November 2011: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) recently organized two events to allow for high-level consideration of issues related to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20). The first event, a retreat for UN Permanent Representatives and experts held in Greentree, Long Island, US, on 30 September-1 October 2011, served as an informal space for representatives from UN member States to discuss issues related to preparations for the Conference. At the second event, on 10 November 2011, at UN Headquarters, former heads of States and government met under the theme “A Call to Global Leadership for Sustainable Development.”

The report of the Permanent Representatives’ retreat, titled “Reflections on the State of Agreement on Key Issues of Rio+20,” reviews the discussions on, inter alia: what the world needs from Rio+20; critical areas of divergence and convergence among States; integrating the objective and themes of the Conference by creating synergies among them; a common and concrete vision for the Conference outcome and how to foster this; implementation of the sustainable development agenda; involvement of all stakeholders; the role of media, education and information; partnerships; monitoring progress; sustainable development goals (SDGs); sustainable development champions; and negotiations. The report is organized according to the issues discussed during the retreat, and aims to foster further discussion in the lead-up to the Conference.

At the 10 November event, former Heads of State Jennifer Shipley (New Zealand), Wim Kok (the Netherlands), Ricardo Lagos (Chile) and Luisa Diogo (Mozambique) participated in the dialogue. The report of the retreat served as the background document for the dialogue. Participants exchanged views on the kind of road map to a green economy that would allow sufficient flexibility for countries to apply their own options, while maintaining the overview necessary to safeguard the resources of the planet. Other topics included: an update on the Rio+20 process and other UN processes related to sustainable development; global perspectives on Rio+20; reinforcing the social pillar; a green economy based on sustainable energy as an opportunity for small developing countries; and the green economy as the new paradigm for development in Latin America. [Webpage of Retreat] [Publication: Reflections on the State of Agreement on Key Issues of Rio+20] [Webpage of High-level Dialogue]