Opening
statement by Mrs. Danuta Hübner,
United Nations Under-Secretary-General,
Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe (UNECE)
at the Regional Ministerial Meeting
for the World Summit on Sustainable Development
Geneva, 24-25 September 2001
Geneva, 24 September 2001
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro
in 1992 established sustainable development as a consensus concept for
improving the quality of economic growth, promoting better social security and
reducing the pressures on the environment. Sustainable development has thus
become a new way of thinking and acting.
Basically
the concept of sustainable development is simple: the present generation must
not pursue its economic, social and environmental goals to the detriment of
future generations’ development opportunities. This kind of solidarity
between generations may be seen as self-evident on a conceptual level, but in
everyday life the reality has been, and often is, quite different.
When
the Rio Conference adopted Agenda 21, a comprehensive programme for action,
the document was evidence of the optimism prevailing at that time: the Summit
believed that the global community could move towards sustainable development
on a broad front and on many levels of society. Today, we can say that without
the spirit of Rio it is certain that much less would have been achieved.
Let
me make just a few observations on the changes in our region, sometimes
towards sustainable development and sometimes away from it, drawing from the
“Assessment of Progress in Sustainable Development since Rio 1992 for Member
States of UNECE”, prepared by UNECE in cooperation with UNEP’s Regional
Office for Europe, which assesses achievements and failures in the region in
implementing the Rio decisions.
The
most radical changes in the region have taken place in the countries with
economies in transition. The transition has proven to be much more painful
than anticipated. At the beginning of the process, production levels fell
sharply in most countries, resulting in an increase in unemployment. Poverty
spread to large parts of the population as a result of the drop in incomes and
the virtual collapse of the social security systems. Income distribution
became extremely uneven, weakening social cohesion. Corruption and criminality
developed as the public authorities saw their resources and capabilities
severely cut back.
On
the other hand, a new class of entrepreneurs established itself, in some
countries more easily than in others, thus laying a new foundation for
economic growth. The march towards democracy also fostered a new sense of
openness and transparency throughout society as a whole. Non-governmental
organizations were formed in unprecedented numbers. In several countries
Governments launched and implemented successful transition strategies. The
European Union’s enlargement process has played a crucial role as a vehicle
for reform and growth, contributing also to environmentally friendly
structural and institutional transformations in the region.
Where
are we in our region today with regard to the sustainability of development?
The
environmental developments in the region present a mixed picture. The economic
decline in the countries in transition led to a decrease in emissions to air,
water and soil. In most
countries, however, the decrease was smaller than would have been expected
from the economic slow-down. For example, the energy intensity of many
economies, in fact, increased, due to a lack of investment. Waste-water
treatment plants lost purification efficiency due to inadequate maintenance
and drastic changes in water flows. The waste situation deteriorated further
as no priority was given to this problem, so aggravating the legacy from the
past.
In
most of the mature market economies sulphur emissions to the air were reduced
substantially. Emissions of nitrogen oxides stabilized or were somewhat
reduced, as were emissions of substances depleting stratospheric ozone.
However, overall emissions of greenhouse gases continued to increase, causing
widespread concern about the ability of Governments to counter this most
threatening of all environmental concerns.
The
treatment of waste water has been clearly improved in most western countries,
resulting in better water quality in many major rivers and lakes. The jury is
still out, however, as many of these rivers, lakes and coastal areas are
experiencing increasing environmental pressures, especially from the booming
tourist industry.
The
overall problems related to transport in urban areas are particularly
disturbing. Congestion problems have been coupled with urban sprawl, in
particular in North America, but also in parts of Western Europe, leading to a
greater need to use private cars. We
need more political determination to deal with these complex problems.
In
agriculture, in many economies in transition the use of fertilizers and
pesticides has been reduced, thereby decreasing emissions to soil and water.
However, the emergence of a great number of new, smaller farms may result in
greater pressure over time.
