European Union
Mr./Mrs. Chairperson,
The themes of this CSD cycle are highly interrelated and are key to sustainable development. We need to
adopt holistic approaches to address the themes in an integrated manner, and encourage further
integration and coherence of interlinked issues in Sustainable Development Strategies.
There are four cross-cutting issues which should be incorporated into our thinking:
1. To highlight that human health, decent work, climate change, natural resources, biodiversity,
ecosystems and genetic resources are all reliant upon, or impacted by the themes.
? A healthy population is fundamental to prosperity, security and stability. It provides a cornerstone of
economic growth and social development and is reliant upon healthy environmental and living
conditions. The potential human health impacts of all of the themes covered in this CSD cycle are
clear: from potential workplace hazards of miners or those that work with chemicals, to public
health exposures to poorly managed chemicals, waste, inefficient transport or degraded ecosystems.
All too often health considerations are developed as separate policies whereas they should be an
integral part of national strategies and international action.
? Decent work is crucial to realize the Millennium Development Goals and is a key element of
sustainable production in all sectors. The decent work agenda includes health and safety issues and
is closely linked to problems caused in the mining, waste management or chemical sectors.
? Ecosystems provide essential benefits, assets and values for present and future generations. Our
natural resources are limited but they will need to serve the growing needs of an expanding world
population. Current global unsustainable use of our natural resources is endangering not
only the state of the environment, essential ecosystem services and biodiversity, but also
our health, well-being and the chance of meeting the basic needs of more than 9 billion
people in the future. This raises questions about how economic progress and wellbeing is
measured today, and how we can change our approach to production and consumption, if
we are to meet fair expectations of both current and future generations.
? We believe that current patterns of resource use, production, consumption and waste generation
need to become more sustainable and efficient, in order to address the challenges of poverty
elimination, long-term food security, climate change and biodiversity loss. The EU especially
considers the evaluation of biodiversity and the services provided by terrestrial and aquatic,
including marine, ecosystems as essential to support policy decisions which prevent further loss of
biodiversity and degradation of ecosystems.
2. To emphasize the importance of a lifecycle perspective in order to find synergies and avoid moving
environmental and other impacts from one phase of the lifecycle to another.
? The themes of this CSD cycle are highly linked to resource use and include the main lifecycle stages
of products and services, where each phase is dependent on measures in the previous phase, e.g.
mining - transport - chemicals - transport ? waste.
? The EU underlined in the previous session on SCP, that the 10 Year Framework of Programmes can
be structured alongside the main stages of the life-cycle of products. Production processes and
challenges to deliver better products are relevant to the production activity of the sectors of mining,
chemicals and transport. Distribution and marketing is included in the concept of better products,
and waste management is included in the concept of consumption and sustainable living.
? Taken together, they can close the loop of a life cycle perspective of the economic processes and at
the same time strongly connect to social development, including the Millennium Development Goals
and other internationally agreed development goals.
? A life cycle perspective requires interrelated policies and a mix of instruments ? covering the fullrange
of activities, processes and individual behaviours that may have an impact.
3. To highlight the importance of improving education, of all societal sectors, including major groups,
to ensure and develop best practises for sustainability and empower people with the knowledge and
skills to enable them to better understand the social, economic and environmental impacts and to
make informed and responsible choices regarding their lifestyles and individual behaviours. Education
should also encourage reflection on the societal structures and processes that enable sustainability.
? Many of the messages we are addressing are included under the theme of sustainable consumption
and production. Therefore we should also highlight the role that education for sustainable
development, including vocational training, and non-formal education plays. For example, through
the promotion of education and training policies, hazardous activities such as chemicals and waste
management or mining can be carried out in such a way as to maximise their benefits and minimise
potential problems.
? Education, considered as a life-long learning process, must cover a range of activities including
awareness raising, sharing of information and highlighting the costs of inaction. Education must
enhance ?action competence? and citizenship so that learners are able and willing to contribute to a
more sustainable society.
