Mr. Secretary-General,
Excellencies,
First of all, I would like to thank the Secretary-General for his opening remarks.
Twenty years after the groundbreaking Earth Summit, despite visible improvement in
incomes, social and environmental warning signs have emerged, that cannot be ignored
any further. Deep inequalities, between and within countries, and regions threaten the
sustainable development path.
Meeting the commitments adopted in Rio and Johannesburg remain our best chance to
save the planet while continuing to improve lives. This is first and foremost the most
important message that the Rio+20 Conference must transmit to the world.
But if I may offer a few additional thoughts on Rio+20:
First, it needs to launch a sustainable development renaissance with our leaders,
parliamentarians, CEO?s, decision makers being truly committed to pursue balanced,
inclusive, sustainable growth and do away with business as usual.
Second, it?s important for the Conference to be forward looking. The green economy
which has been the subject of much discussion over the past year is one of the potential
new pathways to promote sustainable development. However, it should not be
imposed. Both developed and developing countries stand to benefit from the green
economy. While developed countries should continue taking the lead, developing
countries should also take part in developing green economy strategies according to
respective national priorities.
However, our limited capacities as developing countries require financial support, and
capacity building. This should be supported by developed countries.
In Indonesia, we have integrated the green economy into our development strategy. We
are in the process of identifying the sectors that would drive the green economy.
Third, I would like to comment on Professor Jeffrey Sachs idea of a technological
roadmap, which he raised in the opening of the High Level Segment. It is a timely
recommendation. We need to shift to resource saving technologies. But we have to have
the courage to address the tough questions such as intellectual property rights, which
must be more development oriented, and elimination of tariffs on environmentally
sound technologies. These are vital global objectives.
Mr. Secretary-General and Excellencies,
Let me conclude by emphasizing that the Conference in Rio will be the litmus test by
which our commitment to future generations will be measured. They will measure us
by our actions and the legacy we leave for them.
This millennium must be remembered as the age of sustainable development. This is
what the Rio+20 Conference must ultimately try to realize.
Thank you.
