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ripe and ready for rio+20?
marikki stocchetti fiia BriefinG paper 108 • 8 June 2012
U L KO P O L I I T T I N EN INS T I T U U T T I
U T R I K E S P O L I T I S K A INS T I T U T E T
THE F I N N I S H I N S T I T U T E OF I N T E R N AT I O N A L AFFA IR S
108
the un conference on sustainaBle
development and the european union
• TheUNConferenceonSustainableDevelopment(Rio+20)marksahistoricopportunitytoaddressunsustainabletrendsineconomic,socialandenvironmentaldevelopmentmultilaterally.Still,ontheeveofRio+20,theinternationalcommunitylacksconsensusandleadership.
• TheEuropeanUnionhastakenaveryproactiveandconstructiveroleinthepreparationsforRio+20.However, theEU’s commitment to the sustainable development agenda is not shared equallyacrossitspoliciesormemberstates.ThisweakenstheEU’sstrategicpositioninthenegotiations.
• DisagreementsbetweenRio+20partiescutacrossallthemainitemsontheagenda.Inparticular,thetopicof the“GreenEconomy”bringsoldclashesbetweendevelopingeconomiesandpost-industrializedcountriesbacktothefore.Thekeyquestionrelates,ontheonehand,totherighttodeterminedevelopmentstrategies,andontheotherhand,tothedivisionofresponsibilitiesbetweencountries.
• Onamoreoptimisticnote,theneedforinstitutionalreformandjointsustainabledevelopmentobjectiveshasbeenwidelyacknowledged.Inaddition,muchprogresscanstillbemadeinthe15thematicareasof sustainabledevelopment.Thismaycompensate for the lackofunanimityongrandparadigms.
• It isofutmostimportanceforasuccessfuloutcomethattheUnionworksinunison,withclearnegotiationmandates,andcoordinates itsviewseffectivelythroughouttheprocess.SuccessatRio+20mayalsohelptoincreasetheEU’sowncoherencewithregardtosustainabledevelopmentinthefuture.
ripe and ready for rio+20?
fiia Briefing paper 108
8 June 2012
the un conference on sustainaBle developement
and the european union
the european union research programme
the finnish institute of international affairs
U L KO P O L I I T T I N EN INS T I T U U T T I
U T R I K E S P O L I T I S K A INS T I T U T E T
THE F I N N I S H I N S T I T U T E OF I N T E R N AT I O N A L AFFA IR S
marikki stocchetti
researcher
the finnish institute of international affairs
the finnish institute of international affairs 3
From unsustainability to solutions
Essentially, the international efforts to promote“sustainabledevelopment”stemfromthenecessitytoredirecthumanactiontowardsmoreecologicalandequitablepaths.Forthepast fortyyears, theseries ofUN summitshasprovided an importantforumforthispurpose.Mostnotably,theUNCon-ferenceonEnvironmentandDevelopment,knownas the “Earth Summit”, in Rio de Janeiro (1992),markedahistoriclaunchofprocessestowardssus-tainabledevelopment.Now,twentyyearslater,RiodeJaneirowillagainbethestageforaninternationaldramaonthefutureoftheEarth.ThestakesarehighattheUNConferenceonSustainableDevelopment.Despitethebroadinternationalconsensusandoffi-cialcommitmentsmadeinthenameofsustainabledevelopment,developmentremains far fromsus-tainable:growthandanincreaseinincomearestillconnected todeclining environmental indicatorsandgrowing inequalitybothglobally andwithincountries. High poverty rates, alarming climatechange,continuedlossofbiodiversityandoverex-ploitationofnaturalresourcesalldemonstratetheenormityofthetaskathand.1
Tobridgethegapbetweentheneedsandefforts,theinternationalcommunitywillre-convenetoresettheglobalagendaforsustainabledevelopment,as
1 UNDPHumanDevelopmentReport2011.
wellastoreviewthepastcommitments.Thistime,negotiationsrevolvearoundthreeambitiousareasthatinclude:
1. TheGreenEconomyinthecontextofsustainabledevelopmentandpovertyeradication.
2. Theupgradingofenvironmentalinstitutionsforbettergovernance.
3. Anagreementonfutureobjectivesforsustain-abledevelopment.2
Furthermore, theconferencewill address 15 the-maticissuessuchasfoodsecurity,waterandenergytodirectfuturepoliciesinthesecross-cuttingfields.3Takentogether,theseprovisions(andframeworkforaction)willformtheRiooutcomedocumentambi-tiouslyentitled“TheFutureWeWant”.