4. To ensure gender equality, which is an integral part of sustainable development, is also important,
as well as securing a gender perspective and the full participation of women in decision-making.
Mr./Mrs. Chairperson,
In the other sessions of this CSD-18 we have heard about the best practices and lessons learned in each of
the themes. However more needs to be done to promote policy coherence, at all levels to achieve
progress in these interrelated areas. We can do this in the following ways:
? By further integrating the coherence of interlinked issues in Sustainable Development Strategies,
innovation and R&D Strategies, at all levels, with the involvement of stakeholders. In line with
the EU Sustainable Development Strategy which sets the long-term vision, sustainable
development has been increasingly mainstreamed into European Commission policies, including
those for sustainable transport, energy, SCP and others, and becomes more and more important in
EU sectoral strategies. For example, as part of a response to the economic crisis, our heads of
state agreed the main elements of a 10-year economic strategy - called Europe 2020.
Sustainability is written throughout this strategy, and in particular resource efficiency is one of
the seven flagship initiatives proposed to promote smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in
Europe.
? At the international level we should also be seeking further co-operation and co-ordination
among the international institutions. Synergies among global initiatives and agreements that are
pursuing the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources and biodiversity/ecosystems
as well as mitigating and adapting to the impacts of climate change are required. We should build
on the positive experience from the enhanced cooperation and coordination process that has been
carried out in the chemicals-waste cluster since 2006 and achieved encouraging results at the
exCOPs meeting in February 2010 - not only in administrative field, but also in substantial matters -
and support its endeavours to avoid further fragmentation of work and instruments.
? We encourage CSD to take note of the outcomes of the major international meetings taking place
in 2010, particularly the UNFCCC COP-16, the Convention on Biological Diversity COP-10, the high
level review of the MDGs and the UN General Assembly special session on biodiversity, to build
upon agreements there. We should also ensure the Rio Conventions are more closely linked to
ensure co-benefits for climate change and natural resources are realised.
? We should build upon, and even strengthen, initiatives such as the UN ?Delivering as One? to
encourage co-ordination within capitols, regions and internationally and support and strengthen
the on-going process of reform of International Environmental Governance (IEG).
? We should also promote green economy at all levels, since it contributes to achieving better policy
coherence.
? We should take note of and disseminate more widely the messages and commitments in the newly
adopted Ministerial Declaration on Environment and Health as adopted in Parma, Italy, on the 14
March 2010 within the WHO UNECE process.
? We need to develop more strategic approaches to financing, capacity building and
technology transfer in each of the themes.
Finally, the EU wishes to stress the importance of ensuring the means of implementation on the ground
for all the CSD-18 thematic components:
? The Millennium Declaration and its related development objectives, namely the Millennium
Development Goals and the Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness, including the Accra Agenda for
Action (AAA), Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg plan of implementation (JPOI), constitute the main
international cooperation frameworks and partnership references of the European Union?s
development assistance with regard to the implementation of the CSD-18 thematic components.
? It is fundamental to focus more on the importance and the relevance of the CSD-18-related issues
for project / programme cycle management in sustainable development cooperation, including
capacity building and institutional strengthening. Capacity building is indeed an essential element
to strengthen stakeholders? capacities to identify existing and new resources for implementing the
CSD-18 thematic components in the context of poverty reduction and sustainable development.
This includes the strengthening of national coordination mechanisms in order to create synergies
and strengthen cooperation among stakeholders, including government agencies, the private
sector, civil society organisations and development assistance bodies, such as the EU.
? It is also fundamental that EU and its Member States, while implementing the agreed road to the
0.7% GNI, insist with governments in developing countries to translate the CSD-18-related issues
into concrete policies at every level, adequate budget allocations and effective institutional
measures.
It is crucial, particularly during this review year of CSD, that we take the opportunity to share best
practises and exchange information about means of implementation, including development cooperation,
to achieve sustainable development.
