clear on objectives, actions and the role of the different actors.  Such an outcome of the Commission session would reflect the necessity that all -- collectively, individually and in partnership -- had a role to play in overcoming the current obstacles in implementation.

He said strong action was needed to foster a transition to a global low carbon economy.  All States should integrate diversified energy policies in national sustainable development strategies, national poverty reduction strategies or other national planning frameworks by 2010, giving priority to energy efficiency, renewable energies and improved access to sustainable, reliable affordable and environmentally sound energy services for all.  The Union proposed a basket of voluntary commitments with each State submitting national objectives on energy, energy efficiency and renewable energies.  To ensure regular monitoring of such commitments, the Union proposed that the Commission should devote time to follow up in its 2010/11 and 2014/15 sessions.

On climate change, he said the topic of adaptation, mitigation and technology transfer, as discussed at the fourteenth Commission session, deserved special attention.  The current session should explore what additional supporting policy recommendations could adequately complement the Framework Convention policies.  As for industrial development, he said choices in terms of design of industrial development were strongly interlinked with challenges such as climate change, energy supply and air pollution.  Increasing resource efficiency, enhancing technological innovation and de-coupling economic growth from resource use offered the opportunity to reduce cost, increase competitiveness and thereby preserve jobs or even provide additional employment.  The Union supported the proposal of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) regarding regional and country-specific benchmarking.

The Union strongly believed that indoor air pollution in developing countries and its severe health impact were of high importance for the international agenda.  Cleaner cooking and heating fuels in developing countries were relevant, especially for women and children.  The Commission would need to agree on concrete action on the topic with a sense of urgency.  ECE had developed an ambitious convention on long-range air pollution, which could serve as a model for other regions.  Traffic-related emissions should also be a high priority for international action.  He welcomed the opportunity to address inter-linkages and cross-cutting issues and said improving access to financial resources should also be discussed if there was to be real progress and practical implementation.  It was crucial to integrate each of the thematic issues into national sustainable development and poverty reduction strategies. 

JONATHAN MARGOLIS (United States) said that, by continuing to pursue the bold path that the Commission had agreed to after the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, concrete action could be fostered that would bring the ultimate measure of success closer -– delivering on-the-ground results that improved lives.  The challenge now was to use the three months remaining to catalyze action.  Practical examples of what worked were needed.  The Commission Secretariat had provided a matrix that contained over 12 case studies of practical and proven approaches.  Some of those approaches could be scaled up and replicated.  The task in the coming days would be to focus on disseminating and replication of those best practices.

He said outputs of the 2005/2007 Commission Cycle included action-oriented products such as a web-based tool for sharing practical solutions; partnerships which were setting their sights higher; and several hundred delegates who will have been trained during the Commission Learning Centers.  Delegates had called for a basket of voluntary commitments launched at the Commission, and he hoped that each would apply specific solutions from the matrix to their own circumstances.  Noting that at least 54 pages of agreed text had already been negotiated, he said “we should think very carefully about what might be needed in page 55 and 56.  We need not waste time fighting old battles over again.”

He said the real measure of success was not what would be done for a week or two in the United Nations.  True success would come during the 50 weeks a year spent outside New York.  “Each of us can take further steps -– improving the effectiveness of foreign assistance, enhancing good governance and capacity-building, engaging the private sector and NGOs,” he said.  Those were the steps that would advance progress towards sustainable development objectives.

Presentation of Outcome of Intersessional Meeting

THORIR IBSEN, Director, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Iceland, reported on the International Seminar on the Hydrogen Economy for Sustainable Development, which had been held in Reykjavik on 28 and 29 September 2006.  He said that meeting had featured the participation of some 80 delegations from 20 countries, and had been convened to provide an opportunity for energy policymakers and representatives from Governments, industry and academia from both developed and developing countries to exchange information on progress in the development and application of hydrogen technologies.