However, reaching a consensus on “theWantedFuture”andagreeingonthemeansofgettingtherehasbecomeevermorechallenging.Compared to
2 SeetheUNzerodraftonthenegotiationsoutcomeaccessible
athttp://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/index.php?page=view&
type=12&nr=324&menu=20
3 Inaddition,thefulllistofissuesincludescities,greenjobs
andsocialinclusion,oceansandseasincludingsmallisland
developingstates(SIDS),naturaldisasters,climatechange,
forestsandbiodiversity,landdegradationanddesertification,
mountains,chemicalsandwaste,sustainableconsumption
andproduction,educationandgenderequality.
original photo: NASA
the finnish institute of international affairs 4
the forward-looking optimism that surroundedthefirstRioSummitinthepost-ColdWarcontext,thecurrentmoodischaracterizedbyaparadox.Onthe one hand, persistent poverty and inequality,foodinsecurity,climateandthefinancialcrisisareessentiallymanifestationsofunsustainabledevelop-mentandglobalgovernancethatneedtobetackledmultilaterally.This,combinedwithanincreaseinscientificevidence,shouldassuchsufficetotriggeranewpoliticalcommitment.Butinreality,regain-ingapoliticalcommitmenttotheRioprocessseemstoconstituteafundamentalchallengefortheforth-comingRio+20agenda.Thesituationisexacerbatedbythefactthattheoutcomeshouldengageanevermore heterogeneous group of actors.This groupincludespost-industrializedeconomiesaswellasemergingpowerslikeChinaandotherBRICSs,thediverse developing countries represented by theG77, international organizations, businesses andthecivilsociety.4Themaindisagreementsconcernstrategies to pursue development and growth aswellas thedivisionof responsibilities in tacklingunsustainability.
In this regard, the roleof theEuropeanUnionatRio+20isintriguingindeed.Ontheonehand,the
4 Industrializedcountriesareoftenreferredtoas“JUSCANZ”
includingJapan,theUnitedStates,Canada,Australiaand
NewZealand.TheBRICSsinturnconsistofBrazil,Russia,
ChinaandSouthAfrica.TheGroupof77with132member
statesisthelargestintergovernmentalorganizationofdevel-
opingcountriesintheUN.
Unionhasadopted“sustainabledevelopment”asoneofitscorevaluesintheLisbonTreaty.Inmanyrespects,theUnionanditsmemberstateshavebeenremarkablymoresupportiveofmultilateraleffortswhen compared to, say, theUS or the emergingeconomies.TheEUhasalreadyadopted thiskindofapproachduringtheRio+20preparations,as ithasplayedaproactiveandconstructiveroleinthe“FutureWeWant”agenda-setting.Infact,ithasahighstakeinallofthemainnegotiationareas.Thus,theUnion appears almost as an underdog in thesituation.Ontheotherhand,thecommitmenttosustainabledevelopmentisnotequallysharedandintegratedintotheEUsystem,whichweakenstheUnionpositionattheRioConferenceandbeyondit. In sum, if theUN Conference on SustainableDevelopmentistosucceed,theUnionneedstobeinternallyripeandreadytoplayitshandwell,andtoknowwhatitwantsbothinsideandoutsidetheEU.
Thepurposeof thispaper is to lookmore closelyat theEU’s roleand theprospects forpromotingsustainabledevelopmentduringtheRio+20process.Inparticular,thefocusisontheUnion’sapproachto the key issues on the current Rio+20 agenda:theGreenEconomy in thecontextof sustainabledevelopment, institutionalreformandnewgoalsandindicators.Totakeafewstepsback,thepaperfirststartswithashortreminderofthelegacyofthefirstEarthSummit.Second,itproceedstothethreekeyissueareasthatformthebasisfortheRio+20negotiations.Third,thepreliminaryEUprioritiesandchallengesareanalyzedagainstthisbackdrop.Finally,thepaperconcludeswithashortsummaryoftheUnion’sprospectsforpromotingsustainabledevelopmentattheRio+20Conferenceandbeyond.
The legacy of the Earth Summit and the European Union
ThedifficultiesoftheRioprocessandthebreadthoftheagendastemfromthecomplexityof themat-ter.SustainabledevelopmentasanapproachwasoutlinedfirstintheconcludingreportbytheWorldCommission on Environment and Development(WCED)entitledOurCommonFuture(1987).5The
5 TheWCEDreport,alsoknownastheBrundtlandReport,pro-
videdagenericdefinitionforsustainabledevelopmentasde-
velopmentthatmeetsthepresentneedswithoutsacrificing
futuregenerations’capacitytosatisfytheirneeds.
