Economic and Social Council

2008 Substantive Session

21^st Meeting (AM)

REGIONAL COMMISSIONS ‘PILLAR FOR SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION’, CONDUIT FOR IDEA

EXCHANGE, ECOSOC TOLD, AS IT HOLDS DIALOGUE WITH EXECUTIVE SECRETARIES

Giving their regional perspectives on the rising global food prices, aid effectiveness and energy security, the Executive Secretaries of the Economic and Social Council’s regional commissions stressed today that together the commissions represented a “pillar for south-south cooperation”, and acted as a conduit for the exchange of ideas in their areas of operation.

The dialogue with the Executive Secretaries of the regional commissions, convened under the theme of “The regional dimension of the themes of the high-level segment of 2008”, included Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP); Abdoulie Janneh, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA); Marek Belka, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE); Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC); and Bader Omar Aldafa, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA). 

In his capacity as Convenor of the Executive Committee on Economic and Social Affairs, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Sha Zukang opened the meeting, saying that regional perspectives on such issues were very important for the United Nations work, as they helped to mould global processes into specific regional needs and priorities.  The Department of Economic and Social Affairs had particular interest in today’s meeting and was present “to listen and to learn”.

Focusing on energy security and sustainable development in Asia-Pacific, Ms. Heyzer said there was no time to waste in shifting to a new energy paradigm that reduced dependence, managed current use and searched for new energy alternatives.  “The region is running on an ecological deficit,” she said, noting that the Asia-Pacific only had 40 per cent of the global land mass and the lowest per-capita freshwater resources.  Moreover, over the past decade, energy consumption had been 20 per cent above the global average.  There was an urgent need to move away from the vicious cycle of energy consumption that exacerbated poverty, drove climate change and maintained dependence on fossil fuels.  To that end, ESCAP had supported policy options that stressed sustainable energy benefits, including those that promoted infrastructure investment, among other things.

Turning to food security in Africa, Mr. Janneh said the number of people suffering from chronic hunger had increased between 1990 and today, and that was happening despite a considerable rise in food imports.  Driving Africa’s food insecurity was the poor performance of the agricultural sector:  less than 6 per cent of arable land was under irrigation, versus 40 per cent in Asia, and crop yields had generally stagnated or declined.  In addition, Africa’s urban population was projected to double by 2030, a pattern fuelled by poverty-induced rural-urban migration.  Immediate policy options should focus on sustainable agriculture.  Bold Government action was needed, particularly in the areas of technology, infrastructure and institutions, as was a scaling up of official development assistance (ODA) flows to agriculture.

Mr. Belka, speaking about energy efficiency’s contribution to reducing world poverty, pointed out that more than 80 per cent of energy was produced from CO₂ emitting fossil fuels and, without major policy adjustments, that scenario was unlikely to change dramatically over the next 25 years.  The damage caused by global warming would continue to wreak havoc for those living closest to the equator, and in poor communities least able to adapt to the changes.  The sub-Saharan region would be the most vulnerable region, followed by south, south-east and central Asia, and then the Middle East.  Addressing global warming required several measures:  identifying alternatives to fossil fuels, such as biofuels, wind and solar energy; switching to less CO₂ intensive fossil fuels; boosting carbon capture and sequestration; increasing energy efficiency; and focusing on adaptation, among other things.

Discussing the impact of rising food and fuel prices on the Latin American and the Caribbean region, Ms. Bárcena said that, on the economic front, there was an increased risk of inflation.  From a social standpoint, progress in poverty reduction efforts risked being eroded.  The real question centred on Government action –- particularly in designing new public policies -- as “markets won’t take care of poor people”.  Today, the region was better prepared to handle challenges, primarily because it had decided to save during stronger, good growth periods.  Short-term goals should focus on buffering domestic markets against food price increases, in part through direct subsidies for lower income groups.  In the long-term, she called for increasing productivity in a sustainable manner.

Taking up the question of energy for sustainable development in Western Asia, Mr. Aldafa said his region enjoyed significant oil and natural gas resources, with nine of its member countries accounting for some 56 and 30 per cent, respectively, of world supplies.  Nonetheless, it was continuously working to improve its energy efficiency by promoting relevant policies, codes of practice and energy labelling regulations, among other things.  There had been limited progress in the areas of renewable energy, but steps had been taken to promote the use of solar water heaters, and make use of wind and solar energy.  Furthermore, successful programmes were under way to upgrade the fuel efficiency of national fleets.  For its part, ESCWA was facilitating and promoting policy formulation, advocacy and collaboration with member countries and other regional bodies, such as the League of Arab States.  The Commission also hoped to increase investment and financial flows for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The Economic and Social Council will reconvene at 3 p.m. this afternoon to open its coordination segment, which will feature a panel discussion under the theme “Working towards food security:  the United Nations system approach”.

