Seven point agenda for Rio meet on sustainable development

Differences remain between developed and developing countries

Published on:

05 Oct 2011, 10:55 am

The two-day Delhi Ministerial Dialogue on the upcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Brazil's capital Rio De Janeiro—also known as Rio+20—ended on October 4, with parties converging on a seven broad points. Sha Zukang, secretary general to Rio+20 and under-secretary general for economic and social, affairs at the UN, along with India’s minister of state for environment and forest Jayanti Natarajan termed the dialogue a success at a joint press meet.

The two-day dialogue was an exploratory exercise to identify a common agenda before the November 1, 2011 deadline, by when all countries need to submit their official positions on what green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication would be for them
The seven broad points agreed on include acknowledgement of common but differentiated responsibility; integrating the three pillars—social, economic and environmental—and ensuring their coherence; and that the outcome should be people-centred, accounting for the needs of most vulnerable
What also emerged out of discussions was a concept of a sustainable development council (SDC) on the lines of the Human Rights Council that could monitor the progress though voluntary country reporting and review system
The European Union commissioner for environment, Janez Potocnick, did not rule out the EU proposing a target-oriented approach to achieve a green economy

What Delhi dialogue agreed on

Rio is a sustainable development conference and all parts of government and civil societies should have a stake

All countries, developed and developing, must stand to benefit from the agreement signed at Rio+20

At Rio+20, governments must reaffirm the Rio principles, including the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR, and devise a plan of action to accelerate implementation of long standing commitments

The Rio+20 outcome must strengthen integration of the three pillars of sustainable developments

The outcome must be people-centred and inclusive, taking into account above all the needs of the most vulnerable

The ambition of the actions agreed at Rio must match the scale of the challenges we face. Half measures will not do

Financing, science and technology and capacity building will be critical to a successful Rio+20 outcome

India's stand

Reaffirm the Rio Principles, including common but differentiated responsibility

Strike a balance between the three pillars of sustainable development

Allow policy space for the countries to define the sustainable development strategies as per their national priorities and respective stages of development

Build institutional capacities at all levels—global, regional and local

Prioritise programmes for the inclusion and upliftment of socio-economically weaker sections of society, women and youth

Promote access to green technologies at affordable cost, including through greater financial assistance for R&D in public domain

Strenghten global partnerships for sustainable development, including access of developing countries to additional financing

Avoid green protectionism in the name of green economy

Climate Change