The main UN events include:
• UN conference on the human environment,
stockholm 1972
• UN stockholm + 10, nairobi 1982
• UN conference on environment and
development, rio de Janeiro 1992 (earth
summit)
• UN General assembly General session to
review agenda21, new york 1997
• World summit on sustainable development,
Johannesburg 2002
• UN conference on sustainable development,
rio de Janeiro 2012.
the finnish institute of international affairs 5
purposeof thefirstEarthSummit in 1992was totranslatetheideaofsustainabledevelopmentintoconcreteaction.Ideally,sustainabledevelopmentimpliestwoimportantchangesinpolicy-making.First, it implies the ability topromote economic,socialandenvironmentalaspectsofdevelopmentsimultaneouslybothathomeandabroad.Second,it requirescarefulbalancingbetweenshort-terminterests and long-term values and principles.Consequently, this would require a new way ofintegratingpoliticsintonationalandinternationalnegotiations.
Inthisregard,thelegacyofthefirstRioConferenceonEnvironmentandDevelopmentresultedinthefirst historic programme for promoting sustain-able development. Th e programme consisted ofthreetypesofelements:internationalagreements,principles for global governance and agendas foraction. Regarding international agreements, twobinding environmental regimeswere put on thetable.Th eseweretheUNFrameworkConventiononClimateChange(UNFCCC)andtheUNConventiononBiologicalDiversity(CBD)thathaveledprocessesand institutions of their own since Rio. In turn,the Rio Declaration on Environment and Devel-opment set out the key principles of sustainabledevelopment,suchascommonanddifferentiatedresponsibilitiesandequityprinciplesfordevelopedand developing countries alike. Equally impor-tantwastheadoptionofthe“precautionary”and
“polluter pays”principles of good environmentalgovernance.⁶Notablyforsocialdevelopment,theRioDeclarationstressestherightto,andneedfor,development,growthandpovertyeradicationinthepoorercountries.Inaddition,theForestPrinciplesdefinedsustainablemanagement,conservationanddevelopmentofalloftheworld’sforests.Andlastly,regarding practices for sustainable development,Agenda 21 was adopted, which presented fortychaptersofactionplansengagingactorsfromlocalcommunitiestothehighestechelonsofworldpoli-ticsandbusiness.OneofthekeypurposesofAgenda21wastogetthedifferentactorstoincorporatethespiritofRiointotheirowndevelopmentstrategies.
Relatedly,sustainabledevelopmenthasappearedasaguidingstrategywithalegalbasisforallEUpoli-cymakerssincethesigningoftheTreatyonEuro-peanUnion(TEU)in1992.Toavaryingdegree,ithassincebeenpresentininternalandexternalpolicies.Th ese include theEU’s relationswithdevelopingcountriesaswellasitscontributionstoglobalgov-ernance.Moreprecisely,theTreatyofAmsterdam(Article6)statesthatthepromotionofsustainabledevelopmentmustbeintegratedintothedefinitionandimplementationofallEUpolicies.Internation-ally,theEU(EC+memberstates)hasclaimedakeyrolesincethefirstRio“EarthSummit”,andamore
6 Theprecautionaryprincipleimpliesthatalackofscientific
certaintyisnoreasontopostponeactiontoavoidpotentially
seriousorirreversibleharmtotheenvironment.
the very first earth summit, held in rio in 1992, saw the launch the UN framework convention on climate
change (UNfCCC) and the UN convention on Biological diversity (CBd). photo: united nations
the finnish institute of international affairs 6
systematic,Union-wideprocesswaslaunchedasapartofthepreparationsforRio+10,theUNWorldSummitonSustainableDevelopment,heldinJohan-nesburgin2002.7
However,themultidimensionalsustainabledevel-opmentagendaposesapersistentproblemfortheUnionas itdoesnot fallneatly into thecompart-mentalizedstructureofEUpolicy-making.Often,sustainable development issues risk being over-ridden by other immediate sectoral interests ordisagreements onwhat sustainable developmentimplies. On amore positive front, the Union initself already has in place a unique form of gov-ernance—comprising subnational, national tolocallevelsthatcouldbeutilizedmoreeffectivelyforsustainabledevelopment. Inthe internationalnegotiationsonsustainabledevelopment,theEU’sleadershiphasbeenlargelybasedontherelativelystrongEUenvironmentalpolicy.Yet,theenviron-mentaldimensionconstitutesjustonedimensionofsustainabledevelopment.