Touching on a few salient issues that had been discussed during the two-day event, he said participants were unanimous in their belief that alternative energy resources and technologies must be found if the world was to meet the energy needs of the present generation.  To that end, production and use of hydrogen offered alternative pathways to sustainable development; it could be produced by any primary energy source providing a flexible energy carrier that could substitute for fossil fuels.  The recent development of fuel cell technology opened new opportunities for hydrogen use, he said, adding that the participants in the meeting had concluded that a hydrogen economy might offer an attractive opportunity for countries that lacked indigenous fossil fuels, but possessed ample renewable energy resources.

He said that, while the participants had been keen as to the potential value of hydrogen, they had also recognized the challenges ahead in advancing a hydrogen economy, including, among others, that the cost of hydrogen energy technologies would have to be significantly reduced, public education and capacity-building must be substantially strengthened, and visionary thinking was required along with intensive research and development efforts and increased cooperation across academic disciplines, industrial subsectors and national boarders.

Among other ways to meet those challenges, the participants stressed the role of international energy technology partnerships for the development of the hydrogen economy and collaborative projects, as well as the possibility of outsourcing research and development work on hydrogen energy technology to developing countries and to countries with economies in transition, as a way to decrease costs and stimulate capacity-building in those countries.

Regional Groups

JOSELUIS SAMANIEGO, Director, Sustainable Development and Human Settlements Division of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), said the four regional commissions had prepared a document as a timely instrument to foster discussions.  His Commission’s proposals included:  a commitment to energy and transport; fostering horizontal cooperation among countries; reinforcing participation mechanisms and reporting regularly on sustainability of development; and increasing air quality control through increased accountability of cities and urban development patterns.  There was progress in the region in reorganizing transportation, but more was required.  There were also opportunities in increasing programmatic and bundled approaches. 

Addressing the proposals of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), he said they included enhanced investments in oil and gas exploration and promotion of the use of natural gas in the power and transport sectors.  Regarding industrial development, financial and technical support to small- and medium-sized enterprises should be extended in strategic interventions at the policy level and should be introduced to improve processes and products.  Application of renewable energy technologies should be promoted.  Air pollution monitoring and control programmes needed to be upgraded and sound urban planning must be promoted that included systems with low energy consumption.  Sustainable transport programmes must be supported.  For climate change, Arab countries needed support regarding the impact of climate change.  Regional collaboration on climate change control and mitigation strategies should also be supported. 

OUSMANE LAYE, Team leader, Sustainable Development and Food Security, Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), underscored the importance of the African Union and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), which had organized several meetings on the issues at the ministerial level.  ECA proposed design and implementation of energy access mechanisms and enhancement of national capabilities of forestry services and energy agencies.  For industrial development, it proposed flexible and accelerated investment schemes, as well as developing industrial environment policy, regulation and guidelines.  On air pollution, ECA proposed establishment and fostering of regional networks of scientists and institutions dealing with air and atmospheric pollution.  Further, improved wood fuel stoves and cleaner energy resources for cooking and heating should be promoted.  The capabilities of countries to carry out assessments of the impacts of climate change should be increased and regional cooperation should be enhanced.

KAJ BARLUND, Director, Environment and Human Settlements Division, Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), said his presentation was based on thorough intergovernmental discussions.  In many low-income countries, energy was available, but the price was too high for low-income segments.  More active policies in that area were needed.  There was room for improved energy efficiency in most sectors of society.  As the security and reliability of energy had become an issue, one solution could be better dialogue between energy suppliers and consumers.  Education and raising awareness were also needed.   Sustainable consumption and production patterns would be a challenge to cooperation, because of the transition to a market economy in part of the region.  The matter of air pollution had been a problem for decades.  A legal instrument -– the ECE Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution -- had been negotiated, which had given good results and could be used as a framework for other regions.  Together, with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), ECE had developed a strategy for education for sustainable development.

Next, RAE KWON CHUNG, Director, Environment and Sustainable Development for the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), reported on his region’s input for the current Commission cycle, noting, among other things, that as his region continued along its path of economic and social development, it faced increasingly serious challenges to, and constraints on, its energy resources, natural resources and environment.  He said that the most recent State of the Environment Report for the Asian and Pacific noted that the region was already running the highest ecological deficit of any region in the world.