Background

The Council had before it the Secretary-General’s report entitled regional cooperation in the economic, social and related fields (document E/2008/15), which provides regional perspectives on major issues on the global agenda, including a midpoint overview on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.  The overview recognizes progress made, identifies implementation gaps and underscores the threat posed by new challenges, notably rising food and energy costs.

The report also provides a regional overview on the question of financing for development in advance of the Follow-Up International Conference on Financing for Development, to be held in Doha from 29 November to 2 December.  Priority issues and challenges relating to the six actions set out in the Monterrey Consensus, adopted at the 2002 International Conference on Financing for Development, are also highlighted, as are regional initiatives to address climate change and promote south-south cooperation.

Speaking in his capacity as Convenor of the Executive Committee on Economic and Social Affairs, Under-Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs SHA ZUKANG said the Council’s high-level segment had covered a wide range of issues, including the current food crisis, enhancement of aid effectiveness and taking an integrated approach to rural development.  Today, the Council would hear regional perspectives on such issues, which were very important for the United Nations work, as they helped to mould global processes into specific regional needs and priorities.  The Department of Economic and Social Affairs had particular interest in today’s meeting, notably as the Convenor of the Executive Committee, and was present today “to listen and to learn”.

As the Secretary-General’s report had indicated, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the regional commissions were consulting on how to better collaborate to serve the new functions of the Economic and Social Council -- the Annual Ministerial Review and the Development Cooperation Forum -- including through regional meetings in preparation for global events, he said.  The Department would do its best to further strengthen that collaboration, particularly next year, when it would collaborate closely with the World Health Organization on global health issues, and help the Council focus on implementation of the Goals related to health.

Presentations by Regional Commissions

Focusing on energy security and sustainable development, NOELEEN HEYZER, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP), there was a new sense of urgency in the region to reduce dependency on fossil fuels, address the issue of global warming and still generate shared prosperity, while sustaining the environment.  All of that was proving to be increasingly challenging, because of the sharp rise in the prices of oil prices and other commodities.

“The Asia Pacific is, therefore, caught in pincer grip”, facing a serious energy security challenge in supporting its rapid economic growth strategy.  The challenge was to find ways to produce and consume in a sustainable way and ensure that countries of the region did not deplete natural resources.  There was no time to waste for the region to shift to a new energy paradigm that reduced dependence, managed current use and searched for new energy alternatives, she said, adding that the countries of the region were determined to find ways to move towards the Millennium Development Goals, while pursuing a sustainable energy framework.

On energy security issues in the region, she said the Asia-Pacific had chosen to pursue a high-growth strategy, but was still coping with some 640 million of its people living in poverty, rising inequalities, as well as wasteful consumption and production.  “The region is running on an ecological deficit,” she said, noting that Asia-Pacific only had 40 per cent of the global land mass, and the lowest per capita freshwater resources.  Moreover, over the past decade, energy consumption had been 20 per cent above global average; most of that demand driven by the region’s developing countries.  Many people in those countries were still forced to use traditional biomass for fuel, and that was troubling because more than 70 per cent of global greenhouse gas was generated by energy use.

She went on to say that the region had also been affected by the rise of energy prices and decrease in the value of the United States dollar, since oil and other fuel sources were traded in that currency.  Overall, that energy insecurity was causing, among other things, widespread social insecurity, especially at the household level, as poor families were exposed to the high prices.  Capacity for social development, therefore, was stunted, as most of the resources needed for basic necessities were now being eaten up to cover fuel costs.  There was also the ecological imperative, as such rampant consumption could spur global warming, and because some 34 per cent emissions were generated by the Asia-Pacific region.

Continuing, she said there was an urgent need to move away from the vicious cycle of energy consumption that exacerbated poverty and drove climate change and maintained a dependency on fossil fuels, towards a “virtuous cycle”, which promoted energy security, quality socio-economic growth and research in renewable energy sources.  To that end, ESCAP had supported policy options that stressed sustainable energy benefits, including those that promoted infrastructure investment and savings, and a reduction in energy consumption.

