The UN General Assembly (UNGA) Second Committee (Economic and Financial) convened a debate on sustainable development from 29-30 October 2007, at UN headquarters in New York, US.

Among the speakers, John Holmes, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, expressed pessimism about the chances of reducing disaster-related losses by 2015, emphasizing the importance of implementing the Hyogo Framework for Action. Several speakers noted the need to help small island developing States deal with their vulnerability to natural disasters and the socio-economic impact of climate change. Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka, Executive Director of the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), said that city planning would determine the pace of global warming, due to the inextricable link between urbanization, urban poverty and climate change. The Committee also heard presentations of sustainable development-related reports by representatives from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Under its agenda item sustainable development, the Committee will consider: implementation of Agenda 21, the programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21 and the outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development; the follow-up to and implementation of the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States; the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction; the protection of global climate for present and future generations of mankind; the implementation of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification; the Convention on Biological Diversity; the report of the Governing Council of UNEP on its twenty-forth session; sustainable mountain development; and the promotion of new and renewable sources of energy.
Links to further information
UN Press release, 29 October 2007
UN Press release, 30 October 2007
Second Committee website