Sweden
"I W64
OWe q-S
GoAwnd
REGERNGSKANSLiET
Ministry for Sustainable Development
Check against
delivery!
Plenary Statement by Ms. Mona Sahlin, Minister, Ministry for
Sustainable Development, Sweden
CSD14
New York, May 10, 2006
Sustainable development is, at heart, a question of attitudes, lifestyles
and political will and of power over resources, decision-making and
agenda setting. It is a matter of rights : to freedom from hunger, decent
work and health - including sexual and reproductive health and rights . It
is an issue of healthy ecosystems, and of peace and freedom - for
everyone, regardless of sex, age, ethnicity, class or faith .
In all our societies, energy is key to development . It is essential to
provide for the basic necessities of families, in all types of production,
and where energy consumption is growing more than anywhere else : in
transportation . Energy - and oil in particular - has become the blood in
the veins of societies everywhere . We, the affluent world, above all, must
take our responsibility and shift to more sustainable lifestyles and more
sustainable consumption and production . This must be given priority in
current discussions nationally and globally, where power over energy is
at the forefront, be it in terms of security, supplies, accessability - and in
addressing political unrest caused by sharp increases in oil prices . Power
over energy - an issue not even mentioned in the Millenium Declaration
2000 - is today and for the foreseeable future a major challenge to us all .
Rightly used, energy can be a global tool for sustainable development
and energy provisioning - and for poverty eradication. Wrongly used, in
self-interest and with a short-term perspective - it causes conflicts, air
pollution, and climate change and as reported recently by the World
Bank, the sharp increase in oil prices over the past few months has
already augmented poverty in a number of countries by 4-7 per cent .
Sweden has for decades pursued policies to reduce the national
dependence on fossil fuels, particularly oil and this year a special
commission has been set up under the stewardship of the Prime Minister
to phase out our dependency on oil by 2020 . For long, oil has been
perceived as an accessible and affordable source of energy . We have too
often disregarded the external costs of oil in terms of air pollution and illhealth
- and been blind to the consequences our future generations may
have to pay for our depletion of a major non-renewable resource .
We must also address women's empowerment and gender equality in all
aspects of sustainable development . This is an area where we do need
some "leap-frogging" . Discussions on sustainable development tend to
be pursued at the macro level, where individuals - both women and men
- largely remain invisible . Thus, we need to build bridges so that people
become visible, and not only when we move to the households and see
women and children suffering from air pollution . We must change from
seeing women as victims to see women as actors and agents of change .
and ensure women's rights and well-being by challenging underlying
power structures and gender stereotypes that are obstacles to human
freedom and limit individual freedom of choice in terms of lifestyles . In
addition to these structural and strategic aspects of gender, we must also
act on practical matters, such as ensuring access for poor women to safe
and affordable energy that does not cause ill-health, to energy that
facilitates work in the household and to energy for transportation, to
schools, hospitals and jobs . The Network of Women Ministers for the
Environment has put forward a number of suggestions to that end . In
addition, at this CSD, Sweden is organizing a side-event to elaborate on
some of the strategic aspects of power over resources - and the question
of if women in general leave a smaller ecological footprint than men .
In conclusion, I would like to challenge you, my colleagues here at the
CSD, by asking you, in due time for CSD 15, to put forward the best
examples possible of how to empower women at all levels . We need
strategic proposals that address the underlying power structures, and
proposals that can help us bridge the macro level, with men at the
decision-making table . We also need proposals for measures on the
ground on how to provide reliable, affordable and accessible energy so
that poor women do not need to spend up to four hours a day in search
of fuel wood. Energy is key to development and is crucial for the
creation of more equitable and just societies . Because power over energy
can help empower people .
Thank you.
OWe q-S
GoAwnd
REGERNGSKANSLiET
Ministry for Sustainable Development
Check against
delivery!
Plenary Statement by Ms. Mona Sahlin, Minister, Ministry for
Sustainable Development, Sweden
CSD14
New York, May 10, 2006
Sustainable development is, at heart, a question of attitudes, lifestyles
and political will and of power over resources, decision-making and
agenda setting. It is a matter of rights : to freedom from hunger, decent
work and health - including sexual and reproductive health and rights . It
is an issue of healthy ecosystems, and of peace and freedom - for
everyone, regardless of sex, age, ethnicity, class or faith .
In all our societies, energy is key to development . It is essential to
provide for the basic necessities of families, in all types of production,
and where energy consumption is growing more than anywhere else : in
transportation . Energy - and oil in particular - has become the blood in
the veins of societies everywhere . We, the affluent world, above all, must
take our responsibility and shift to more sustainable lifestyles and more
sustainable consumption and production . This must be given priority in
current discussions nationally and globally, where power over energy is
at the forefront, be it in terms of security, supplies, accessability - and in
addressing political unrest caused by sharp increases in oil prices . Power
over energy - an issue not even mentioned in the Millenium Declaration
2000 - is today and for the foreseeable future a major challenge to us all .
Rightly used, energy can be a global tool for sustainable development
and energy provisioning - and for poverty eradication. Wrongly used, in
self-interest and with a short-term perspective - it causes conflicts, air
pollution, and climate change and as reported recently by the World
Bank, the sharp increase in oil prices over the past few months has
already augmented poverty in a number of countries by 4-7 per cent .
Sweden has for decades pursued policies to reduce the national
dependence on fossil fuels, particularly oil and this year a special
commission has been set up under the stewardship of the Prime Minister
to phase out our dependency on oil by 2020 . For long, oil has been
perceived as an accessible and affordable source of energy . We have too
often disregarded the external costs of oil in terms of air pollution and illhealth
- and been blind to the consequences our future generations may
have to pay for our depletion of a major non-renewable resource .
We must also address women's empowerment and gender equality in all
aspects of sustainable development . This is an area where we do need
some "leap-frogging" . Discussions on sustainable development tend to
be pursued at the macro level, where individuals - both women and men
- largely remain invisible . Thus, we need to build bridges so that people
become visible, and not only when we move to the households and see
women and children suffering from air pollution . We must change from
seeing women as victims to see women as actors and agents of change .
and ensure women's rights and well-being by challenging underlying
power structures and gender stereotypes that are obstacles to human
freedom and limit individual freedom of choice in terms of lifestyles . In
addition to these structural and strategic aspects of gender, we must also
act on practical matters, such as ensuring access for poor women to safe
and affordable energy that does not cause ill-health, to energy that
facilitates work in the household and to energy for transportation, to
schools, hospitals and jobs . The Network of Women Ministers for the
Environment has put forward a number of suggestions to that end . In
addition, at this CSD, Sweden is organizing a side-event to elaborate on
some of the strategic aspects of power over resources - and the question
of if women in general leave a smaller ecological footprint than men .
In conclusion, I would like to challenge you, my colleagues here at the
CSD, by asking you, in due time for CSD 15, to put forward the best
examples possible of how to empower women at all levels . We need
strategic proposals that address the underlying power structures, and
proposals that can help us bridge the macro level, with men at the
decision-making table . We also need proposals for measures on the
ground on how to provide reliable, affordable and accessible energy so
that poor women do not need to spend up to four hours a day in search
of fuel wood. Energy is key to development and is crucial for the
creation of more equitable and just societies . Because power over energy
can help empower people .
Thank you.
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