She said that ESCAP’s six-prong strategy had been adopted by the countries in the region and focused on:  internalizing ecological costs; demand-side management; technology innovation; distributed energy systems; greater competitiveness; and sustainable infrastructure investments.  ESCAP had also promoted multilateral dialogues on energy security matters, the signing of long-term agreements, and trans-boundary energy projects and regional technology transfer initiatives.

ABDOULIE JANNEH, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), speaking on “Food security, sustainable development and the MDGs in Africa”, said the food situation on the continent continued to be a major concern, with under-nourishment affecting about one third of its population.  The number of those suffering from chronic hunger -- a perennial problem -- had increased between 1990 and today, and that was happening despite a considerable rise in food imports.  Indeed, Africa received about $20 billion in annual food aid.

Driving Africa’s food insecurity was the poor performance of the agricultural sector, he said, underscoring that less than 6 per cent of arable land was under irrigation, versus 40 per cent in Asia, and that crop yields had generally stagnated or declined.  Urbanization and population growth were also factors.   Africa’s urban population had grown at 5 per cent annually in the last two decades, and was projected to double by 2030.  Such patterns had been fuelled by poverty-induced rural-urban migration.  Climate change was also a major threat to food security and overall development in Africa, and virtually all agro-ecological zones were vulnerable to global warming. 

The policy options for immediate action centred around sustainable agriculture, he said, which required a “new vision for rural transformation”.  Bold Government action was needed, particularly in the areas of technology, infrastructure and institutions.  The New Partnership for Africa’s Development’s (NEPAD) Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) provided a framework for that.  Next, on the issue of development cooperation, he supported the World Bank’s efforts to boost agriculture’s share of its portfolio.

He said official development assistance (ODA) flows to agriculture should also be scaled up:  non-traditional sources, such as India and China, should focus on food security, while the European Union and the United States should deal urgently with agricultural subsidies in their regions.  Regional action was also needed, and south-south cooperation that promoted knowledge sharing on food security was an under-used resource.

Discussing the Commission’s role in creating food security and sustainable development, he said the Commission supported the Regional Economic Communities and the African Union Commission in defining investments around the systematic development of value chains of strategic food commodities.  Further, ECA was collaborating with the African Union and the African Development Bank to develop a land policy framework and establish an African Climate Policy Centre to help countries mainstream climate change concerns into development policies.  In closing, he said urgent efforts were needed to improve food security in Africa.  Development cooperation was a “must for success”, alongside African country efforts.   Malawi was on the brink of full self-sufficiency, which showed that African leadership was critical for success in that area.

On energy efficiency’s contribution to reducing world poverty, MAREK BELKA, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE), said that there was no doubt that economic growth would continue to drive global warming and, in turn, such climate change and increases in weather anomalies would have a particularly devastating impact on tropical agriculture.  As a result, the world’s poorest, the so called “bottom billion”, would be seriously impacted.  More than 80 per cent of energy is produced from CO₂ emitting fossil fuels and, without major policy adjustments, that was unlikely to change dramatically over the next 25 years.

With that in mind, the damage caused by global warming would continue to wreak havoc for those living closest to the equator, as well as poor communities that were the least able to adapt to the changes.  The sub-Saharan region would be the most vulnerable region, followed by south, south-east and central Asia, and then the Middle East.  Further, ECE had estimated that increased temperatures and increased seasonal variability in rainfall were likely to cause agricultural yields of certain crops to drop by as much as 50 per cent, as soon as 2020.

He went on to say that agricultural subsistence farmers, especially in the least developed countries, where they made up the bulk of that sector, would be the most seriously impacted.  Also, intra- and possibly inter-State conflicts over scarce water resources and increased poverty were bound to rise; migration out of those regions would intensify and infectious diseases would continue to spread.  He added that an increase in global temperature by just 2.5° C would result in incalculable economic losses, especially for the low income countries in Africa, as well as in India and other middle and lower-middle income countries.  ECE estimates had shown that China and the transition economies might stabilize, in the medium-term.

Overall, he said that addressing global warming required identifying alternatives to fossil fuels (biofuels, wind and solar energy, tidal, hydro and nuclear alternatives); switching to less CO₂ intensive fossil fuels and boosting carbon capture and sequestration; increased energy efficiency, focused on cheap, reliable existing options; and adaptation.  On adaptation, he added that specific efforts would have to be made to help poor countries because, as the Stern Review had revealed, adaptation was much more expensive than mitigation.

