The Conference Secretary-General responds to 15 queries he has received, including on why the UNCSD is not a "Summit," whether trade barriers will rise in a green economy, the prospects for upgrading UNEP, and his relationship with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
29 April 2011: Sha Zukang, Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), updated his blog with a post titled “Questions relating to Rio+20,” in which he responds to 15 queries he has received on: expectations of the Conference, green economy, institutional framework for sustainable development (IFSD), climate change, and his relationship with the UN Secretary-General.
On expectations, Sha addresses why such an important Conference is only three days long, and why it is not a “Summit,” stating that “Rio+20 itself will be an example of a sharper focus on implementation,” and that each member State may decide at what level it will participate. He also outlines his vision for the result of the Conference, which he labels a “blueprint for a coherent pursuit of sustainable development.”
On a green economy, Sha addresses whether trade barriers will rise as a result of a green economy. He says that on the contrary, countries should “provide increased market access for green products from developing countries.”
On institutional framework, Sha includes three questions regarding: the prospects of upgrading the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) to a specialized agency or a World Environment Organization, about which he says consensus has not emerged; the UNCSD’s implications for international environmental governance, to which he responds that both the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) and UNEP must be enhanced in order to provide a strong environmental pillar for sustainable development; and the UNCSD’s possible outcomes on the IFSD agenda. Regarding the IFSD, Sha emphasizes that the economic and social pillars also need to be strengthened, potentially including by considering the role of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and by strengthening national and local institutions that ensure access to clean water, sanitation, shelter and energy.
On climate change, Sha notes that the UNCSD will be relevant to climate change because “greening our economies can address many of [its] underlying causes,” such as by using energy more efficiently. He emphasizes that the Conference will “in no way detract from the UNFCCC negotiations.”
Finally, on his relationship with Secretary-General Ban, Sha writes that they both are “thinking along the same lines” regarding sustainable development being a top priority for 2011.
Sha notes that the answers represent his personal views only. He invites additional comments, to be answered in future blog posts. [Blog of Sha Zukang]