Prospects for Sustainability in North America, Europe and Countries in Transition: ECE Regional Preparations for the World Summit

A US Citizens Consultation for the
World Summit on Sustainable Development

July 2, 2001, held at Center for Respect of Life & Environment, Washington, DC

This meeting was one of a series of public meetings as part of national citizen preparations for the World Summit on Sustainable Development.  The meeting was organized to allow citizen groups an opportunity to be updated on the latest information about preparations for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, and more specifically to be briefed and discuss priorities for the upcoming regional preparatory meeting for North America, Europe and Countries in Transition, planned for June 12-13 in Geneva.

Included among the 40 people attending this meeting were members of the US delegation, including Jonathan Margolis (State Department), Adela Backiel ( USDA), Tom Laughlin (Dept. Of Commerce, NOAA), Dan Magraw (EPA), and also Brennan Van Dyke, Director the the UN Environment Program, Region of North America (RONA).

Presentation by Jeffrey Barber, National Coordinator for the Citizens Network

After a round of self-introductions from each of the participants, Jeffrey Barber from the Citizens Network secretariat presented an overview of the upcoming series of preparatory meetings for the North America/European region feeding into the global preparatory meeting in January. 

• In addition to identifying the different upcoming regional meetings of interest to US civil society groups, Jeffrey briefly introduced CitNet's collaborative "US Watch" initiative to develop a collective national assessment -- from a civil society perspective -- of US progress towards sustainability in the past ten years. 
• Jeffrey also raised the critical point highlighted by CitNet during the National Town Meeting for a Sustainable America, held in Detroit in 1999 -- that for many US citizens, sustainable development has had little impact on US law or policy, and despite many statements to the contrary the US has not made a coherent overall domestic or international commitment to sustainable development.
• He then posed six questions to the US delegation as to where the US government is in this process:

1. What role will the US play in the ECE regional assessment process?
2. What will the US contribute to the regional assessment?
3. What has the US accomplished since Rio?
4. Where has the US fallen short?
5. What have been the major constraints to progress by the US?
6. What are the main challenges for the US in achieving sustainability?

This Powerpoint presentation will soon be available on http://www.citnet.org/worldsummit

Presentation by Brennan Van Dyke, Director of the Regional Office for North America for the UN Environment Program (UNEP-RONA)

Brennan gave a more detailed overview of the various regional and global meetings, roundtables, and other processes feeding into the World Summit.  [see http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/ ] Her presentation included the following points:

• From UNEP’s perspective, the main issues likely to be addressed by the World Summit are international environmental governance, national governance, the impacts of globalization, sustainable development, tech/digital divide, environment and health, the shift to sustainable consumption, financing sustainable development, preventing loss of biodiversity and others.
• In the preparatory process there will be a series of regional and subregional meetings throughout the spring and summer of 2001 feeding into the global process.
• In addition to other meetings, UNEP recently worked with the UN Secretariat to organize a multistakeholder Regional Roundtable for North America and Europe, held in Vail, Colorado June 6-8, 2001.  The group focused on five themes:  (1) the need for a new development model, one that integrates economic, social and environmental priorities, (2) consumerism, (3) resource depletion and waste, (4) responses to the climate change challenge, and (5) insitutions to support sustainable development.  One of the conclusions of this meeting was that "the present geernation may be among the last that could correct the current course . . . before it reaches a point of no return."  What the process lacks, she relayed, is "political will, an individual commitment for action and broad public awareness of the consequences of inaction."  This is where civil society has the greatest role to play in this process, she pointed out.  For the relevant reports, see europe regional roundtable .

·        In September 2001 there will be an informal meeting of environmental ministers representing the different countries within the region of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).  One of the goals of this meeting is for the regional ministers to identify ways of integrating environmental issues into economic development – while also addressing the need to address poverty alleviation, globalization, energy, water, sustainable consumption and  production issues

• In addition to helping organize each of the five regional preparatory meetings leading up to the next global preparatory meeting (in New York, January 28 - Feb. 8, 2002), UNEP has also prepared a number of reports likely to become part of the Secretary General’s report.   In particular there is the Global Environment Observatory report (found at http://www.unep.org/Geo2000/  Also see UNEP working documents (at http://www.unep.org/leg/workingdocuments/asp ).

• The UNEP North America office is also partnering with the Center for International Law to host an online conversation about international environmental governance.  (Note:  If there are organizations that would like to host and manage other topical online conversations, and willing to write a report on the results, contact Brennan.)

Presentation by Jonathan Margolis – US Department of State; head of delegation.

