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CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
Address by the Head of Delegation of Malta the Hon Dr. Mario de Marco,
Minister for Tourism, Culture and the Environment at the UN Conference
on Sustainable Development, Rio de Janeiro, 22nd June 2012
President of the Conference, Heads of State and Government,
Ministers, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Allow me to thank the government and people of Brazil, for hosting us in this
unique city of Rio de Janeiro; a city that welcomes the world community once
more with open arms, as it will do again in the years ahead.
Madam President,
I stand here like those before me, as one of fifty thousand delegates who
together represent every single living person on our planet. Equally important,
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we represent the interest of those who are yet to be born, those who will inherit
the Earth from us.
We are here to voice concerns and recognise the problems that our fellow
human beings are facing: the problems of hunger, water shortage, depleting
resources and conflict.
Some of us are sheltered from the daily horrors of unbearable suffering and
useless and untimely death. Others endure it every day.
Some of us have the luxury to plan twenty years ahead. Others pray that they
will see tomorrow’s sunrise.
Some of us can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Others cannot see at all.
What started forty years ago, at the United Nations Conference on the Human
Environment in Stockholm, under the banner of “Only One Earth”, has now
evolved into a broad recognition of the value of the ecosphere in which we live.
We accepted the need to protect it and manage it soundly. We recognized that
our aspirations as citizens of our countries must be tempered by our
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responsibilities as citizens of planet Earth. We launched efforts to integrate this
awareness in national and global governance.
Two decades later at the Earth Summit in Rio, our thoughts coalesced around
the concept of sustainable development. We adopted principles to guide
national actions and international relations in pursuit of these goals. We signed
off on important action plans and conventions.
But the road has been bumpy - above all, because of the difficulty of keeping
long-term vision in focus, when immediate problems demand to be addressed.
It is a challenge to all political leaders to persuade ourselves and our
constituents that the long term matters, that it makes short-term sense.
It is a challenge to us all to understand and accept why so many of the aims of
the Earth Summit have remained, in the words of the President of Brazil, “on
paper”, despite a common understanding twenty years ago of the very sense of
urgency.
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Madame President,
The people of Malta, a country with one of the highest population densities in
the world, with one of the smallest per capita freshwater resources, have learned
over millennia to survive and prosper in the midst of external forces outside our
control.
Situated at a maritime cross-roads, we have an interest in the politics and
resources of the sea, and in averting pressure on our scarce water resources
arising from climate change.
It is not surprising therefore, that Maltese diplomacy at the United Nations has
been amongst the prime movers of initiatives in these two areas in the General
Assembly:
Starting in 1967, Malta piloted the ocean agenda towards the adoption of the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which the Conference
Outcome Document recognises the importance of towards advancing
sustainable development.
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In 1988, Malta initiated consideration of “protection of the global climate for
present and future generations of mankind”, leading to the adoption of the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
At the Rio Earth Summit Malta highlighted the fact that we lack an institution
which could be entrusted with our collective concern for our common heritage,
which is planet Earth, and had proposed, the creation of a Guardian for Future
Generations. At the national level we have proposed legislation mainstreaming
sustainable development in the working of government at all levels and
introducing the function of a Guardian for Future Generations.
Malta continues to be motivated by the protection of the global commons and
welcomes institutional initiatives in this direction at this conference.
Cognisant that the failure to implement many of the Earth Summit
commitments could be, in part, attributed to the current lack of a well-resourced
supra-national sustainable development watchdog, we are in favour of more
effective working arrangements within the United Nations framework.
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In particular, we support the “upgrading” of the United Nations Environment
Programme and the initiation of intergovernmental high level political forum, as
a necessary prerequisite for strengthening institutional framework..
I would be unfaithful to my conscience however if I were not to admit that we
desired the level of commitment to have been higher. Without a strong intergovernmental
stewardship for sustainable development, our commitments today
risk remaining hollow.
We cannot afford to meet in in twenty, ten or in five years’ time at that and
admit again that many of our aims have remained “on paper”. Time is against us
more than ever before. The world today is facing a stark and inescapable choice:
adopt a model of development that is globally sustainable, strategic, futureoriented
and long term, or face the real consequences of dealing with an ever
deepening crisis.
But a stronger institutional framework is only a part of the solution, albeit a
crucial one. It is not an end in itself. We need to steer growth along the path of
increased prosperity, social equity, well-being and environmental health. And
this is why we welcome a strong focus on developing a sustainable “green”
economy. In this respect however, Malta strongly believes that technology
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transfer, research and education are absolutely essential for greener,
sustainable growth. Otherwise we risk a sustainable development imbalance.
For Malta, as it is no doubt for many other maritime states, the “blue economy”
is an additional path to sustainable future. We depend on a clean, healthy
and productive marine environment for a multitude of reasons, not least of all -
our coastal and maritime economy. Hence the importance of giving more value
to marine protected areas and marine reserves.
The oceans are, in our case however, not only a source of economic livelihood.
We produce sixty five percent of our freshwater from the sea by desalination
process at a cost of almost 5% of our electricity output. The importance of
securing a reliable and sustainable water supply is therefore an issue of long
term sustainability.
Madam President,
The evolution of political and economic capabilities and responsibilities is
natural and will continue. It is important to recognize it in reaffirming and
applying the basic principles on which this conference is founded. Otherwise,
we will lose touch with reality.
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Keeping our eyes on the present and the future, what can we do, as
governments, to move our countries and the global community towards
sustainable development?
We can – we must – commit to:
Focus on the real economy – the green economy that produces goods and
services responding broadly to the diverse needs of the majority of our citizens;
Integrate long-term sustainability in our current economic strategies and
decisions;
Provide frameworks and incentives for innovative corporate investment in
sustainability – making the long-term profitable;
Combat poverty at home and abroad.
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Madame President,
We have to take note however of the statements made by the representatives of
civil society and major groups who expected us, who expect us to do more, to
be more precise in our commitments and deliverables. Clearly the expectations
and the deliverables are not matching. We need to heed civil society’s warning.
They have too often seen the proverbial writing on the wall before the political
class has. The establishment of Sustainable Development Goals, accompanied
by targets and indicators is an opportunity for us to provide those deliverables.
In conclusion, allow me to recall how at Stockholm in 1972, Indian Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi declared that poverty is the worst form of pollution.
Over the past decades we came to recognise that poverty transcends the social,
economic and environmental domains. It is a three dimensional problem. Trying
to address it at one level alone, be it economic, environmental or social will
simply not suffice. We need action on all three fronts in the interest of true
sustainability.
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Madame President,
The process that started in Rio twenty years ago, is today, gaining a critical
momentum. This momentum must be sustained, not only because today more
than ever the world is at a cross-roads; but also because at stake is nothing less
than the Future We All Want.
Thank you.
