United Nations Conference for Sustainable Development (UNDP)
Draft statement by UNDP
1st PrepCom of the United Nations Conference for Sustainable Development
New York 17 May 2010
Co‐Chairs,
Thank you for the opportunity to make a few comments on behalf of UNDP.
Excellencies,
Allow me first to echo the comments of the Secretary‐General of the UNCSD conference and USG, Mr. Sha, and indicate UNDP’s full commitment and support to the preparatory process and the UNCSD in Rio in 2012.
Time might also be ripe for the world to renew its commitments to sustainable development and to rethink how we deliver development in function of countries’ own development objectives. Business‐as‐usual might no longer be enough. Balanced and integrated finance, social and environmental development is needed more than ever. Too often we have been dealing with the concept of sustainable development in a way that became synonymous with “environmental sustainability”.
The Secretary‐General’s report for this meeting notes that some progress has emerged in all of the three pillars, although there are important gaps. Per capita incomes reveal a huge dispersion around the world, only 45 countries are on track to meet the poverty reduction target, maternal and child health care has deteriorated, one billion persons are still undernourished.
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While there is evidence of progress towards convergence between the economic and social pillars, there is far more limited evidence of convergence between these and the environmental pillar where the overall picture is one of divergence.
This preparatory meeting might thus wish to discuss the reasons for this lack of convergence or divergence between the environmental and the other pillars.
In UNDP’ view the green economy theme of the conference offers an opportunity to reach out to and engage finance and social ministries as well as international finance and developmental organizations in a different kind of process. As Mr. Steiner said, “the green economy can build bridges”.
Along similar lines we hope that the institutional theme will also focus on the broader institutional landscape. While strengthening the environmental pillar should continue, there is a need to expand the scope of the discussion to encompass finance, social and development institutions at all levels and address how to improve coherence of the full multilateral development system, including UN‐system‐wide coherence.
UNDP, as an organization that is working on the ground in 166 countries is engaged in assisting developing countries in their development efforts in all the pillars of sustainable development. UNDP looks forward to a preparatory process that will be inclusive of results in a conference in 2012 as already mentioned by the Secretary‐General in the Rio conference that will truly set a path for a new development paradigm.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman
1st PrepCom of the United Nations Conference for Sustainable Development
New York 17 May 2010
Co‐Chairs,
Thank you for the opportunity to make a few comments on behalf of UNDP.
Excellencies,
Allow me first to echo the comments of the Secretary‐General of the UNCSD conference and USG, Mr. Sha, and indicate UNDP’s full commitment and support to the preparatory process and the UNCSD in Rio in 2012.
Time might also be ripe for the world to renew its commitments to sustainable development and to rethink how we deliver development in function of countries’ own development objectives. Business‐as‐usual might no longer be enough. Balanced and integrated finance, social and environmental development is needed more than ever. Too often we have been dealing with the concept of sustainable development in a way that became synonymous with “environmental sustainability”.
The Secretary‐General’s report for this meeting notes that some progress has emerged in all of the three pillars, although there are important gaps. Per capita incomes reveal a huge dispersion around the world, only 45 countries are on track to meet the poverty reduction target, maternal and child health care has deteriorated, one billion persons are still undernourished.
1
2
While there is evidence of progress towards convergence between the economic and social pillars, there is far more limited evidence of convergence between these and the environmental pillar where the overall picture is one of divergence.
This preparatory meeting might thus wish to discuss the reasons for this lack of convergence or divergence between the environmental and the other pillars.
In UNDP’ view the green economy theme of the conference offers an opportunity to reach out to and engage finance and social ministries as well as international finance and developmental organizations in a different kind of process. As Mr. Steiner said, “the green economy can build bridges”.
Along similar lines we hope that the institutional theme will also focus on the broader institutional landscape. While strengthening the environmental pillar should continue, there is a need to expand the scope of the discussion to encompass finance, social and development institutions at all levels and address how to improve coherence of the full multilateral development system, including UN‐system‐wide coherence.
UNDP, as an organization that is working on the ground in 166 countries is engaged in assisting developing countries in their development efforts in all the pillars of sustainable development. UNDP looks forward to a preparatory process that will be inclusive of results in a conference in 2012 as already mentioned by the Secretary‐General in the Rio conference that will truly set a path for a new development paradigm.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman
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