9 August 2011: The UN General Assembly circulated an advance, unedited version of a report of the UN Secretary-General, titled “Implementation of Agenda 21, the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21 and the outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development.” The report was prepared in response to UN General Assembly resolution 65/152, adopted in December 2010 during the Assembly’s annual consideration of the item.

The report provides an update on the implementation of Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, noting that the Commission on Sustainable Development’s (CSD) 19th session, held in May 2011, failed to reach a conclusion “largely because of the lack of consensus on repeating past agreements pertaining to the means of implementation.” The report elaborates on last year’s version by offering further detail on how to promote closer convergence among the three pillars of sustainable development. To this end, the report highlights “priority sectors and cross-cutting issues,” including energy, water, food security and sustainable agriculture, urbanization, biodiversity, and oceans; institutions and governance; and actions in international cooperation and means of implementation.

This year’s report also reviews progress on preparations for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20). It notes that the study on the five options of the Nairobi-Helsinki Outcome, requested by the UNCSD Bureau, is being prepared in consultation with the Executive Committee of Economic and Social Affairs Plus (ECESA Plus), and that ECESA Plus has decided to broaden the scope of the study, considering options for strengthening each of the three pillars as well as their more effective integration. The report confirms that the broader study mandated by ECESA Plus, which will include the study on the Nairobi-Helsinki Outcome, will be presented in September 2011.

The report also announces some modalities for the UNCSD, including the schedule of high-level plenary meetings on 4-6 June 2012, which it notes is “expected to conclude with the adoption of the focused political document and the report of the Conference.” [Publication: Report of Secretary-General] [General Assembly Resolution 65/152]