So the critical, unique challenge for the region, as well as its diverse subregions that included small island developing States and economies in transition, was to maintain high economic growth needed for poverty reduction without creating further environmental pressure due to unsustainable production.  He said that some of the relevant proposals for policy options and strategies that ESCAP had discussed ahead of the Intergovernmental Meeting included, among others, to adopt low carbon economy strategies that de-coupled rapid economic growth from mounting ecological impact; and promoting investment strategies to integrate sustainability into energy and transport infrastructure development.

Presentations by Major Groups

Opening the presentations by major groups, the representative of women’s groups called urgently for Governments to mainstream gender initiatives in all their sustainable development activities.  There was a particular need to ensure the participation of women and girls in developing countries.

She also stressed that women often bore the brunt of the negative effects of environmental degradation, pollution and climate change and called for measures to strengthen and empower women's non-governmental organizations and women’s groups in enhancing capacity-building for sustainable development.  She added that, given the imbalances in the Commission’s own bureau, she would hope that the current Chair would do more to integrate women into the panels’ work.

Next, the representative of children and youth said that his delegation did not wish to inherit an environmentally-devastated and resource-depleted planet.  He called on the Commission to take action now to boost worldwide efforts to find sustainable energy options, particularly since nuclear energy and fossil fuels were not the answer to the world’s energy challenges.  He stressed that a clear definition of sustainable energy was required.  One of the most pressing issues on the agenda of the world’s children and youth was climate change, he said, also calling on the Commission to use the current global momentum to help combat the effects of greenhouse gases, focusing particularly on education and youth health arenas.

The representative of indigenous peoples groups highlighted the findings of a recent United Nations-backed report that verified the devastating impact of climate change caused by carbon emissions.  While there seemed to still be some debate on the matter in certain quarters, the world’s indigenous peoples dealt with the real impact of climate change every single day, whether it be in the form of sea level rise, the depletion of natural resources, or the destruction of fragile coastal and forest ecosystems.  He called for concrete policy actions in the area of air pollution, climate change and renewable energy, among others.

The representative of the non-governmental organization group reiterated the call for a new paradigm to address the cross-cutting issues linked to the Commission’s thematic cluster.  She said that the world lacked a source of modern decentralized energy and that complex issues needed to be addressed immediately.  The overall policy approach must be cautionary, but energy policies must be focused on the poor and must be aimed at phasing out subsidies in the energy sector.  She hoped the Commission could kick start a global sustainable energy transformation and that it could come up with policy options to promote innovative thinking on technology transfer and education programmes, among others.

Next, the representative of local authorities, mayor of a small city in the Philippines, said that climate change would bring more disasters and, therefore, the need for early warning systems was greater than ever.  She called on the Commission to draw on regional and local-level experiences, in the wake of the devastating natural disasters that had occurred in the past three years, to help come up with concrete policy options in the area of climate change and atmospheric and air pollution.  She urged the Commission in all its work to give special attention to cities and urban areas.  The world’s mayors looked forward to a planet filled with “green, walkable” cities, she added.

The representative of the workers and trade unions emphasized that industrial policy was the main driver for achieving the objectives of the meeting.  Corporate accountability must reinforce sustainable development and Governments should speak out about how industrial relations, for instance those related to bargaining, could become tools for implementation.  Intensive restructuring of industry must be guided by policies that addressed the impacts on the most vulnerable and employment losses must be taken into account.  Production and consumption linkages must be at the heart of the Commission’s work.  He noted that HIV/AIDS would lessen progress on climate change mitigation, especially in Africa.

He said Governments had fallen under a spell by believing that the best thing they could do was make themselves small, release the forces of the market and privatize utilities.  The challenge of climate change required Governments to initiative interstate action for international regulation and restraints on the way markets worked. 

The representative of business and industry said energy and sustainable development were interwoven priorities that required a balanced solution involving involvement of civil society and business.  More than half of the world population depended on biomass for their energy needs.  Because of its impact on health, the issue of indoor air pollution should be given a high priority.  Climate change required global solutions.  Because of increasingly diverse sources of greenhouse gas emission, measures should be divergent, as well as fair and flexible climate policies were needed.  Market forces must be allowed to operate in order to achieve the economic and social objectives. 

