Republic of Korea
1
Statement on behalf of the Republic of Korea
By Heung-kyoung Park, Deputy Director General
of International Economic Affairs Division
on the discussion on the compilation document
(UN, 15 December 2011)
On behalf of the Korean delegation, I would like to extend my deep appreciation
to the Bureau and the Secretariat for their hard work of preparing this important
intersessional meeting.
In his acceptance speech after being reelected, Secretary-General Ban Ki moon
stated that climate change and sustainable development would be at the top of his
agenda during his second term as Secretary-General. We are living in a world that is
changing fast, we need to come together to address one of the overarching issues of our
time, sustainable development.
At the upcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), the
global community has enormous expectations to implement the Rio+20 Agenda. The
Republic of Korea believes that Rio+20 would be the perfect moment to establish the
big picture of SD future framework for the next 10 years in an action-oriented and
future-oriented manner to tackle the global challenges the planet is now facing.
Korea expects that Rio+20 will be able to produce an outcome document in the
form of a political declaration, containing strong commitments to achieve the vision for
SD. The outcome document needs to contain an annex which elaborates the action for
measures of implementation and the precise steps that nations must take and pursue.
The action plan should be concrete and concise to be quoted right away into the policies
of each country with a view towards implementation.
The outcome should also contain the basic guidelines governing Rio+20’s
theme, and the subsequent toolkits with flexibility and differentiation. Priority initiatives
including water, food security, energy, etc. should be highlighted in the context of
sustainable development and poverty eradication to be more focused and political.
Reaffirming that the implementation of SD is the key point that all the Member
States are aiming for, we all agree that the functions of the current regime need to be
revitalized to enhance the implementation. Korea believes that the Sustainable
Development Council should be established through the transformation of the CSD. To
create the Council as a subsidiary organ of the UN General Assembly, there is no need
to amend the UN Charter. The Council would place greater emphasis on sustainable
2
development and give it greater political weight in order to narrow the gaps in
implementing sustainable development and to monitor implementation.
To support SD and to cooperate with global community for aiming this goal, the
Republic of Korea suggests setting up a concrete mechanism for international
cooperation. By establishing a global and regional knowledge-sharing platform, the
global community could share and monitor the implementation of green economy and
this platform could support the development and transfer of green technology.
Enhanced capacity is needed for the international system and individual
countries to best mitigate environmental harms and to adapt to environmental changes
that are occurring and will occur in the future. Capacity building should be promoted on
the level of global institutions, but should also be directly and actively implemented on
the regional level, reflecting the insights, relationships and cultural connections that can
form the foundation for a strong network between countries. In this regard, Korea
believes that ‘green network for capacity building’ could play a key role to tackle our
global challenges.
We believe that Korea has an important role to play at Rio+20 and beyond as a
bridge nation and as a country with a strong commitment to, and hands on policy
experience in, green growth and SD. Korea would like to cooperate with other Member
States to make Rio+20 a resounding success.
I thank you.
Statement on behalf of the Republic of Korea
By Heung-kyoung Park, Deputy Director General
of International Economic Affairs Division
on the discussion on the compilation document
(UN, 15 December 2011)
On behalf of the Korean delegation, I would like to extend my deep appreciation
to the Bureau and the Secretariat for their hard work of preparing this important
intersessional meeting.
In his acceptance speech after being reelected, Secretary-General Ban Ki moon
stated that climate change and sustainable development would be at the top of his
agenda during his second term as Secretary-General. We are living in a world that is
changing fast, we need to come together to address one of the overarching issues of our
time, sustainable development.
At the upcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), the
global community has enormous expectations to implement the Rio+20 Agenda. The
Republic of Korea believes that Rio+20 would be the perfect moment to establish the
big picture of SD future framework for the next 10 years in an action-oriented and
future-oriented manner to tackle the global challenges the planet is now facing.
Korea expects that Rio+20 will be able to produce an outcome document in the
form of a political declaration, containing strong commitments to achieve the vision for
SD. The outcome document needs to contain an annex which elaborates the action for
measures of implementation and the precise steps that nations must take and pursue.
The action plan should be concrete and concise to be quoted right away into the policies
of each country with a view towards implementation.
The outcome should also contain the basic guidelines governing Rio+20’s
theme, and the subsequent toolkits with flexibility and differentiation. Priority initiatives
including water, food security, energy, etc. should be highlighted in the context of
sustainable development and poverty eradication to be more focused and political.
Reaffirming that the implementation of SD is the key point that all the Member
States are aiming for, we all agree that the functions of the current regime need to be
revitalized to enhance the implementation. Korea believes that the Sustainable
Development Council should be established through the transformation of the CSD. To
create the Council as a subsidiary organ of the UN General Assembly, there is no need
to amend the UN Charter. The Council would place greater emphasis on sustainable
2
development and give it greater political weight in order to narrow the gaps in
implementing sustainable development and to monitor implementation.
To support SD and to cooperate with global community for aiming this goal, the
Republic of Korea suggests setting up a concrete mechanism for international
cooperation. By establishing a global and regional knowledge-sharing platform, the
global community could share and monitor the implementation of green economy and
this platform could support the development and transfer of green technology.
Enhanced capacity is needed for the international system and individual
countries to best mitigate environmental harms and to adapt to environmental changes
that are occurring and will occur in the future. Capacity building should be promoted on
the level of global institutions, but should also be directly and actively implemented on
the regional level, reflecting the insights, relationships and cultural connections that can
form the foundation for a strong network between countries. In this regard, Korea
believes that ‘green network for capacity building’ could play a key role to tackle our
global challenges.
We believe that Korea has an important role to play at Rio+20 and beyond as a
bridge nation and as a country with a strong commitment to, and hands on policy
experience in, green growth and SD. Korea would like to cooperate with other Member
States to make Rio+20 a resounding success.
I thank you.
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