Tenyearsago,atthepreviousWorldSummitonSus-tainableDevelopmentinJohannesburg,theEUwasparticularlysuccessfulinsafewaterandsanitationissues.Italsopushedforwardtime-boundtargetstoreducelossofbiodiversity,affordableandcleanenergy and climate change.Although the effortsdidnotresultinaninternationalbreakthroughduetoreluctancefromotherparties(mainlytheUSA,Australia,OPECandstrongdevelopingstates),theEUstilldemonstratedatruecommitmentinthesefields.Ona furtherpositivenote, theEU’sactivecampaigningforincreasingdevelopmentassistanceattheUNFinancingforDevelopmentofMonterreyearlierthatyearelevatedtheEU’sprofileinthepro-motionofsustainabledevelopment.Onagloomiernote,theEU(DGtrade)oppositiontolegallybindingcorporateruleswatereddowntheprovisionofsocialandenvironmentalaspectsoftradeandsustainabledevelopment.Inalargerperspective,thehistoryofthecommonagricultureandfisheriespolicieshasarecordthatisinsharpcontrasttotheveryideaofsustainabledevelopmentandpovertyeradication,
7 ThebasisfortheEURio+10positionwasdefinedintheEU
sustainabledevelopmentstrategiesof2001and2002with
aglobaldimension.Thelatterwasupdatedin2005.Docu-
mentsareaccessibleathttp://europa.eu/legislation_summa-
ries/environment/sustainable_development/l28117_en.htm
andwhichovershadowstheoverallEUprofilealsointheinternationalnegotiations.Furthermore,theprovisiononenvironmentallyharmfulsubsidiesisasorepointwithsomeofthememberstates.Inaddi-tion,theEU’sproactivebilateraltradeliberalizationpolicywithitsstrongregulatoryapproachhasoftenbeenseenaschallengingfornationalsovereigntyindevelopingcountriesnegotiatingwiththeUnion.
TheheterogeneityoftheEUcontributioninprevi-ousnegotiationswascausedbythelackofcommonvision and coordination by the EU negotiators.Earlier,thepowertonegotiatewasdefinedbytheTreaty-based competencies. Consequently, theCommission negotiated on all areas of exclusivecompetence(mainlytradeandagriculture),whilsttheCouncilPresidency(alsoDenmarkatthattime)expressedthecommonpositiononareasofmixedcompetence.However, indevelopmentandenvi-ronmentpoliciestherespectiveCommissionerstookastronger,yetsometimescompetingratherthancomplementaryrole.InJohannesburg,theEUwasgranteda“fullparticipantstatus”.Withtheadventof theLisbonTreaty, theUnionnowhasanevenstronger role.Thequestion ishow theEU actorswillseizethisopportunity.OnewaytoaddressthisquestionistolookattheEU’sstancetowardsthekeynegotiationareasoftheRio+20Summit.
‘The Future We Want’:
The spearheads of the Rio+20 agenda
As always, theofficial summitdates are only thetipof the icebergwhencomparedtothemonths,sometimesevenyears,ofactivepreparation.Thistimearound,theinitiativefortheRio+20Confer-encewasputonthetablebytheG77inDecember2009.Threeyears later, theUNpublished the so-calledzerodraftversionoftheproposedoutcomedocumententitled“TheFutureWeWant”.Thepro-posalconsistedof280pagescrystallizingover6000pagesof submissions fromnationalgovernments,internationalorganizations,civilsocietynetworksand individuals. Since March, informal sessionshavebeenarrangedtobuildaconsensusaroundthemajorthemes.Alongandwindingroadliesaheadas401ofthe422paragraphsoftheoutcomedocumentremaintobesettledjustweeksbeforethesummit.Thistimethedevilseemstobeinthedetailedtargetsasmuchasinthelargerframeworks.Furthermore,discussions are marked by disagreements both
the finnish institute of international affairs 7
insidethecountrygroupsaswellasbetweenthem.ThispaperproceedsbylookingateachofthemainnegotiationitemsfirstlyingeneralandthenfromtheEUperspective(s).
The Green Economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication Unsurprisingly,thecorequestionofeconomyandgrowthfeaturesatthetopofthe“FutureWeWant”agenda.Afterfortyyearsofdebateonsustainabilityandeconomicgrowth,theequationremainstobesolved.AtRio+20,thedebatewillcontinueunderthe“greeneconomyandgreengrowth”heading.According to the United Nations EnvironmentalProgramme(UNEP),agreeneconomyisonethat“resultsinimprovedhumanwell-beingandsocialequity,whilesignificantlyreducingenvironmentalrisks andecological scarcities”.Thisgoalposes areallitmustestfortheinternationalcommunityasits realizationwould require amajoroverhaul intheways inwhicheconomyandgrowtharecon-templatedandgovernedbothintheindustrializedeconomiesaswell as in thedevelopingworld. Inmoreconcrete terms, this impliesmajorchangesinproductionandconsumptionhabitsacrosstheglobe,aswellasarethinkwhereproductionnet-works, international trade, intellectual propertyandinvestmentareconcerned.Ideally,theresultingnewbreedofgrowthwouldcontributetopovertyeradication(whilemaintaininglevelsofcompetive-ness)withless intensiveenergyandresourceuseandlesspollution(especiallylowcarbon)thanhastraditionallybeenthecase.