He also stressed that increasing energy efficiency, or “greening” energy strategies, were often the least costly ways to reduce CO₂ emissions.  By example, he noted that improving such things as building insulation, home and industrial lighting, and vehicle fuel efficiency, as well as low-cost forestation, among others, were cheap, easy and efficient ways to promote ecological and environmental health that would yield broad based results relatively quickly.

Turning to the role of ECE in energy efficiency projects, he highlighted the Commission’s efforts to help identify and develop investment projects, including technical assistance in preparing bankable proposals; reform policy, including strengthening renewable energy policy by assisting municipal and national authorities to introduce economic, institutional and regulatory reforms that supported investment projects; and finance energy efficiency investments, including promoting opportunities for banks and commercial companies to invest in energy efficient projects.

ALICIA BÁRCENA, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), spoke about “The socio-economic and environmental impact of rising food and energy prices in Latin America and the Caribbean”.  Describing the repercussions of rising prices in food, agriculture and energy commodities, she said that food inflation in the last five years was higher than general inflation in most Latin American and Caribbean countries.  Countries such as Panama, Costa Rica and Trinidad and Tobago, among others, had shouldered a particular burden. 

There were several causes of today’s situation, foremost among them the current financial volatility and slowdown in world economic growth.  There was also a surge in global inflation rates.  While countries in her region had made efforts to cool down inflation to an average 6 per cent in 2006, today it was at 10 per cent.  Other important factors included increased world food demand from Asia; supply shocks, including a halt of exports in countries such as Indonesia; the price rise of oil and oil-based agrochemicals; growing demand for biofuels; speculative purchases in futures markets; and climate related factors.

Affecting production were such factors as a dry spring in northern Europe, and continued drought in countries such as Ukraine and the Russian Federation.  In her region, there had been a late frost in important wheat-growing areas and an unusually hot and dry summer in Canada during the harvest period.  On biofuels, she said ethanol in her region was produced from sugar cane, which meant that it did not compete with food production.  “We are really in a change of era,” she said, underscoring that oil must be replaced by other forms of energy.  While her region was a net food exporter, she said some food importing countries, such as Mexico and Haiti, were facing critical problems.  Under-nourishment, a huge challenge, was due mostly to access issues, rather than shortages in the food supply.

The economic impact of all that was an increased risk of inflation, she said, and regional central banks were determining how to handle that issue.  On the social impacts, she said progress in poverty reduction efforts risked being eroded.  Extreme poverty would grow, if no public policy action was taken.  If Governments increased poor families’ income, the social impact would be softened, but would still be “very high”.  The sustainable development impacts included increased competition between agriculture and forest lands.

The real question centred on Government action –- particularly in designing new public policies -- as “markets won’t take care of poor people”, she said.  Today, the region was better prepared to handle challenges, primarily because it had decided to save during stronger, good growth periods.  However, certain areas remained vulnerable, particularly Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean.  Short-term goals should focus on buffering domestic markets against food price increases, in part through direct subsidies for lower income groups.  Tariff reductions for food and inputs were also needed.  In the long-term, she called for increasing productivity in a sustainable manner.  In that context, investment in research and development for biofuel production and strengthening of extension services were needed.

On energy for sustainable development for Western Asia, BADER OMAR ALDAFA, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA), said that his region enjoyed significant oil and natural gas resources, with nine of its member countries accounting for some 56 and 30 per cent, respectively, of world supplies.  At the same time, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine and Yemen had little or no gas or oil reserves.  He said that similar disparities among and between countries of the region had kept average growth over the past two years at about 5.6 per cent.  Further, some 19 million -- or 10 per cent –- of the people in the region, mostly in rural areas, had no access to appropriate energy services, especially electricity.

He said that the region was continuously working to improve its energy efficiency, by promoting, among others, relevant policies, codes of practice and energy labelling regulations, performing energy audits and implementing energy efficiency field projects.  There had been limited progress in the areas of renewable energy, but steps had been taken in promoting the use of solar water heaters, and in making use of wind and solar energy.  He said that the region was also pursuing cleaner fuels and advance fossil fuel technologies.  It was also increasing the share of natural gas in its energy mix and was promoting the use of unleaded gas and low-sulphur diesel transport.

