14 June 2012: The Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), Hanns Seidel Stiftung, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) have published the report of a study on the institutional framework for sustainable development (IFSD), titled “Global Architectures for Sustainable Development Delivery.”

The study, which was conducted under the Asia-Europe Environment Forum, undertook a series of consultations on IFSD and analyzed several options for IFSD and international environmental governance. The report compiles the outcome of the study, and is organized into four sections: consultation process and findings; original context and current state of the IFSD; IFSD’s global dimension; and IFSD’s “downstream” dimensions, including the regional and sub-regional dimensions.

The report notes the need to, as a first step, update the existing IFSD system to enable it to deal with current and emerging challenges. It contains various proposals for strengthening international environmental governance and IFSD, such as proposing that in the long term, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) be upgraded to a UN specialized agency, like the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). It also underlines the importance of the proposed sustainable development goals (SDGs).

This report aims to serve as a reference for governments, non-state actors and other researchers in discussions at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), as well as in the eventual implementation of its IFSD outcomes. [Earth System Governance Press Release] [Publication: Global Architectures for Sustainable Development Delivery]