Withsuchademand,thisprovisionwithitsvariousnegotiationitemsislikelytobecomeoneofthemainbonesofcontentionduringtheactualnegotiations.Thekeyquestionishowtheinternationalcommu-nitycanreachaconsensusontheoverallgoal,aswellasapoliticallyacceptableprocesstoimplementitindifferentcountrycontexts.ThisisaparticularlysensitiveissuefortheG77group,whichprioritizespoverty reduction over environmental concerns.Boththemajoremergingpowersaswellasmanyof theAfricandevelopingstatesview“theGreenEconomy”asamanifestationofWesterndominancebasedonspecifictechnologyandknow-howthataddsonmorecostsforpoorercountrieswhilenar-rowingthescaleoftheirdevelopmentandgrowthstrategies. Also, in times of sluggish economicgrowthintheUSandthesovereigndebtcrisis inEurope,thewillingnessofadvancedeconomiesto
leadtheway—tochangetheirowneconomiesandsharetechnologiesandknow-how,forinstance—isincreasinglybeingquestioned.
New institutional structure for better governanceThefirstRioConferencerecognizedthatthepromo-tionofsustainabledevelopmentrequiresadequateinstitutional arrangements at the local, national,regional and international levels. Regarding theinternationallevel,therehasbeenawidelysharedconcern that environmental governance suffersfrom fragmented and weak institutions, whichresultsinweakerimplementationandmonitoringofmultilateralenvironmentalagreements(MEAs).Nowwithmorethan500suchagreementsinplace,this gap needs to be addressed. As regards the40-year-old United Nations Environmental Pro-gramme(UNEP)aswellastheEconomicandSocialCouncil(ECOSOC),thereisaproposaltoturnthemintostrongerUNbodiesthatwouldbridgethegapbetweenenvironmentalgovernanceandeconomicgovernance. This is particularly important forensuringgreatercoherencebetweentheeconomic,social and environmental aspects of sustainabledevelopmentandimprovingcoordinationwiththeInternationalFinancialInstitutions(IFIs),theWorldTradeOrganization(WTO),aswellasotherUNagen-cies. Inpractice, thiswould requireenlargementoftheUNEPgoverningcouncilmembershipfromthecurrent58countriestoamoreuniversalcon-stellation,orthecreationofanewenvironmentalorganization(UNEO)basedontheUNEP.
Perhaps amore controversial issue concerns thefutureoftheCommissiononSustainableDevelop-ment(CSD),whichfunctionsundertheEconomicandSocialCounciloftheUnitedNations.However,in itscurrent form, it is largelyperceivedwithintheUNthatthemererenewaloftheCSDmandateisnotenoughanditshouldbetransformedintoaSustainableDevelopmentCouncil.Theroleofsuchabodywouldbeessentialas itwouldserveasanauthoritative,high-levelbodyforallmattersrelat-ingtoanyofthethreeaspectsofsustainabledevel-opment,aswellasthewholefollow-uptoRio+20.Essentially,theCouncilwouldhavesimilarpowerstotheUNHumanRightsCouncil.Thiswouldalsoincludeapeerreviewmechanism.However,alsointhisrespect,thedisagreementswithinthegroupshavesloweddownthenegotiationsforeachoftheproposedalternatives.Inthissituation,Mexicohasprovidedanopeningforthecreationofaspecific
the finnish institute of international affairs 8
forumforsustainabledevelopmentthatwouldofferacompromisesolutiontothedeadlockandprovidemoretimefortheinstitutionalreform.
New goals for sustainable developmentTogalvanizetheRio+20agendaintoaction,thereisaneedforjointlyagreedgoals,targetsandmilestonesthatwouldcommitall stakeholdersandshift thefocusbeyondthetraditionalGDP.Regardingthefor-mer,thechallengeisatleasttwofold.First,tohavegoalsthatwouldencompasstheeconomic,socialandenvironmentalaspectsofsustainabledevelop-mentinabalancedway.Second,tohaveobjectivesthatwouldengagenotonlydevelopingcountriesbutalsoindustrializedeconomiestopushtheirsustain-abledevelopmentstrategiesforward.Theproposalfor such a process is related to the future of theUNMillenniumDevelopmentGoals (MGSs)whoseprimarypurposeistobringabouttheeradicationofextremepovertyandhungerby2015.WhereastheMDGswereformulatedtodirectdevelopingcoun-tries, thenewgoalswouldconcerneachcountryregardlessofthelevelofdevelopment.Inthisregard,the “Future We Want” agenda already includesaproposal toestablisha setofglobalSustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs)aswellasamechanismforperiodicfollow-upandreporting.Logically,thecoresetofSDGsislargelybasedonthe15keythemesonthenegotiatingtable.8However,atthisstageitremainstobeseeniftheoutcomewillalsoincludeadecisionontheprocessandexactthemesassup-ported,forinstance,bySwitzerland,NewZealand,Mexico,Norway,AustraliaandcertainEUmemberstates,orjustadecisiontocreateSDGsinthefuture.