In
western countries, industrialized agriculture is showing growing signs of
stress. In many cases the health and quality of livestock are threatened and
the intensity of production has forced some countries to drastically reduce
production units.
An
environmentally sound development of the energy and transport services has
proved much more complicated than expected. Energy efficiency in traditional
market economies has improved, but the rate of improvement has slowed during
the past few years. There has been a slight increase in the share of renewable
energy sources, but it is still too low to be of significant importance in
most countries.
In
transition economies, progress in increasing energy efficiency has often been
frustrating. Despite evidence that substantial improvements can be
cost-efficient, progress has been slow in many countries. The low level of
investments in many key countries has allowed production capacity to become
run-down and excessively polluting.
Transport
continues to be a major source of problems in terms of air pollution, noise
and use of land. Congestion in urban areas has grown steadily in all parts of
the region. Public transport systems in countries in transition are losing
ground because their infrastructure and equipment are not renewed, and private
car ownership has surged. Technical improvements in new cars are being offset
by the increase in car size, ownership and use. The negative health impacts of
transport are becoming obvious.
One
of the crucial themes in Rio was the integration of environmental concerns in
decision-making in all sectors of society. The environmental administrations
should take initiatives based on their overall expertise in the need to combat
negative environmental impacts from economic sectors. The daily efforts to
limit environmental impacts should be carried out by the sectoral
administrations as an integral part of their normal work.
There is no doubt that awareness of the need for integration and
cross-sectoral cooperation has increased substantially since Rio. Many
countries have achieved good results in setting up cooperative structures.
This approach needs to be further strengthened in order to ensure a more
qualitative growth in the various sectors of activity. Hence the importance of
decoupling economic growth from resource use, as strongly advocated by the
OECD and the European Union.
Agenda
21 has encouraged a great number of local authorities to take concrete action
at the local level. Comprehensive programmes for translating the Rio
principles into action have been drafted and implemented in thousands of
municipalities in the ECE region. This is one of the tangible impacts of
Agenda 21, even if progress has been uneven here too. We must, however, do
more in this area.
The
impact of non-governmental organizations has increased during the post-Rio
period. The number of NGOs has grown and their expertise in matters of
sustainable development has improved considerably. Though this is true in
countries with economies in transition too, much remains to be done.
Let
me mention here the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public
Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental
Matters, the Aarhus Convention, which is undoubtedly one of the legal
breakthroughs on the international level in the promotion of greater public
involvement in environmental awareness raising and participation in
decision-making. The Convention enters into force on the 30th of
October this year, thus becoming a strong legally binding tool. Now great
emphasis should be given to its effective implementation and to promoting its
wider ratification. Implementation is what matters most.
The
main resources for development have to be fostered in the countries concerned
through effective economic and social policies. However, many countries are
finding it hard to mobilize the resources needed for a good start along the
road to sustainable development and will need external support. Many of the
countries in our region are major donors in the environmental field also.
However, only a few of them have been able to live up to the commitment,
renewed in Rio, to allocate 0.7 per cent of their GDP to official development
assistance. This insufficient financing also affects the emerging market
economies that face development problems. We all know that foreign direct
investment has a tendency to be channelled to relatively well-developed parts
of the region. The least developed transition economies, especially those of
the CIS and southeast Europe, have received very little foreign financial
impetus for their sustainable development.
The
political contribution from the ECE region to the World Summit in Johannesburg
in September 2002 is being decided upon at this meeting and for more than a
year UNECE has been preparing for it in cooperation with the UNEP’s Regional
Office for Europe. In addition to the assessment report which I mentioned
earlier, there have been important preparatory meetings which brought together
various groups of countries within the ECE region. Allow me to mention in
particular those organized by the OECD, the European Union as well as those
which took place in Bucharest for central European countries and in Almaty for
CIS countries. I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to all the
international organizations which are actively contributing to supporting
sustainable development in our region and which, for this reason, are also
involved in the process leading up to the Summit. Furthermore, we are working
in close cooperation with the UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs in
order to ensure synergies between the regional preparations and the global
preparatory process taking place in New York.