He said industrial development made a great contribution to sustainable development and relied, among other things, on sound science and risk management.  Innovation came mostly from business.  The priorities for his sector included:  improving access to and increasing the supply of energy and its efficiencies; increasing investment and finance for sustainable development and technological innovation; and strengthening partnerships.

The representative of the scientific and technological communities said current options were insufficient to meet energy needs and the present levels of investment were not adequate to ensure that needed technological advances would occur.  He, therefore, recommended “massive” public and private sector investments in cleaner and carbon-free technologies; increasing energy efficiency; and increasing the share of renewables.  Secure nuclear energy systems were also needed.  That all required partnership between Government and the private sector, as well as international cooperation. 

He said climate change was due to human activities.  While strong public policies were needed to reduce greenhouse emissions, actions were also needed to adapt to climate change and limit its social costs and impacts.  To that end, there was a need for improved scientific understanding, particularly of the impact of climate change at the regional level.  In that connection, he recommended support for long-term observations and a vigorous pursuit of climate-related research.  As air pollution was a growing problem, all nations should maintain a strong scientific and technological foundation for addressing the matter.  In order to better harness the forces of science and technology, action was necessary to reduce the existing gap between North and South and to increase South-South cooperation.

The representative of farmers said farmers suffered most from climate change, but the agricultural sector also had the potential to provide answers to the impacts of climate change.  Farmers should not carry the burden of climate change alone, but must be supported in efforts to adapt to impacts at the international, regional, national and local levels.  Governments should support farmer driven initiatives.  Partnerships between farmers and research communities were essential, as were improvements of early warning systems.  It was important that measures for mitigating climate change were integrated in the agenda of development agencies.

He said renewable energy was becoming key, and farmers could well provide renewable energies.  National Governments should, therefore, support sustainable energy expansion in the agricultural sector and encourage investments.  Farmers should be involved from production to distribution, so that they could benefit directly from it, which would provide a real opportunity for poverty reduction.  National Governments should also develop policies -– such as tax incentives, for instance -– to encourage farmers’ involvement in the development of renewable energy resources.  Research and development programmes for the development of renewable energy were also necessary.  There was a need to bring all stakeholders together to develop win-win partnerships.

Panel Discussion on Small Island Developing States

In the afternoon, the Intergovernmental Meeting held an interactive panel discussion on challenges, as well as policies and measures that had worked and why relating to the efforts of small island developing States to address energy for development, industrial development, air pollution/atmosphere and climate change.

Opening the discussion, LESLIE WALLING, Executive Director of the Caribbean Conservation Association, said that, about 13 years ago, the region had embarked on a wide-ranging course of action to prepare for the adverse effects of global climate change through adaptation planning.  The region had demonstrated its commitment to adaptation planning by undertaking a series of independent but strategically related initiatives designed to, among other things, build capacity, assess vulnerability, and mainstream adaptation planning into decision-making processes at the national and regional levels.

He went on to highlight the successes of several of the projects that had grown out of the initiative, including the Caribbean Planning for Adaptation to Climate Change (CPACC) project, which had, among other things, established a sea level rise and climate monitoring system.  A total of 18 monitoring systems along with the related data management and information networks had been installed in 12 countries.  That project had been designed through an extensive process of consultation, which had led to a high-level of consensus and feeling of ownership.  The coordination and in-country implementation had been led by National Implementation Coordination United, many of whom had been Government representatives in the Climate Change Convention negotiating process.

Overall, he said that participation was necessary for fostering sustainable development.  Such participation and participatory planning should ensure the early active and continual involvement of all stakeholders, the incorporation of the views and opinion of individuals, as well as stakeholder groups, and, among other things, provision of information to allow stakeholders to make decisions.  Looking ahead, he said that there was a real need to enhance the region’s research and data collection capacity.  Such improvements would allow stakeholders to more thoroughly research and document examples of community adaptation in post-disaster circumstances, as well as the impact of climate change on sustainable livelihoods, particularly tourism.

