8 January 2013: Based on consultations with civil society, the UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS) has produced a paper to inform the seventh session of the UN General Assembly’s (UNGA) Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The issue brief highlights recommendations from civil society members on sustainable consumption and production (SCP) and climate change mitigation.

On SCP, the brief underlines civil society calls to use social and legal means to incentivize sustainable consumption patterns and promote investments that reduce the environmental impacts of production. Calls to implement the Ten-Year Framework of Programmes (10YFP) on SCP with the “enhanced involvement” of civil society are highlighted. Other proposals include: ensuring equality in access to resources; promoting circular economy and sharing economy models of production; establishing sustainability reporting, fair trade, and energy standards; rejecting unproven technological fixes and using approaches such as bio-mimicry; promoting open-source, traditional and indigenous knowledge systems; and investing in educational programs.

On climate change mitigation, civil society participants proposed that the SDGs should include agreed principles of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) and “polluter pays,” while translating them into quantifiable goals that are complementary with other internationally-agreed commitments. Other civil society priorities include making goals that can be adjusted to changing conditions and allow for increased ambition, while ensuring an integrated approach to implementation. Specific issue areas of importance to respondents include: the need to keep atmospheric temperature rise below two degrees Celsius; the clarification of criteria for clean energy and human rights-based assessments; the phasing out of fossil fuels and nuclear energy; the clear assessment of the multi-dimensional impacts of new technologies; and the expansion of public transportation, building codes and energy efficiency standards.

These recommendations were compiled by UN-NGLS based on four previously conducted consultations, and are meant to contribute to OWG 7, taking place from 6-10 January 2012, in New York, US. [Publication: Policy Brief #6] [NGLS Press Release] [OWG 7 Website] [IISD RS Story on Previous NGLS Policy Briefs][IISD RS coverage of OWG 7]