He also highlighted successful programmes under way to upgrade the fuel efficiency of national fleets, improve fuel specifications, and to enhance existing subregional electric grid connections and natural gas pipelines, with plans to build others on the table.  ESCWA, for its part, was facilitating and promoting policy formulation, advocacy and collaboration with member countries and other regional bodies, such as the League of Arab States.  It had been instrumental in adopting the 2002 Arab Initiative for Sustainable Development, and the 2003 Adu-Dhabi Declaration on Environment and Energy, among others.  It had also strengthened wider regional cooperation through, among other ways, cooperation initiatives with the Council of Arab Ministers responsible for electricity.

As for upcoming activities, he said that ESCWA planned to prepare an assessment of the effects of climate change on economic and social development in the region; prepare a report on “energy policies and measures for promoting climate change mitigation in ESCWA countries”; and develop an Arab framework on climate change, in cooperation with other regional bodies.  ESCWA was also hoping to further strengthen south-south cooperation for sustainable development in the region, provide technical support by conducting needs assessments for clean energy technologies and implementation, and support the formulation of policies to increase investment and financial flows for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Exchange of Views

The debate was then opened for questions and comments, with representatives asking about how carbon finance would be diffused among countries, whether programmes were in place to increase private sector participation, and whether data existed showing that sugar cane-based biofuel production had not negatively affected a country’s food situation.  Other speakers drew attention to the importance of completing the Doha round of trade talks, recognizing the specific vulnerabilities of small island developing States to climate change, and enhancing cooperation among the regional commissions.

The representative of Malaysia asked to what degree countries in the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific were prepared to change their lifestyles to achieve a “paradigm shift”.

The representative of Saint Lucia highlighted that sufficient attention had not been paid to water resources management.

On the biofuels issue, the representative of Brazil said her country had produced biofuels for 30 years, which had occurred alongside increases in food production.  Biofuels were produced using 1 per cent of all arable lands, which was how Brazil could say that their production did not compete with food production.

Contributing to that discussion, the representative of the Philippines said the question of arable land was just one factor in whether a farmer would produce a certain product.  Also, education was needed before a “paradigm shift” could take place -– people needed to know more about how their choices impacted economic growth.

Responding to questions, Mr. JANNEH said that ECA was working to expand its cooperation with other regional and international bodies, including the African Development Bank, which was proving to be an able and reliable partner.  The private sector was also playing a broader role in ECA’s work, he added, noting that the Commission now had a private sector division that monitored and followed up on its work with such actors.  It was also working on a “common management knowledge platform” with other regional commissions to avoid duplication and to share best practices.

Ms. HEYZER added that the commissions together represented a pillar for south-south cooperation, acting essentially as a conduit for the exchange of ideas and best practices between their areas of operation.  She also highlighted the system-wide Regional Coordination Mechanism, which pulled together the regional-level work of all the United Nations funds, programmes and specialized agencies, mainly to provide and ensure policy coherence and coordination, which was exactly where the strength of the commissions rested.

Mr. BELKA said that “duplication” was a fashionable word that actually, at the international level, most often referred to competing initiatives, rather than similar projects taken up jointly.  ECE, as well as the other regional commissions, worked in partnership, towards similar aims.  They all tried to avoid overlapping efforts.  “Everything we do, we do in partnership,” he said.  On global warming, he said that ECE did not try to craft “grand policies” for climate change or adaptation.  Rather, it targeted specific sectors, inside and outside the region, for policy action.

Next, Mr. ALDAFA said that the current energy and commodity price crisis required all regional bodies to work closely together, including non-traditional partners.  Ms. HEYZER said that the establishment of subregional offices, including in the Eurasian region, together with ECA, was “very much” still a part of ESCAP’s forthcoming programme activities.  Plans to that end were set to be discussed in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) very soon.  She also said that the next agricultural revolution had to focus on post-harvest technologies.  The first revolution focused on seeds and fertilizers.  Today, however, studies had shown that as much as 20 per cent of rice crops were lost through poor post-harvest processing.  Stepped up efforts and scaled up financing must be earmarked for improving those technologies.

Ms. BARCENA said that ECLAC had to improve its efforts in the area of natural disasters in her region.  It would also boost its focus on water management and oil resources in the very near future.

Also participating in the discussion were the representatives of Ethiopia, Republic of Korea, Paraguay, Russian Federation, Kenya, Indonesia, Jamaica, New Zealand, Barbados, Sudan, Kazakhstan and Japan.

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