The purpose of the SDGs is to complement andstrengthentheMillenniumDevelopmentGoalsuptothe2015deadline.However,inthelightoftheprogress reviews so far, it ishighlyunlikely thatthesetargetswillbemetwithinthenextfewyears,especiallybytheleastdevelopedfragilecountriesinSub-SaharanAfrica.Consequently,whatremainstobesolvedistheroleofthepoverty-orientedagendainthewidercontextofsustainabledevelopment.To
8 TheproposedSDGsareslatedtoincludesustainablecon-
sumptionandproductionpatternsaswellaspriorityare-
assuchasoceans,foodsecurityandsustainableagriculture,
sustainableenergyforall,wateraccessandefficiency,sus-
tainablecities,greenjobs,decentworkandsocialinclusion,
anddisasterriskreductionandresilience.
thisend,aproperbalancingbetweenhuman—andespecially gender-oriented MDGs—and a moreenvironmentallyinclinedSDGagendawillbecomecrucial.Equallyimportantistheneedtoensurethatthe economic aspects, including (green) growthstrategiesaswellasthewider(green)economy,areadequatelyaddressed.However,muchconfusionreigns over the relationship between the GreenEconomy as a universal approach, the thematicissuesandtheproposedgoals.To thedisappoint-mentofmany,theUSadministrationunderPresi-dentObamahastakenaverycautiousstandinthisregardandhasshownvery little interest inmak-inganyuniversalcommitmentsthat theUS itselfshouldalsoadhereto.Inaddition,theuncertaintywithregardtowhetherObamahimselfwillactuallyattendthenegotiationsraisesquestionsaroundtheUSroleinRio+20ingeneral.
The EU as the underdog of Rio
AsregardsthemainthemesoftheFutureWeWantagenda,theEUhasingeneralsoughtahighprofilewith respect to all the key areas. In so doing, ithasactedasadrivingforcefortheagenda-settingamongst the negotiation parties. For the Union,theseitemsarecloselyinterconnectedastheGreenEconomy is the overall context to facilitate theachievementoftheSDGs,whileimprovedgovern-anceisneededforbothpurposes.Inaddition,theEUhaskeeninterestsinmanyofthesectoralthemes,particularlyinthefivecorethemesofwater,oceans,energy,landuse,ecosystemsandresourceefficiency.EUvisibilityatRioisguaranteedwithahigh-leveldelegationcomprisingtherespectiveleadersoftheEUinstitutions,whichalsoillustratesthepoliticalimportanceoftheConferencetotheUnion.
Intheinternalpreparations,theEuropeanCommis-sionhasmadeaconcertedefforttoproduceacoor-dinatedposition(includingpublicconsultations.)TheCommission initiated theofficialpreparatoryprocess,drawingontheEUEurope2020strategyinJune2011withaCommunicationentitledRio+20: Towards the Green Economy and Better Govern-ance.AsfortheCouncil,prioritieswereadoptedattheEnvironmentalCouncilinMarch2012.Whereastenyearsagodevelopmentministersledtheprocessintheworkinggroups,theRio+20preparationshaveclearlybeenenvironment-ledbothintheCouncilandinthememberstates.ThechallengefortheEU
the finnish institute of international affairs 9
liesinthebreadthofthesustainabledevelopmentagenda,whichmakesitverydifficulttocontrolandcoordinatethememberstates’interests,aswellassectoralpolicyinterests.Intheabsenceofasolidcommonviewonmanyofthedetails,insteadofjustadjustingitspositionsinthenegotiationswiththeothers, theEUhas tonegotiate itsowncontribu-tionsinparallel.Th isagainputsalotofpressureonDenmark,whichisholdingtheCouncilpresidency.
