Environmental issues and sustainable development

Emphasizing the pivotal role of the world’s forests in preventing runaway environmental catastrophe, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said this afternoon that immediate action on reducing deforestation was a critical part of the solution to climate change, as he opened his High-level Event on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation.

Nearly 100 world leaders have accepted United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s invitation to participate in a historic summit on climate change to mobilize political will and strengthen momentum for a fair, effective and ambitious climate deal in Copenhagen.

Climate change, the pre-eminent geopolitical and economic issue of the twenty-first century, threatened to rewrite the global equation for development, peace and prosperity, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, as he pressed world leaders to cooperate on a just and scientifically sound solution that strengthened sustainable development and powered green growth for every country.

In an agreement that signals a significant convergence between developing and developed countries on key issues, countries agreed on a wide range of policy options and measures at the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development to address the food and climate crises in a manner that improves the wealth and well-being of people while protecting the environment. The Commission reached its agreement on Friday evening, as it concluded its seventeenth session.

Convinced of the urgent need for a “bold, determined and innovative response” to the serious parallel crises affecting the world today, the Commission on Sustainable Development concluded its seventeenth session this evening, adopting a set of policy options to speed up agricultural development, along with practical measures to address drought, desertification, land use, rural development and lasting development in Africa.

A green revolution in Africa would only be possible if the approach to agricultural development on the continent underwent its own revolution, the Commission on Sustainable Development was told during the first of two plenary round tables today.

In the midst of a global recession and ongoing food price crisis, “things can deteriorate frighteningly fast”, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned today, as he urged the Commission on Sustainable Development to look beyond short-term measures and agree on a set of policy decisions that would revitalize agriculture, support small farmers and promote food security for all.

The challenge facing the Commission on Sustainable Development as it began the second week of its annual session was how to achieve a successful “harvest” of agreed actions and measurable deliverables, the Chairperson of that 53-member body said today, during a brief plenary meeting before negotiations recommenced on a set of policy recommendations to address agriculture, drought, desertification, land use, rural development and sustainable development in Africa.

At the end of the first week of its annual two-week session, the Commission on Sustainable Development was warned by its Chairperson that it must go further to overcome differences or it would risk falling short of its goal of fashioning critical global policies to address agriculture, drought, desertification, land use, rural development and sustainable development in Africa.

Meeting briefly this afternoon, the Commission on Sustainable Development heard briefings by the co-Chairpersons of its two working groups on the status of negotiations on the outcome document of the 53-member body’s current session.