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Statement by
H.E. Alemayehu Tegenu
Minister of Water and Energy of the
Federal Democratic Republic of
Ethiopia At the
United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development (Rio+20)
June 20, 2012
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Madame President,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to start by expressing appreciation to
you, Madame President, and to the Government and People
of Brazil, for your hospitality and for once again
hosting an International Conference called upon to
address vital issues critical to the very viability of
our planet. I wish also to express my gratitude and
appreciation to the delegation of Brazil for their
leadership in finalizing the outcome document.
It is undeniable this UN Conference on Sustainable
Development is taking place at a time when economic
difficulties have made states excessively inward
looking, perhaps almost to the point of giving short
shrift to the common challenge that humanity faces. It
is perhaps necessary to frankly admit this so that it
may be possible to summon the wisdom and the
farsightedness of twenty years ago which made it
possible for us to agree on our common but
differentiated responsibilities for the care of our
environment and to ensure sustainable development.
What this Rio+20 conference should avoid the most is
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backtracking on those commitments made twenty years
ago. The least that this conference can do is renew
those commitments and take a small step forward in
terms of the readiness to arrive at a consensus on the
means of implementation of the strategies and policies
that the conference sees fit to endorse. We now seem
finally to have made some progress, for which the host
country should be commended. Principles, strategies and
policies we endorse will continue to remain vacuous if
we fail to take seriously matters that relate to the
capacity that ensures their realization.
Madame President,
It could not have been possible to think of more
appropriate and pertinent themes for this conference
than the two that are before us. Let me say
immediately that as a country, we in Ethiopia view the
green economy, not as an option, but as a necessity and
as the only realistic and effective tool for ensuring
sustainable development in our country, for overcoming
poverty, improving the carrying capacity of our land
and protecting and improving our environment. It is in
line with this conviction that we have launched the
Climate Resilient Green Economy Strategy which, among
other things, aims to improve our crop and livestock
production practices, protect our forests for economic
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and ecosystem services, expand electricity generation
from renewable sources and resort to energy-efficient
and low carbon technologies in transport and industrial
sectors while creating opportunities for green jobs.
It gives me great satisfaction to state that this
commitment to the green economy is widely shared in
Africa and has in fact become a Common African
position, the AU having decided to embrace the
strategy. The African consensus statement on the issue
states that the transition to the green economy offers
new prospects of speeding up “Africa’s progress to
sustainable development through economic growth, job
creation and poverty reduction”.
But obviously, our commitment to the green economy,
whether at the country level or at the continental, is
not going to be sufficient for us to be able to carry
through the strategy. That is where action is called
for in the spirit of the principles endorsed in 1992 in
this same city, particularly in line with the principle
of common but differentiated responsibilities. It was
said, and agreed in 1992 at the UN Conference on the
Environment and Development, that “the developed
countries acknowledge the responsibility that they bear
in the international pursuit of sustainable development
in view of the pressures their societies place on the
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global environment and of the technologies and the
financial resources they command.” This commitment is
particularly pertinent to the situation in Africa
where, as was underlined in the Doha Declaration on
Financing for Development, “eradicating poverty is the
greatest global challenge facing the world today.”
That is indeed why the outcome of this conference, from
which so much has been expected for so long, would have
very little meaning without meaningful progress on the
means of implementation. There is a great need for
progress in this area that goes beyond empty
generalities if we are to continue to have confidence
in international partnership and in our ability to
honour commitments made, and this, in the interest of
our common future. As a country wholeheartedly
committed to the green economy, Ethiopia, for instance,
requires a great deal of support and cooperation to
ensure that its strategy succeeds. There is a great
need for more investment, greater business
opportunities, financial support as well as support in
technology transfer and capacity building. Obviously,
resort to conditionalities with respect to technology
transfer and in other ways should have no place in the
effort made to promote the green economy.
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Madame President,
It is in light of all this that it becomes very
apparent that the second theme of the Conference
Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development
becomes indeed a very vital issue. It is critical that
the international environmental governance architecture
is conducive to the facilitation of the requisite
support for those that are the most vulnerable. It is
from this perspective that we in Africa are convinced
that it is most appropriate and proper that UNEP is
strengthened and upgraded so that it would have the
wherewithal to provide all the necessary support to
those that need its support the most and to be an
effective lead institution for galvanizing
international cooperation with respect to the
environment. With respect to the effective integration
of the three pillars of sustainable development and to
ensure that the United Nations plays its proper role in
this regard, it is proper that an inter-governmental
and open, transparent and inclusive negotiation process
is launched within the General Assembly with a view to
addressing the challenges of sustainable development.
The United Nations is the premier multilateral
universal organization we have. It would be anomalous
if it were to fail discharging its responsibilities in
this regard.
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I wish to conclude, Madame President, by expressing
our satisfaction that we have been able to reach
agreement on the outcome document. In this regard, I
would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm
Ethiopia’s readiness to contribute in whatever way
possible to the achievement of the noble objectives of
the conference. One hopes, that backtracking on those
commitments made two decades ago would continue to be
avoided. That is what is demanded from us to be able
to achieve the future we want.
I Thank You