• Jonathan opened his presentation with the question “what is sustainable development?”  He pointed out that for the Summit it is important to recognize at least three different views of sustainable development:  (1) that of the G77, which places a special emphasis on development; (2) that of the European nations, which are more likely to emphasize environmental protection and especially promoting a more “prescriptive” and “enforcement-oriented definition; and then there is (3) Japan, the US, Canada, the Norwegians, and others who tend to stress all three pillars – the environmental, economic, and social. 
• In Jonathan’s opinion, the US wished to promote a flexible approach.  This approach looks carefully at the different sources of finance for sustainable development.  Ordinarily, the discussions at CSD, especially by the G77, had tended to stress the need for increasing overseas development assistance (ODA).  However, the US believes that trade, foreign direct investment (FDI), and domestic sources of finance offer far greater potentials for sustainable development. 
• The question is:  How do you make these sources of capital work for development countries?  This depends on the capacity of the country (transparency, rule of law, anti-corruption etc.).  Also you need mechanisms in place to build this capacity.
• Jonathan also stressed that in the upcoming ECE meeting, the US will be looking at ways to support Principle 10 on public participation (linked to current European interests in promoting implementation of the Aarhus Convention.)
• The interagency group meets weekly. They are looking for the best ways to frame sustainable development.  Currently, they are working with the new director of the Council on Environmental Quality, James Connaughton.

Presentation by Lisa Bardack on plans for the US Summit on Sustainable Development.

Lisa, representing the Earth Charter USA and the Center for Respect of Life and Environment, updated participants on plans to organize the US Summit on Sustainable Development, sponsored by the Earth Charter and Citizens Network for Sustainable Development on March 7-9, 2002 in Washington, DC. 

• The purposes of the US Summit are to build greater awareness of sustainable development in America and also to serve as a national public forum leading up to the World Summit. A participatory, bottom up process will be used to develop the agenda.
• Lisa Bardack,  national director of the national Earth Charter, is the coordinator for the Summit, with details soon posted at http://www.earthcharterusa.org/.

General discussion

Some of the questions raised and discussed were as follows:

Q:  Will the US conduct and prepare a national assessment report, as requested by the CSD Secretariat?

Q:  What steps is the US taking towards the Agenda 21 commitment for each nation to prepare a national strategy and plan on sustainable development?

A:  The US will not conduct a chapter by chapter assessment. Rather they will focus attention on key issues.  Individual agencies may focus on case studies and lessons learned.  For example, USDA will review examples of sustainable agriculture.  EPA is likely to give special emphasis to brownfields.

Q:  What process is there to identify what hasn’t happened? Are there any suggestions for new institutions to deal with this problem?

Q:  How are urgent issues such as climate change and worldwide degradation (water, toxins etc.) from subsidized industrialized agriculture, fisheries etc. being addressed? There is a need for concrete action.

A:  Jonathan Margolis outlined the difficulties of international investment in water infrastructure in developing countries noting that there is a lack of municipal financing structure to pay for foreign water technologies. Developed countries could share information on how they do it.

Q:  What is the innovative approach taken by Canada?

A:  Brennan Van Dyke said that UNEP and the Pan American Health Organization are partnering to get a meeting of the Environmental and Health Ministers. PAHO also has a plan of action on environmental health for baseline indicators.

Q:  How would/should a transparency discussion be launched for the World Summit?

A:  WRI (Access Projecct), ELI and IUCN are addressing this. They have a network of partners in countries such as Egypt and Kenya but there is a lack of funding to support national dialogues. OAS has a strategy on public participation which countries are employing even though it is non-binding.

Q:  How will individuals be able to give input into the papers that are being developed?  [In addition to the Secretary General’s report in January, which will reflect the inputs from the various regional preparatory meetings and roundtables, there is currently the draft Ministerial Declaration to be discussed on July 12-13, being prepared for adoption by ECE environment ministers in September.

A:  As to US papers, contact members of the interagency coordinating group working on particular issues. 

Also, citizens and civil society groups should contact US NGO representatives involved in the different preparatory meetings and processes.  The Citizens Network will also be attending the July ECE meeting in Geneva, including a special NGO strategy meeting the day before on July 11.  Questions, concerns and priorities from today’s meeting will be noted in the US NGO contribution.

Q:  Will there be a multistakeholder process. Yes, there will be.

The next citizens consultation meeting for the World Summit is to be scheduled sometime after the July 12-13 meeting in Geneva.

Prepared by Susan Boyd and Jeffrey Barber for the US Citizens Network for Sustainable Development.