UN urges new focus on environment and economy

Just days after the Nairobi-based United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) marked its 40th anniversary, governments have been urged to consider setting up a new global arrangement that integrates environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainable development.This will stress the need to mobilise public support for an approach that guarantees the well-being of humanity while preserving the planet for future generations. It highlights the “nexus approach” that underlines the fact that food, water and energy security are inextricably linked and must be pursued together, which turns the spotlight sharply on Africa’s failure three areas. Indeed, Africa’s poor environmental comes despite the fact that the UNEP, which is mandated to oversee matters of environmental protection and sustainable use is based has based in Africa. Some African countries, of which Rwanda ranks high, have managed to place environmental conservation high on their national agendas.Presenting a report prepared by his High-level Panel on Global Sustainability, which was co-chaired by South African President Jacob Zuma and a former Finnish President Tarja Halonen, to an informal plenary of the General Assembly, UN chief Mr. Ban Ki-mooon said the team’s recommendations address three main topics – empowering people to make sustainable choices; working towards a sustainable economy; and strengthening institutional governance. “The Panel’s vision is to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality, to make growth inclusive and production and consumption more sustainable, while combating climate change and respecting a range of other planetary boundaries,” Mr. Ban told the Assembly. The 22-member panel was established by Mr Ban in August 2010 to formulate a new blueprint for sustainable development and low-carbon prosperity.The group’s final report, ‘Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future Worth Choosing,’ which was formally launched in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on 30 January, contains 56 recommendations to put sustainable development into practice and to make it a part of mainstream economic policy as quickly as possible. He stressed that the recommendations that can be acted on immediately should be included in the outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) to be held in Brazil in June. Mr. Ban also noted that some of the recommendations relate to initiatives that he has already set in motion, including the Sustainable Energy for All initiative and a sustainable development strategy for the UN system. Others will be included in a new sustainable development index or set of indicators for sustainable development goals, he added. “I also see the value of a periodic global sustainable development outlook report, and I will explore the modalities, including the availability of resources, for such an important and ambitious undertaking,” he said. He promised to strengthen ties between the global scientific community and the UN so that science occupies the central place in policy-making. “We need everyone to work together to create a future worth choosing, the future we want,” he added.