Statement to the 2nd Committee of the GA on the item "Sustainable Development"
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U N I T E D N A T I O N S N A T I O N S U N I E S
Statement by
MR. SHA ZUKANG
UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS
TO THE SECOND COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
ON THE ITEM ?SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT?
New York, 27 October 2008
Madam Chairperson, Distinguished Delegates,
In this world of deepening globalization, our national economies and financial systems
have never been more linked. So are our ecosystems. This interconnectedness among the
economic, social and natural worlds underpins the three-pillar framework of sustainable
development. To grow our economy, address social inequities and protect the ecosystems, it is
imperative that we continue to implement an integrated, holistic strategy.
Fittingly, today, the General Assembly, in this Committee, commences its consideration
of the item on sustainable development.
As the global financial credit dries up, our natural capital ? our life-supporting
ecosystems ? are under unprecedented assault from unsustainable consumption and production.
This continuing erosion of the ?natural stocks? of wealth poses a challenge to the global
development agenda as daunting and urgent as the financial crisis.
Two-thirds of the world?s ecosystems are degraded and being used unsustainably.
Between 5 to 20 per cent of plant and animal species are threatened with extinction. Per capita
water availability is declining globally and more than 2.4 billion people do not have access to
basic sanitation. This year over two million people are dying prematurely due to air pollution.
Madam Chairperson, Distinguished Delegates,
Despite recent moderation in global food and fuel prices, prospects for agricultural
production and household food security remain precarious. A large number of developing
countries are struggling to address the macroeconomic fallout of high domestic food prices and
inflationary pressure. The easing in fuel prices has not translated into lower input costs for
farmers. The challenge facing Africa is especially serious.
The global food crisis, leading to an additional 44 million malnourished people this year,
is not merely a crisis of crops ? it epitomizes the failure of the international community on
several inter-related fronts. We have not taken good care of the land and water that nurtured our
civilization. We have not invested in agriculture. Plant science, which created the miraculous
2
Green Revolution in Asia in the 1960s, is falling behind. And we have failed to empower women,
who more often than not, are the farmers who put meals on the tables.
The Secretary-General acted quickly, setting up a global food security task force to
coordinate UN actions in a range of areas, both short-term and long-run. During its review
session this past May, the Commission on Sustainable Development identified the barriers and
obstacles. We look forward to guidance by the General Assembly on the complex but important
negotiations for policy decisions at CSD-17.
We also know that climate change will greatly complicate our efforts to ensure global
food security in decades to come. Even in the midst of the current global financial crisis, it is
essential to maintain our momentum on climate change, including through ambitious action on
energy.
The small island developing states (SIDS) remain vulnerable to the impacts of climate
change as well as to natural disasters and to the vicissitudes of the global market. The need for
increased financial and capacity-building support to SIDS for strengthening their overall
resilience is more urgent today than ever before, as stressed in the Secretary-General?s reports on
further implementation of the Mauritius Strategy and the protection of the Caribbean Sea.
Madam Chairperson, Distinguished Delegates,
The challenges to the UN development agenda are inter-linked and interdependent. They
threaten the achievement of MDGs through cascading effects on global food, water and other
natural resources, and on our children?s and mothers? health. Piecemeal, ad hoc solutions will not
work over the long run.
The interconnectedness of our world and of the challenges ahead of us; the need for
integrated solutions, for broad participation in implementation, and for a more robust global
partnership for development ? here are the main themes of the report before you on Agenda 21
and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. And they are my messages to you today.
Yes, we must stabilize the global financial system. We must also invest in protecting our
ecosystems, which underpin our future prosperity. We must invest more in cleaner technologies,
including cleaner energy technologies. We must invest more in plant science and in agriculture.
And we must invest more in future leaders ? supporting more education for sustainable
development. It takes financial capital, natural capital, technological and scientific capital and
human capital to achieve a sustainable world.
Madam Chairperson, Distinguished Delegates,
I wish to assure the Committee that, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs,
under my guidance, will continue to provide all necessary support to the work of this Committee
on sustainable development.