Th e EU take on the Green Economy: Views from the Commission and the CouncilAstheGreenEconomyinthecontextofsustainabledevelopment and poverty eradication forms thebackboneoftheEU’sapproachinthenegotiations,itmeritsacloser look.BoththeCommissionandtheCouncilseeitascrucialtoconcludeaconcretestrategyfortheGreenEconomyglobally.However,their stances also differ from one another. In anutshell,theCommissionpositionisaninterestingmixofmarket-ledsolutions(e.g.emissiontrading,taxes,tradablepermits,paymentsforanecosystemservicesscheme),awell-acknowledgedcontextofenvironmental degradation andpersistent globalpoverty.However,environmentalandsocialchal-lengesaretransferredvia innovationsandinvest-ment into economicpossibilities inall countries.Consequently, theCommissionpriorities revolvearoundwell-managedeconomicgrowth,andthesustainablemanagementofnaturalresourcescom-binedwiththecreationofthe“rightmarketcondi-tions”,includingastrongregulatoryframework.Inthisrespect,theCommissionplacesmuchemphasis
on greater private sector involvement and entre-preneurship,placinglessweightondemocracyandtheparticipationofcitizensatthenationalandlocallevels.Toadvancesustainabledevelopmentinterna-tionally,theCommissionproposes“partnerships”in the crucial sectors of water, energy, oceans,forests, sanitationandagriculture.Agriculture isaparticularly interestingcaseas theCommissionisvocalwhen itcomesto foodsecurityandgoodgovernance,bothgloballyandlocally.IntheCom-missionvision,thekeyisthesustainableuseoflandandinvestmentinagriculture.However,theCom-mission’sviewlacksanyreflectionsontheEU’sownagriculturalpolicyortradeinagriculturewithoutwhichthevisionrisksremainingincomplete.
Th eEU’sfirstgeneralpositionatRio+20wasinitiallydiscussedattheOctober2011Councilmeeting.Simi-larlytotheCommission’sinitialview,itemphasizesthe importance of the Green Economy and thepackageofreformsforenvironmentalgovernance.However, the Council places democracy, humanrights,citizens’participation,theruleoflaw,edu-cation,youthandgenderatthecoreofsustainabledevelopment much more emphatically than theCommission.Whilehighlightingtheimportanceoftheprivatesectorandpublic-privatepartnershipsinpromotinginvestment,tradeandinnovationfortheGreenEconomy,theCouncilalsoreaffirmstheneedtoimplementworldwidesoundcorporategovern-anceaswellasinternationalprinciplesandstand-ardsoncorporateresponsibility.Th us,bothpartiesstresstheimportanceofgovernanceforsustainable
Wind turbine near palanga, lithuania.
photo: andrius Baranauskas
the finnish institute of international affairs 10
developmentbutwithdifferent emphases on themarket and citizens. Overall, the success of theGreenEconomy frameworkdependson itsactualcontentandtangibletargets.Inthisrespect,theEUhasfoundcautioussupportfromtheUSside,buttheG77stillneedsconvincingoftheircommitments.
As the time to lock into the official positionsapproaches,nationalcharacteristicsbecomemoreapparent on the EU front. As regards the GreenEconomy,theEUhasproblemsformulatingacom-monstandonharmfulsubsidiesandfisheriesduetothevestedinterestsofsomeofthememberstates,whichsendsoutadiscouragingsignal.Moreover,theeconomicandeurocrisismayalsoexplainthereluctancetomakefurthercommitments.Alarm-inglyfortherights-basedapproachadvocatedbytheCouncil, themoreconservativenewmemberstates(Malta,Poland,Hungary)aimtowaterdowntheUnion’sstancetowardssexualandreproductivehealthandrights.Thequestionofwaterandsanita-tionhasalsocausedadegreeofinternalconfusionastheUKhasdifficulties inacceptingthehumanrights-basedEUstancetowardstheseprovisions.
Almost a common EU ground: Institutional reform and SDGsRegardingtheissueofstrongerenvironmentalgov-ernance, theUnionstronglysupports theplantoreinforcetheUNEPinordertoupgradeittoanEnvi-ronmentalOrganization(UNEO).Inthisrespect,theCommissionhasprioritizedtheoptiontotransferandupgradetheUNEP,evenifthisweretoentailtheadoptionofalegallybindingtreaty.However,theCommissionalsoregardsitasimportanttoimprovethesustainabledevelopmentcapacitywithintheUNstructureviaECOSOC,aswellaschangingtheroleoftheCouncilforSustainableDevelopment.Regardingtheexactmandatesoftheseproposedinstitutions,both the Commission and the Council are as yetdivided.
CommonEUgroundcanalsobefoundintheaimofnegotiatingclearguidelinesforimplementingtheRio+20outcomes.Thus,bothinstitutionshighlighttheimportanceof“roadmaps”forbasicallyeverykeyareaundernegotiationwithtime-boundobjec-tivesandactionstobesimultaneouslyachievedattheinternational,regionalandnationallevels.Thiskindoftarget-orientedapproachappearstobeofimportancetotheUnionatRio+20.However,almostfromtheoutset,“theroadmapapproach”aroused
opposition,especiallyamongtheG77group.Ontheotherhand,theCouncilstressestheimportanceoftheUNMillenniumGoalsreviewprocessandeffortstoachievethesegoals.Thus,supportingtheideaofuniversalsustainabledevelopmentgoalspost-2015wouldnotcompromisethecommitmentsalreadymade to theMDGs.This stance, together with acontinuedcommitmenttodevelopmentfinancing,isimportantparticularlyfortheAfricanG77coun-tries.Inaddition,thenegotiationsonthesubstanceofthe15thematicareasprovidetheUnionwithslotsinwhichitcaneffectivelypromoteitssustainabledevelopmentagendainapragmaticwayanddem-onstrateatruecommitment.
