12 September 2011: At its 17th meeting, the Bureau for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) met with representatives of international financial institutions (IFIs) and regional banks, and also discussed: the Organization of Work for the third meeting of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom III) and the Conference itself; the Compilation Document; and the proceedings of an informal preparatory meeting in Brazil.

On 12 September 2011, representatives from the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) participated in a dialogue with the Bureau based on a set of prepared questions. The minutes of the Bureau meeting summarize their comments, which include: increased involvement of the private sector is important for leveraging resources to advance sustainable development; “Earth bonds” are a possible option for innovative financing; indicators for measuring economic progress, beyond Gross Domestic Product (GDP), are needed; the UNCSD could set up a process to elaborate sustainable development goals; other areas needing attention at Rio+20 are access to affordable energy, energy subsidies, low carbon transport, climate change, migration, and demographic changes, especially aging populations; and the Conference should set up a process to transition to a green economy, ensure better coordination and cooperation among UN system entities, and scale up work in priority sectors such as water, food security, agriculture, sustainable cities, oceans. Bureau members commented that IFIs could play a key role in bridging implementation gaps, and in linking existing financial mechanisms with one for a green economy transition.

On the Organization of Work for PrepCom III, the Bureau agreed not to plan any side events or other activities during meeting hours, to allow all delegations to participate in final negotiations on the Outcome Document.

On the Organization of Work for the Conference, the Bureau proposed four high-level roundtables on “common overarching themes oriented towards the implementation of expected outcomes of the Conference.” Brazil, as host country, plans to organize thematic sessions during the four days between PrepCom III and the Conference, and to present the results of each thematic session at the roundtables. The Secretariat will revise the proposed Organization of Work and forward it to the Second Committee, which will negotiate it in more detail.

On the Compilation Document, the Bureau discussed the structure, and decided that the document would not include any synthesis, in the interest of neutrality. It will contain (in addition to the submissions themselves): an index reflecting contributions from States, UN System and inter-governmental organizations (IGOs), and Major Groups; and a glossary for locating inputs on specific themes and issues.

On the informal meeting in Brazil, which took place on 22-23 August 2011, no formal summary is available. According to the briefing heard by the Bureau, topics of discussion included: a proposal by Colombia and Guatemala on sustainable development goals; the possibility of establishing a Sustainable Development Council (SDC); and that an important function of a future SDC would be reviewing implementation of commitments on the part of States, the UN system and private sector.

Finally, it was noted that Ambassador Kim Sook of the Republic of Korea has replaced former Bureau Co-Chair Park In-Kook.

The next Bureau meeting will take place on 8 November 2011, and is expected to include discussion on regional preparatory meetings, and the organization of work for Intersessional II, taking place from 15-16 December 2011. [Minutes of 17th Meeting]