Thank you.
U N I T E D N A T I O N S N A T I O N S U N I E S
Statement by
MR. SHA ZUKANG
UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS
TO THE SECOND COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
ON THE ITEM ?SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT?
New York, 27 October 2008
Madam Chairperson, Distinguished Delegates,
In this world of deepening globalization, our national economies and financial systems
have never been more linked. So are our ecosystems. This interconnectedness among the
economic, social and natural worlds underpins the three-pillar framework of sustainable
development. To grow our economy, address social inequities and protect the ecosystems, it is
imperative that we continue to implement an integrated, holistic strategy.
Fittingly, today, the General Assembly, in this Committee, commences its consideration
of the item on sustainable development.
As the global financial credit dries up, our natural capital ? our life-supporting
ecosystems ? are under unprecedented assault from unsustainable consumption and production.
This continuing erosion of the ?natural stocks? of wealth poses a challenge to the global
development agenda as daunting and urgent as the financial crisis.
Two-thirds of the world?s ecosystems are degraded and being used unsustainably.
Between 5 to 20 per cent of plant and animal species are threatened with extinction. Per capita
water availability is declining globally and more than 2.4 billion people do not have access to
basic sanitation. This year over two million people are dying prematurely due to air pollution.
Madam Chairperson, Distinguished Delegates,
Despite recent moderation in global food and fuel prices, prospects for agricultural
production and household food security remain precarious. A large number of developing
countries are struggling to address the macroeconomic fallout of high domestic food prices and
inflationary pressure. The easing in fuel prices has not translated into lower input costs for
farmers. The challenge facing Africa is especially serious.
The global food crisis, leading to an additional 44 million malnourished people this year,
is not merely a crisis of crops ? it epitomizes the failure of the international community on
several inter-related fronts. We have not taken good care of the land and water that nurtured our
civilization. We have not invested in agriculture. Plant science, which created the miraculous
2
Green Revolution in Asia in the 1960s, is falling behind. And we have failed to empower women,
who more often than not, are the farmers who put meals on the tables.
The Secretary-General acted quickly, setting up a global food security task force to
coordinate UN actions in a range of areas, both short-term and long-run. During its review
session this past May, the Commission on Sustainable Development identified the barriers and
obstacles. We look forward to guidance by the General Assembly on the complex but important
negotiations for policy decisions at CSD-17.
We also know that climate change will greatly complicate our efforts to ensure global
food security in decades to come. Even in the midst of the current global financial crisis, it is
essential to maintain our momentum on climate change, including through ambitious action on
energy.
The small island developing states (SIDS) remain vulnerable to the impacts of climate
change as well as to natural disasters and to the vicissitudes of the global market. The need for
increased financial and capacity-building support to SIDS for strengthening their overall
resilience is more urgent today than ever before, as stressed in the Secretary-General?s reports on
further implementation of the Mauritius Strategy and the protection of the Caribbean Sea.
Madam Chairperson, Distinguished Delegates,
The challenges to the UN development agenda are inter-linked and interdependent. They
threaten the achievement of MDGs through cascading effects on global food, water and other
natural resources, and on our children?s and mothers? health. Piecemeal, ad hoc solutions will not
work over the long run.
The interconnectedness of our world and of the challenges ahead of us; the need for
integrated solutions, for broad participation in implementation, and for a more robust global
partnership for development ? here are the main themes of the report before you on Agenda 21
and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. And they are my messages to you today.
Yes, we must stabilize the global financial system. We must also invest in protecting our
ecosystems, which underpin our future prosperity. We must invest more in cleaner technologies,
including cleaner energy technologies. We must invest more in plant science and in agriculture.
And we must invest more in future leaders ? supporting more education for sustainable
development. It takes financial capital, natural capital, technological and scientific capital and
human capital to achieve a sustainable world.
Madam Chairperson, Distinguished Delegates,
I wish to assure the Committee that, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs,
under my guidance, will continue to provide all necessary support to the work of this Committee
on sustainable development.
Thank you.