PAUL FAIRBARN, Manager, Community Lifeline Programme of the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC), said, as an overarching factor, security of energy supply and access to energy were pivotal, since most small island developing States were nearly all totally dependent on imported fossil fuels for meeting energy needs.  Moreover, an estimated 70 per cent of Pacific islanders did not have access to modern energy supplies.

He said for Pacific small island developing States, the development of a regional energy policy had provided a guideline for development of national energy policies and strategic work plans.  However, there was still a need for technical assistance and capacity-building for such States in order for them to design programmes and project proposals that would assist them in accessing funding.  The development of national energy policies had been through a fully participatory approach.  The energy and gender component were being strengthened through the Pacific Energy and Gender Network.

As most small island developing States were nearly totally dependent on imported fossil fuels, it was imperative that technical and financial support be provided in order to identify options for reducing the cost of imported petroleum products, he said.  During the 2006 Pacific Islands Forum, leaders had expressed the need to consider the option of bulk purchasing of petroleum, an option for which technical and expert support was urgently needed.  In parallel with the reduction in petroleum costs, there was a need for increased programmes and initiatives that allowed for the integration of new and renewable energy technologies, such as hydropower, wind, solar and biomass.  However, other innovations, such as biofuels, wave energy and ocean currents must still be developed. 

In order to progress to new and renewable energy technology, the uniqueness of the small island developing States must be fully acknowledged, he said.  They had different natural renewable energy resources and different development needs.  Their locations often exposed them to extremes in weather events and hence to vulnerability of installations, such as wind turbines.  Other aspects were the initial high cost of implementation and maintenance.  There was, therefore, a need for assistance in the research of the individual renewable energy resources available within small island developing States, as well as for access to financing and technology transfer.  Capacity-building needed to be done across key sectors.

Development of biofuel initiatives for small island developing States was hampered by a lack of methodologies that enabled access to development funding, he said.  Improved access to, and the provision of, financing through appropriate mechanisms that could be realistically achieved by small island developing States were, therefore, necessary.  Such States would require, now and in the future, significant levels of assistance in addressing both the supply side and demand side of their energy sectors.  Options must also be pursued for the development and use of cleaner burning biofuels, as a means of reducing indoor and ambient air pollution.  Small island developing States could benefit from access to technical support.

TOM GOREAU, President of the Global Coral Reef Alliance, said that small island developing States were the “first and worst” victims of climate change.  Every year, more and more low-lying islands were just disappearing.  Every year, the reality was proving to be worse than the dire projections about carbon emissions and climate change, in particular sea level rise.  He said that, although small islands lacked the industrial development to make them real contributors to atmospheric pollution, the global distribution of such pollutants severely affected them, nonetheless.

He said that many small islands possessed large, untapped clean energy resources –- primarily tidal and solar.  The international community needed to use those resources to generate clean industries that were based on renewable natural resources, thus conserving ecosystems, enhancing their productivity and restoring damaged forests and reefs.  The answer was simple:  just put less CO2 into that atmosphere.  But, at the same time, he stressed that wind was not reliable, except for islands in the Caribbean and Pacific Trade Wind Zones.  Moreover, solar panels were not the answer, because they were too expensive to mass produce. 

So, what was needed were new sustainable development technologies for small island developing States to adapt to and prevent climate change and increase renewable energy sources, he said, adding that concrete policies were needed to promote and fund implementation on the many new, proven and cost-effective technologies that could help small islands.  Tidal energy was the largest sustainable and non-polluting energy resource of almost all Pacific and Indian Ocean island nations, Cape Verde, and many coastal least developed countries, such as Guinea-Bissau and Guyana. ,

He went on to say that new kilns were available that allowed any biomass, not just plant oils and sugars, to be converted into hydrogen based biofuels.  He noted that most small islands had large areas of coconut palms that had little economic value, but great potential for biofuels.  If biomass was managed renewably, the fuels produced did not add carbon to the atmosphere.  He also said that sewage could be turned into non-polluting hydrogen fuels for vehicles and engines, fertilizer and clean-water run electrical equipment.  He noted that Turks and Caicos was the only country in the world that treated its sewage to adequate levels to remove and recycle nutrients.  He went on to highlight other energy sources and the need to develop policies that would lead to coral reef restoration and shore protection. 

