The topic of the 9th EU-China Civil Society Roundtable was the green economy in the context of sustainable development, in the perspective of the UNCSD.
Participants elaborated a joint Final Declaration for transmission to the EU-China Head of State Summit, and expressed the hope that Rio+20 will represent a major contribution to the path towards a more sustainable economy, and set clear targets for greening the economy and achieving resource efficiency.
13 May 2011: The ninth EU-China Civil Society Roundtable was organized by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the Chinese Economic and Social Council, in Xi’an, China, from 9-10 May 2011, to discuss the green economy in the context of sustainable development, in the perspective of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20).
Participants elaborated a joint Final Declaration for transmission to the EU-China Head of State Summit. The Declaration states that: a green economy must be understood in the context of sustainable development and requires transformation of development patterns with an equal focus on economic growth, social inclusion and environmental preservation; suitable policy frameworks should develop at the multilateral, regional and national levels to ensure a transition toward a green economy, promotion of sustainable consumption and production (SCP) patterns and preservation of ecosystems; a well designed regulatory framework at the international level is needed to define rights and create incentives that drive green economy activities forward; ongoing academic research should adopt more comprehensive and balanced tools and indicators to assess the extent to which production and consumption activities can be detrimental to natural and human capital; environmental concerns and social inclusion should be mainstreamed into national policy-making and public and private spending, with the public sector playing a leading role in promoting sustainability; trade in environmental goods and services should be facilitated at the multilateral, regional and national levels; assistance and transfer of know-how to developing countries should be promoted, in compliance with intellectual property rights (IPR), to ensure access to environmental technologies; stronger government support to innovation and research in a green economy should be encouraged through measures such as increasing research funding and providing subsidies to research and development (R&D) programmes; and creating an effective regulatory environment for encouraging industries’ own initiatives is essential.
Roundtable participants expressed the hope that Rio+20 will represent a major contribution to the path towards a more sustainable economy, and set clear targets for greening the economy and achieving resource efficiency. They underscored that strong engagement of civil society organizations is essential for creating the momentum and pressure needed to achieve a significant outcome at the Conference.
The 10th EU-China Civil Society Roundtable is scheduled for autumn 2011 in Warsaw, Poland. Agenda items will include sustainable development and urbanization, and ageing population and social security. [EU Press Release] [Joint Declaration]