Prospects for Rio+20 and beyond
ThechallengeofRio+20liesintheenormityofthetaskathand,whichisnotcommensuratewiththeprogressandpoliticalcommitmentssofar.Italsoreflects the difficulties in the other multilateralfora,suchastheWTO,UNCTADortheClimatetalks.Althoughallindicatorssuggestthatitistheeleventhhourtoact,noneofthepartiesiseagertoshowtheway.Despiteitsinternalstrugglesandincoherence,theEUstillstandsoutinthisrespect.Takentogether,theinitialEUpositiontowardsRio+20enhancesthemultilateral process for sustainable developmentsignificantly.TheEU’swillingnesstoreachnotonlyapoliticalagreement,butaclear,multilevelstrat-egyisessentialforanysuccessfuloutcomeofRio+20.Inthisrespect,theEUisripeandreadyenoughtoenter the negotiations, but leadershipwould betoomuch toclaim.Althoughmuchof thepoten-tialsuccessdependsontheUnion,italsorequiresa consensuswith the other actors,most notablytheotherindustrializedcountries,BRICSsandtheG77.Therefore,itisofutmostimportancethattheEUispoisedtotakeamoreproactiveandcoherentstanceacrosstheboardalsoattheformalnegotia-tiontables.Similarly,itiscrucialfortheUniontowork inunisonwith clearnegotiationmandates,andtocoordinateeffortseffectivelythroughouttheprocessandprovisions.
As regards the EU’s priorities, it appears likelythat theUnion’sroadmapapproachto theGreenEconomywillfacemostoppositionfromthemajoremergingpowersandtheG77.Ontheotherhand,theEU’stakeonthesocialdimensions,especiallyontheMillenniumDevelopmentGoalsandfuture
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Suggested reading
BAker, SUSAN (2006) Sustainable Development.
london & new york: routledge.
BomBerg, eliSABeth (2004) “adapting form to
function? from economic to sustainable
development Governance in the european
union”. in W.m. lAfferty (ed.) Governance
for Sustainable Development: The Challenge
of Adapting Form to Function. edward elgar:
cheltenham, Uk & northampton, mA USA, pp.
61–94.
Policy Coherence and EU Development Policy (2009).
CArBoNe, mAUrizio (ed.).routledge: london &
new york.
liBerAtore, ANgelA (1997) “the integration of
sustainable development objectives into eU
policy-making: Barriers and prospects”. in BAker,
SUSAN & koUSiS, mAriA, riChArdSoN, diCk ANd
yoUNg, StepheN (eds.) The Politics of Sustainable
Development: Theory, Policy and Practice within
the European Union. routledge: london & new
york, pp. 107-126.
lightfoot, SimoN & JoN BUrChell (2005) “the
european union and the World summit on
sustainable development: normative power
europe in action?” Journal of Common Market
Studies, 43(1), pp. 75–95.
Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future
worth Choosing. the report of the UN
secretary General’s high level panel on Global
sustainability (2012)
SustainableDevelopmentGoals,seemsmoreattrac-tiveforawidergroupofparties, inparticularfortheAfricanG77states.AlthoughtheSDGscallforaprocessoftheirown,thiskindofinitialstandmayprovetobefruitfulinthediscussionsafterRio+20.However,theimmediatesuccessfortheUnionatRio+20mayresidemoreinthedetailsandtargetsofthe15thematicareasthaninthegrandplansfortheeconomyandsocialdevelopment.
Fromawiderperspective,theRio+20processisatwo-waystreet.ItisnotonlytheEuropeanUnionthatisimportantfortheUNConference,theRiopro-cessisofcrucialimportancefortheEU.TheUnionneedsexternalpressure,especiallypeerpressure,torealizeitscommitmentstosustainabledevelop-mentbothinitsinternalaswellasitsexternalaction.Thus, a strong Rio+20 outcomemay also help toincreasetheEU’sownpolicycoherenceforsustain-abledevelopment.Inthisrespect,limitedsuccessin thenegotiations isnotenough.As the interna-tionalgovernance lacksan institutionthatwouldsafeguardthelegacyoftheRioprocess,aswellasmonitorandreviewallthreeaspectsofsustainabledevelopment,theEUshouldaddresstheproposalfortheUNCouncilforSustainableDevelopmentoraforumofasimilarnaturewithanopenmind.