In the following discussion, representatives of small island developing States stressed that their countries were highly vulnerable and faced exceptionally severe and complex difficulties in the pursuit of sustainable development.  They were often clusters of small and remote islands, responsible for a biologically rich exclusive economic zone.  Their strong reliance on fossil fuel imports and high exposure to external shocks were formidable challenges for their development.  The adverse impacts of climate change were devastating for such States.  “In fact, their very existence is at risk,” one speaker said.

Speakers said that the threat of climate change presented the most pressing environmental challenge confronting small island developing States.  Some noted that it was ironic that, while those small States made the smallest contribution to global climate change, they were most threatened by its impact.  The best adaptation strategy for small island developing States to mitigate climate change’s impact would be meaningless in the absence of global action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change.  Damage from climate change and the threat of further destruction had already led to the relocation of communities and economic activities.  The rise of sea levels threatened the survival of some small island States.  A climate change trust fund for such States was urgently needed, and States that had not done so should ratify and implement the Kyoto Protocol.

The representatives of small island developing States underlined that energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies should be adapted to the special conditions of their States with a special focus on wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, hydroelectric and ocean energy.  As renewable energies were expensive, one should look at innovation, which could come through South-South cooperation or the European Community Energy Facility.  A global fund on renewable energy, with a special window for small island developing States would go a long way towards ensuring the sustainable development and existence of those States.  Pacific small island developing States were looking into bulk purchase of fossil fuels.

Noting proposals for the use of nuclear power as a means to reduce greenhouse emissions, a speaker from the Pacific region emphasized the devastating impact of radiological contamination.  Some speakers noted that tidal wave energy was the largest energy resource for many small island developing States, but that is was largely underutilized.  That mode of energy should be mainstreamed into existent programmes and activities.  As solar energy remained elusive and expensive, speakers asked what the Commission could do to promote the cost-reduction of that form of energy.  Other speakers stressed the need for transparency and inclusiveness for both men and women in energy development in the Pacific region and called on the international community to place emphasis on financing of technologies that addressed poor women’s energy needs and indoor air pollution. 

Addressing the issue of air pollution, speakers called on the international community to demonstrate more political will in implementing Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.  They noted that air pollution had not only a negative impact on human health, but also on socio-economic development, ecosystems and cultural heritage.  They called for enhancing technical capacities and access to financial resources to control illegal trade in ozone-depleting substances, and for more coordination among agencies responsible for regulating, monitoring and enforcing emission controls.

Some speakers stressed that the international community must support small island developing States in creating an enabling environment for industrial development and called for a global partnership aimed at:  increasing access to foreign direct investments; the reduction of tariff and non-tariff barriers to industrial imports; and the transfer of environmentally-sound technologies at affordable prices.

Among the speakers from developed countries taking the floor, one speaker said that small islands were a barometer for climate change and were, therefore, a critical testing ground for innovative policies aimed at addressing that issue and linked concerns, such as melting ice and sea level rise.  She stressed, however, that the Commission was not the venue for climate change negotiations, but a key forum for jump-starting worldwide action to address the matter.  She added that developing nations should lead the way in elaborating relevant policies and strategies, particularly as they were the countries whose carbon emissions were set to increase most significantly in the coming years.

Another speaker for the developed world said delegations were here to promote implementation.  They must focus on concrete programmes that had shown real success in many countries, including in small island States.  Delegations should not spend the time allotted chasing rhetorical solutions, but spend that time capturing real solutions, and, replicating, for instance clean energy projects that had proven successful. 

A speaker from a large developing country said that “those that were more fortunate” were responsible for providing the requisite assistance to small islands, particularly in such areas as disaster mitigation and management and technology transfer.

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For information media • not an official record