Thank you for your attention.
The themes of this CSD cycle are highly interrelated and are key to sustainable development. We need to
adopt holistic approaches to address the themes in an integrated manner, and encourage further
integration and coherence of interlinked issues in Sustainable Development Strategies.
There are four cross-cutting issues which should be incorporated into our thinking:
1. To highlight that human health, decent work, climate change, natural resources, biodiversity,
ecosystems and genetic resources are all reliant upon, or impacted by the themes.
? A healthy population is fundamental to prosperity, security and stability. It provides a cornerstone of
economic growth and social development and is reliant upon healthy environmental and living
conditions. The potential human health impacts of all of the themes covered in this CSD cycle are
clear: from potential workplace hazards of miners or those that work with chemicals, to public
health exposures to poorly managed chemicals, waste, inefficient transport or degraded ecosystems.
All too often health considerations are developed as separate policies whereas they should be an
integral part of national strategies and international action.
? Decent work is crucial to realize the Millennium Development Goals and is a key element of
sustainable production in all sectors. The decent work agenda includes health and safety issues and
is closely linked to problems caused in the mining, waste management or chemical sectors.
? Ecosystems provide essential benefits, assets and values for present and future generations. Our
natural resources are limited but they will need to serve the growing needs of an expanding world
population. Current global unsustainable use of our natural resources is endangering not
only the state of the environment, essential ecosystem services and biodiversity, but also
our health, well-being and the chance of meeting the basic needs of more than 9 billion
people in the future. This raises questions about how economic progress and wellbeing is
measured today, and how we can change our approach to production and consumption, if
we are to meet fair expectations of both current and future generations.
? We believe that current patterns of resource use, production, consumption and waste generation
need to become more sustainable and efficient, in order to address the challenges of poverty
elimination, long-term food security, climate change and biodiversity loss. The EU especially
considers the evaluation of biodiversity and the services provided by terrestrial and aquatic,
including marine, ecosystems as essential to support policy decisions which prevent further loss of
biodiversity and degradation of ecosystems.
2. To emphasize the importance of a lifecycle perspective in order to find synergies and avoid moving
environmental and other impacts from one phase of the lifecycle to another.
? The themes of this CSD cycle are highly linked to resource use and include the main lifecycle stages
of products and services, where each phase is dependent on measures in the previous phase, e.g.
mining - transport - chemicals - transport ? waste.
? The EU underlined in the previous session on SCP, that the 10 Year Framework of Programmes can
be structured alongside the main stages of the life-cycle of products. Production processes and
challenges to deliver better products are relevant to the production activity of the sectors of mining,
chemicals and transport. Distribution and marketing is included in the concept of better products,
and waste management is included in the concept of consumption and sustainable living.
? Taken together, they can close the loop of a life cycle perspective of the economic processes and at
the same time strongly connect to social development, including the Millennium Development Goals
and other internationally agreed development goals.
? A life cycle perspective requires interrelated policies and a mix of instruments ? covering the fullrange
of activities, processes and individual behaviours that may have an impact.
3. To highlight the importance of improving education, of all societal sectors, including major groups,
to ensure and develop best practises for sustainability and empower people with the knowledge and
skills to enable them to better understand the social, economic and environmental impacts and to
make informed and responsible choices regarding their lifestyles and individual behaviours. Education
should also encourage reflection on the societal structures and processes that enable sustainability.
? Many of the messages we are addressing are included under the theme of sustainable consumption
and production. Therefore we should also highlight the role that education for sustainable
development, including vocational training, and non-formal education plays. For example, through
the promotion of education and training policies, hazardous activities such as chemicals and waste
management or mining can be carried out in such a way as to maximise their benefits and minimise
potential problems.
? Education, considered as a life-long learning process, must cover a range of activities including
awareness raising, sharing of information and highlighting the costs of inaction. Education must
enhance ?action competence? and citizenship so that learners are able and willing to contribute to a
more sustainable society.
