Rio+20 'Future we Want' Part 1

I've been reading Future we Want, Rio+20's outcome document and seeing what I make of it.  There has been a groundswell of protest over its weakness and inability to enforce definite cuts in emissions.  No new binding commitments to sustainable development have been decided.  In the process, progress on sustainable development at the mega-multinational level has reportedly come to a stand still.

Section II lists all the prior agreements states have made that the Conference of Parties would like to reaffirm.  Just to list them off..

1.  Rio Declaration on Environment and Development
2. Agenda 21
3. Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21
4. Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg Plan of Implementation)
5. Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development of the World Summit on Sustainable Development
6. Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (Barabados Programme of Action)
7. Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States
8. Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011-2020 (Istanbul Programme of Action)
9. Almaty Programme of Action: Addressing the Needs of Landlocked Developing Countries within a New Global Framework for a Transit Transport Cooperation for Landlocked and Transit Developing Countries
10. political declaration on Africa's development needs
11. New Partnership for Africa's Development
12. United Nations Millennium Declaration
13. 2005 World Summit Outcome
14. Monterrey Consensus of the International Conference on Financing for Development
15. Doha Declaration on Financing for Development
16. outcome document of the High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals
17. Programme of action of the International Conference on Population and Development
18. key actions for the further implementation of the Programme of Action for the International Conference of Population and Development
19. Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 

I have no background in any of these agreements.  I'm just listing them for your and my further reference.  From here I want to look at the actual wording of the document to see how many references to concrete action to implement sustainable development are made vs. actual commitments or plans.
Sovereignty
A potential problem.. Point 28 states that the UN Charter prohibits actions against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State.  It says this in reference to Point 27 which is about ensuring freedom for those under colonial or foreign occupation.  While this is obviously different from implementing binding standards for sustainable development, sovereignty is a major stumbling block in mega-multinational negotiations.

For example: Point 58b states green economy policies in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication should, "Respect each country's national sovereignty over their natural resources taking into account its national circumstances, objectives, responsibilities, priorities and policy space with regard to the three dimensions of sustainable development."  With this one point you've handed all authority for dealing with sustainable development over to the participating states.  If one has to take Point 58b into account there must be incredibly detailed rules within any sustainable development action plan for it to be affective.  'Future we Want' would have to be a much longer document for it to accomplish anything.

Point 59 states, "We view implementation of the green economy policies by countries that seek to apply them for the transition towards sustainable development as a common undertaking."  The key phrase is 'seek to apply them'.  Despite the fact that every country there is in negotiations to implement sustainable development procedures they have to differentiate between those who actually want a green economy and those who don't.

References to Concrete or Urgent Actions
Point 13 of the document underscores, "that sustainable development requires concrete and urgent action."

Point 18 states, "We are determined to reinvigorate political will and to raise the level of commitment by the international community to move the sustainable development agenda forward, through the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals..." 

Point 19 recognizes, "the need to accelerate progress in closing development gaps between developed and developing countries, and to seize and create opportunities to achieve sustainable development  through economic growth and diversification, social development and environmental protection.

Point 55 commits the states, "to reinvigorating the global partnership for sustainable development that that we launched in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.  We recognize the need to impart new momentum to our cooperative pursuit of sustainable development, and commit to work together with major groups and other stakeholders in addressing implementation gaps."

Point 61 recognizes "that urgent action on unsustainable patterns of production and consumption where they occur remains fundamental in addressing environmental sustainability."

Point 76 resolves "to strengthen the institutional framework for sustainable development."

Point 88 calls on the General Assembly to strengthen the UNEP as follows:

1. Establish universal membership in the Governing Council of UNEP, as well as other measures to strengthen its governance as well as its responsiveness and accountability to Member States  (I see no reason why the UNEP would have to be more accountable to its member states.  The bureaucracy seems more concerned with solving problems with sustainable development than the parties to the convention.)
2. Have secure, stable, adequate and increased financial resources from the regular budget of the UN and voluntary contributions to fulfill its mandate
3. Enhance the ability of the UNEP to effectively organize within the UN system to carry out its mandate (There have been criticisms that the UNEP is relatively powerless.  It is headquartered in Nairobi far from the UN's political centers in Brussels, New York, and Geneva.  This was supposed to make the UN more global, instead of Eurocentric, strengthening the participation of developing countries.  Instead, it has become harder to integrate the UNEP into the rest of the UN's political system.  The designation of Programme also limits the UNEP's power compared to other UN bodies.)
4. Promote a strong science-policy interface
5. Disseminate and share evidence-based environmental info and raise public awareness 
6. Provide capacity-building to countries, as well as supporting and facilitating access to tech
7. Progressively consolidate headquarter functions in Nairobi, strengthen its presence in the region (This does not make a lot of sense given the prior problem of communications and influence with the rest of the UN system)
8. Ensure the active participation of all relevant stakeholders drawing on best practices and models from relevant multilateral institutions; exploring new ways of increasing transparency

Many of these recommendations are also incorporated into a provision to create a high-level political forum from earlier in the document.  

Concrete Actions
Point 84 has a provision for creating a high-level political forum which is to replace the Commission on Sustainable Development.  The fact that this is simply replacing a body that already existed in order to build on it's responsibilities makes me question whether this is actually an advancement.  What is more influential, a commission or a political forum?  How much influence do the negotiating states have in each situation?  How are members of the commission decided and how would the commissions duties be performed within the new political forum?

The functions are iterated further in Point 85:

1. Provide political leadership and guidance for Sustainable Development (SD from now on)
2. Enhance integration of the 3 dimensions of SD
3. Provide a platform for dialogue, quantifying achievements, and agenda setting
4. Have focused action oriented goals (this could go under References to Concrete Actions)
5. Follow up and review progress on previous treaties or conventions on SD
6. Encourage high-level system wide participation of UN bodies and other relevant organizations or bodies
7. Improve cooperation and coordination within in UN system on SD programmes and policies
8. Promote transparency and implementation  through further enhancing the consultative role and participation of major groups and other stakeholders at the international level
9. Promote sharing of best practices and experiences
10. Promote system-wide coherence and coordination of SD policies
11. Strengthen the science-policy interface through review of docs bringing together dispersed info and assessments
12. Enhanced evidence-based decision-making

Point 86 states that the format and organizational aspects of the high-level forum will be decided at the opening of the 68th session of the UN General Assembly with the aim of holding the first high-level forum at that time.


That covers about 20 pages of the document thus far.  I'll continue this in my next post.

'Future we Want' Rio+20 Outcome Document, available in 6 languages
http://www.uncsd2012.org/thefuturewewant.html