The
Ministerial Statement from this meeting has been the subject of intense
negotiations between Governments with broad participation also from different
non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations. The diversity of
economic and social conditions as well as of political opinions is reflected
in the draft statement, which is before you. It expresses commitments to making additional tangible progress in
sustainable development in ECE countries and it also provides a significant
message on the views of our region on the global issues to be addressed at the
Johannesburg Summit. This is particularly the case for the challenges of
poverty eradication and global governance, which will be the subject of the
two ministerial panels tomorrow. I
hope that this political message to the Johannesburg Summit will give a clear
indication that the Governments in our region are prepared to work together to
reinforce the commitments they made in Rio and to embark on new ones. Let me
stress that a fundamental requirement for implementing these commitments
effectively will be the determination of public authorities, civil society and
the business community to cooperate closely, and hence, to make real concerted
efforts, with the support of relevant international organizations, to find
concrete solutions to the major issues I have mentioned earlier.
Regional
preparations for the Summit do not take place in a vacuum. They build, in
particular, upon a number of ongoing regional processes in which the ECE is
largely involved by playing a catalytic role and contributing its expertise. I
would first like to mention the Ministerial process ‘Environment for
Europe’, which has gained wide recognition as the main high-level
environmental policy-making forum in the region. Preparations for the next
meeting in May 2003 in Kiev, Ukraine, are under way and the Ministerial
Statement to be adopted here can be used as a political signal for the Kiev
preparations, where appropriate.
Regional
cooperation on transport, environment and health is another process that is
developing on the basis of the decisions taken at the Vienna and London
Ministerial Conferences. This process, promoted jointly by the ECE and WHO,
has the potential to produce real contributions toward reducing the adverse
environmental and health impacts from transport, notably road transport. A
high-level meeting between the three sectors concerned was convened in May
this year to decide on further steps. I will inform you of the progress made
in this work later today.
Another
high-level political process with which the UNECE is closely associated is the
Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe, through which
Governments have made ambitious commitments to achieving sustainable forest
management in the region and transparent monitoring of progress towards this
goal.
In
the field of sustainable energy, the ECE provides a forum for countries to
exchange views and share experiences as well as to formulate energy strategies
and policies with a view to facilitating society’s transition to more
sustainable forms of energy production and consumption. In this respect, a
wide-ranging regional statement was adopted last year, identifying policy
responses required to meet the challenges of the 21st century in
the area of energy.
Last
but not least, I would like to stress the importance of the efforts made by
member States, within the ECE framework, to build a set of regional
environmental conventions and protocols. The ECE is determined to support the
promotion and further development of these legal instruments, as is currently
the case with the preparation of new protocols on liability for environmental
hazards and on strategic environmental assessment.
In concluding, I would like to note that in spite of some heart-warming
progress made through these various processes and tools, much still remains to
be done in the region on the road to a more sustainable future. That is why
this regional ministerial meeting must give new political impetus to regional
and global efforts to make the work for sustainable development more effective
and consistent. Our region has a particular responsibility in this sense due
to our historical legacies and our present problems and possibilities.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
On
behalf of the UNECE I warmly welcome you to this ministerial meeting and hope
that you will be successful in your deliberations.
*
* *
For
more information, please contact:
Kaj
Bärlund
Director
UNECE Environment and Human Settlements Division
Palais des Nations, office 336
CH - 1211 Geneva 10
Phone: +41 22 917 23 70
Fax: +41 22 907 01 07
E-mail: [email protected]
or:
Mary
Pat Silveira
UNECE Environment and Human Settlements Division
Palais des Nations, office 338
CH - 1211 Geneva 10
Phone: +41 22 917 13 15
Fax: +41 22 907 06 30
E-mail: [email protected]
Ref: ECE/ENV/01/10