20 December 2010: An advance, unedited copy of a Report of the Secretary-General, on the Objective and Themes of the UNCSD (A/CONF.216/7), has been issued ahead of the second session of the Preparatory Committee to be held from 7-8 March 2011.

In the context of the goal, set in 1992, of reinforcing sustainable development’s three pillars and making them mutually reinforcing, the report examines how the first theme of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) – green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication (GESDPE) – can contribute to each of the three pillars. It considers how the second theme of UNCSD – the institutional framework for sustainable development (IFSD) — contributes to governance for each of the three pillars.

The report concludes with several messages: countries at all levels of development have been implementing nationally tailored policies and programmes that are consistent with GESDPE; a growing number are experimenting with a more comprehensive reframing of their national development strategies and policies along green economy lines, including ‘low-carbon green growth’ strategies; their combined impact on production and consumption patterns is not yet adequate; an early focus on “win-win” opportunities, providing significant short-term co-benefits, can build confidence in and support for GESDPE; whether countries derive poverty reduction benefits from their green economy efforts often depends on sustaining and deepening conventional social spending, on health, education and targeted income support for the poor; improved institutions are crucial to favorable social outcomes of green economy policies; moving towards GESDPE is as much about structural change in the institutions governing economies at different levels as about technological change; and the reach of the institutional framework for sustainable development has expanded since 1992, but lack of coordination and coherence has held back the full potential. [The Report]