4. To ensure gender equality, which is an integral part of sustainable development, is also important,
as well as securing a gender perspective and the full participation of women in decision-making.
Mr./Mrs. Chairperson,
In the other sessions of this CSD-18 we have heard about the best practices and lessons learned in each of
the themes. However more needs to be done to promote policy coherence, at all levels to achieve
progress in these interrelated areas. We can do this in the following ways:
? By further integrating the coherence of interlinked issues in Sustainable Development Strategies,
innovation and R&D Strategies, at all levels, with the involvement of stakeholders. In line with
the EU Sustainable Development Strategy which sets the long-term vision, sustainable
development has been increasingly mainstreamed into European Commission policies, including
those for sustainable transport, energy, SCP and others, and becomes more and more important in
EU sectoral strategies. For example, as part of a response to the economic crisis, our heads of
state agreed the main elements of a 10-year economic strategy - called Europe 2020.
Sustainability is written throughout this strategy, and in particular resource efficiency is one of
the seven flagship initiatives proposed to promote smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in
Europe.
? At the international level we should also be seeking further co-operation and co-ordination
among the international institutions. Synergies among global initiatives and agreements that are
pursuing the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources and biodiversity/ecosystems
as well as mitigating and adapting to the impacts of climate change are required. We should build
on the positive experience from the enhanced cooperation and coordination process that has been
carried out in the chemicals-waste cluster since 2006 and achieved encouraging results at the
exCOPs meeting in February 2010 - not only in administrative field, but also in substantial matters -
and support its endeavours to avoid further fragmentation of work and instruments.
? We encourage CSD to take note of the outcomes of the major international meetings taking place
in 2010, particularly the UNFCCC COP-16, the Convention on Biological Diversity COP-10, the high
level review of the MDGs and the UN General Assembly special session on biodiversity, to build
upon agreements there. We should also ensure the Rio Conventions are more closely linked to
ensure co-benefits for climate change and natural resources are realised.
? We should build upon, and even strengthen, initiatives such as the UN ?Delivering as One? to
encourage co-ordination within capitols, regions and internationally and support and strengthen
the on-going process of reform of International Environmental Governance (IEG).
? We should also promote green economy at all levels, since it contributes to achieving better policy
coherence.
? We should take note of and disseminate more widely the messages and commitments in the newly
adopted Ministerial Declaration on Environment and Health as adopted in Parma, Italy, on the 14
March 2010 within the WHO UNECE process.
? We need to develop more strategic approaches to financing, capacity building and
technology transfer in each of the themes.
Finally, the EU wishes to stress the importance of ensuring the means of implementation on the ground
for all the CSD-18 thematic components:
? The Millennium Declaration and its related development objectives, namely the Millennium
Development Goals and the Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness, including the Accra Agenda for
Action (AAA), Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg plan of implementation (JPOI), constitute the main
international cooperation frameworks and partnership references of the European Union?s
development assistance with regard to the implementation of the CSD-18 thematic components.
? It is fundamental to focus more on the importance and the relevance of the CSD-18-related issues
for project / programme cycle management in sustainable development cooperation, including
capacity building and institutional strengthening. Capacity building is indeed an essential element
to strengthen stakeholders? capacities to identify existing and new resources for implementing the
CSD-18 thematic components in the context of poverty reduction and sustainable development.
This includes the strengthening of national coordination mechanisms in order to create synergies
and strengthen cooperation among stakeholders, including government agencies, the private
sector, civil society organisations and development assistance bodies, such as the EU.
? It is also fundamental that EU and its Member States, while implementing the agreed road to the
0.7% GNI, insist with governments in developing countries to translate the CSD-18-related issues
into concrete policies at every level, adequate budget allocations and effective institutional
measures.
It is crucial, particularly during this review year of CSD, that we take the opportunity to share best
practises and exchange information about means of implementation, including development cooperation,
to achieve sustainable development.
Thank you for your attention.