Sustainable Development Commission Stumbled on Climate

Sustainable Development Commission Stumbled on Climate



May 2007 -   Fundamental differences between 
nations on the nature and scope of the sustainable development agenda, 
especially on the issues of energy and climate change, led to the failure 
of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development to approve any outcome 
document Friday after two weeks of negotiations. 
The Commission on Sustainable Development is a UN body that emerged from 
Agenda 21, the program of action for sustainable development adopted in 
June 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The Commission is tasked 
with encouraging international cooperation in the implementation of Agenda 
21 at the local, national, regional and international levels. 
But the 15th annual meeting of the Commission that ended at UN 
Headquarters on Friday demonstrated divisiveness, not cooperation. 
Chair of the 15th meeting of the Sustainable Development Commission 
Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah of Qatar tries to put an end to dissension 
with a "take it or leave it" text. The delegates left it. 
The Kyoto climate protocol proved to be a major stumbling block to 
agreement. The European Union stressed the urgent need for an agreement 
that continues the Kyoto system of legally binding greenhouse gas 
emissions cuts past 2012 when the current protocol expires. 
Australia, Canada and the United States emphasized instead the processes 
to deal with greenhouse gas emissions under the UN Framework Convention on 
Climate Change that do not include legally binding emissions cuts. 
Canada has signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol and is legally bound to 
meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets, but the Conservative government 
of Stephen Harper has said Canada cannot meet its obligations, and Canada 
is now lining up with Australia and the United States, neither of which 
has ratified the protocol. 
On Friday night, the Group of 77 and China, the United States, Canada and 
Mexico agreed to a last minute "take it or leave it" text offered by 
Commission Chair Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Qatar's deputy prime 
minister and minister of energy and industry. 
But the European Union and Switzerland rejected the chair's text, saying 
that it did not address the challenges, meet world expectations or add 
value. 
Sigmar Gabriel, German Federal Minister for the Environment, representing 
the EU-Presidency, said, "The world has been waiting for the UN to take 
concrete steps to address issues such as poverty eradication through 
access to affordable and sustainable energy services, energy efficiency, 
renewable energies, climate change, air quality. The European Union has, 
therefore, worked tirelessly over the last two weeks to negotiate a 
meaningful agreement." 
Gabriel said he "deeply regrets" that agreement was not possible. 
The European Union strongly supported time-bound targets for renewable 
energy and the integration of energy policies into national planning by 
2010. 
Support for a review arrangement for energy issues within the Commission 
and an international agreement on energy efficiency was also high on the 
EU agenda. 
The delegates were given 45 minutes to consult on the chair's text. 
Although it stretched into 90 minutes, still no agreement was reached. 

But objections were raised by Australia, Canada, Japan, the United States 
and other developed countries to the review mechanism idea, so no 
agreement was reached. 
The issue of nuclear power as a part of a sustainable energy mix was 
favored by Algeria, Argentina, Chile, Pakistan and others, but the EU and 
the Association of Small Island States were opposed, so no language was 
agreed on nuclear energy. 
Gabriel said the EU considers these as essential elements on the way to 
achieving the UN's Millennium Development Goals. 
"The challenges posed by climate change, energy security, and air 
pollution are now seen more clearly than five years ago. They require 
strengthened and more ambitious, international policy commitments. It is 
unfortunate that the CSD 15 was unable to deliver," said Stavros Dimas, 
European Commissioner for the Environment. 
The failure of the Commission to agree on a way forward puts the upcoming 
international climate negotations in Bali in December on thin ice. 
Several government delegates to the high-level portion of the Commission's 
meeting said that failure in Bali is not an option. But in view of the 
dissension over the past two weeks in New York, agreement in Bali appears 
farther away.    

       
      

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