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ripe and ready for rio+20?

marikki stocchetti fiia BriefinG paper 108 • 8 June 2012

U L KO P O L I I T T I N EN INS T I T U U T T I

U T R I K E S P O L I T I S K A INS T I T U T E T

THE F I N N I S H I N S T I T U T E OF I N T E R N AT I O N A L AFFA IR S

108

the un conference on sustainaBle

development and the european union

• TheUNConferenceonSustainableDevelopment(Rio+20)marksahistoricopportunitytoaddressunsustainabletrendsineconomic,socialandenvironmentaldevelopmentmultilaterally.Still,ontheeveofRio+20,theinternationalcommunitylacksconsensusandleadership.

• TheEuropeanUnionhastakenaveryproactiveandconstructiveroleinthepreparationsforRio+20.However, theEU’s commitment to the sustainable development agenda is not shared equallyacrossitspoliciesormemberstates.ThisweakenstheEU’sstrategicpositioninthenegotiations.

• DisagreementsbetweenRio+20partiescutacrossallthemainitemsontheagenda.Inparticular,thetopicof the“GreenEconomy”bringsoldclashesbetweendevelopingeconomiesandpost-industrializedcountriesbacktothefore.Thekeyquestionrelates,ontheonehand,totherighttodeterminedevelopmentstrategies,andontheotherhand,tothedivisionofresponsibilitiesbetweencountries.

• Onamoreoptimisticnote,theneedforinstitutionalreformandjointsustainabledevelopmentobjectiveshasbeenwidelyacknowledged.Inaddition,muchprogresscanstillbemadeinthe15thematicareasof sustainabledevelopment.Thismaycompensate for the lackofunanimityongrandparadigms.

• It isofutmostimportanceforasuccessfuloutcomethattheUnionworksinunison,withclearnegotiationmandates,andcoordinates itsviewseffectivelythroughouttheprocess.SuccessatRio+20mayalsohelptoincreasetheEU’sowncoherencewithregardtosustainabledevelopmentinthefuture.

ripe and ready for rio+20?

fiia Briefing paper 108

8 June 2012

the un conference on sustainaBle developement

and the european union

the european union research programme

the finnish institute of international affairs

U L KO P O L I I T T I N EN INS T I T U U T T I

U T R I K E S P O L I T I S K A INS T I T U T E T

THE F I N N I S H I N S T I T U T E OF I N T E R N AT I O N A L AFFA IR S

marikki stocchetti

researcher


the finnish institute of international affairs 3

From unsustainability to solutions

Essentially, the international efforts to promote“sustainabledevelopment”stemfromthenecessitytoredirecthumanactiontowardsmoreecologicalandequitablepaths.Forthepast fortyyears, theseries ofUN summitshasprovided an importantforumforthispurpose.Mostnotably,theUNCon-ferenceonEnvironmentandDevelopment,knownas the “Earth Summit”, in Rio de Janeiro (1992),markedahistoriclaunchofprocessestowardssus-tainabledevelopment.Now,twentyyearslater,RiodeJaneirowillagainbethestageforaninternationaldramaonthefutureoftheEarth.ThestakesarehighattheUNConferenceonSustainableDevelopment.Despitethebroadinternationalconsensusandoffi-cialcommitmentsmadeinthenameofsustainabledevelopment,developmentremains far fromsus-tainable:growthandanincreaseinincomearestillconnected todeclining environmental indicatorsandgrowing inequalitybothglobally andwithincountries. High poverty rates, alarming climatechange,continuedlossofbiodiversityandoverex-ploitationofnaturalresourcesalldemonstratetheenormityofthetaskathand.1

Tobridgethegapbetweentheneedsandefforts,theinternationalcommunitywillre-convenetoresettheglobalagendaforsustainabledevelopment,as

1 UNDPHumanDevelopmentReport2011.

wellastoreviewthepastcommitments.Thistime,negotiationsrevolvearoundthreeambitiousareasthatinclude:

1. TheGreenEconomyinthecontextofsustainabledevelopmentandpovertyeradication.

2. Theupgradingofenvironmentalinstitutionsforbettergovernance.

3. Anagreementonfutureobjectivesforsustain-abledevelopment.2

Furthermore, theconferencewill address 15 the-maticissuessuchasfoodsecurity,waterandenergytodirectfuturepoliciesinthesecross-cuttingfields.3Takentogether,theseprovisions(andframeworkforaction)willformtheRiooutcomedocumentambi-tiouslyentitled“TheFutureWeWant”.

However, reaching a consensus on “theWantedFuture”andagreeingonthemeansofgettingtherehasbecomeevermorechallenging.Compared to

2 SeetheUNzerodraftonthenegotiationsoutcomeaccessible

athttp://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/index.php?page=view&

type=12&nr=324&menu=20

3 Inaddition,thefulllistofissuesincludescities,greenjobs

andsocialinclusion,oceansandseasincludingsmallisland

developingstates(SIDS),naturaldisasters,climatechange,

forestsandbiodiversity,landdegradationanddesertification,

mountains,chemicalsandwaste,sustainableconsumption

andproduction,educationandgenderequality.

original photo: NASA


the forward-looking optimism that surroundedthefirstRioSummitinthepost-ColdWarcontext,thecurrentmoodischaracterizedbyaparadox.Onthe one hand, persistent poverty and inequality,foodinsecurity,climateandthefinancialcrisisareessentiallymanifestationsofunsustainabledevelop-mentandglobalgovernancethatneedtobetackledmultilaterally.This,combinedwithanincreaseinscientificevidence,shouldassuchsufficetotriggeranewpoliticalcommitment.Butinreality,regain-ingapoliticalcommitmenttotheRioprocessseemstoconstituteafundamentalchallengefortheforth-comingRio+20agenda.Thesituationisexacerbatedbythefactthattheoutcomeshouldengageanevermore heterogeneous group of actors.This groupincludespost-industrializedeconomiesaswellasemergingpowerslikeChinaandotherBRICSs,thediverse developing countries represented by theG77, international organizations, businesses andthecivilsociety.4Themaindisagreementsconcernstrategies to pursue development and growth aswellas thedivisionof responsibilities in tacklingunsustainability.

In this regard, the roleof theEuropeanUnionatRio+20isintriguingindeed.Ontheonehand,the

4 Industrializedcountriesareoftenreferredtoas“JUSCANZ”

includingJapan,theUnitedStates,Canada,Australiaand

NewZealand.TheBRICSsinturnconsistofBrazil,Russia,

ChinaandSouthAfrica.TheGroupof77with132member

statesisthelargestintergovernmentalorganizationofdevel-

opingcountriesintheUN.

Unionhasadopted“sustainabledevelopment”asoneofitscorevaluesintheLisbonTreaty.Inmanyrespects,theUnionanditsmemberstateshavebeenremarkablymoresupportiveofmultilateraleffortswhen compared to, say, theUS or the emergingeconomies.TheEUhasalreadyadopted thiskindofapproachduringtheRio+20preparations,as ithasplayedaproactiveandconstructiveroleinthe“FutureWeWant”agenda-setting.Infact,ithasahighstakeinallofthemainnegotiationareas.Thus,theUnion appears almost as an underdog in thesituation.Ontheotherhand,thecommitmenttosustainabledevelopmentisnotequallysharedandintegratedintotheEUsystem,whichweakenstheUnionpositionattheRioConferenceandbeyondit. In sum, if theUN Conference on SustainableDevelopmentistosucceed,theUnionneedstobeinternallyripeandreadytoplayitshandwell,andtoknowwhatitwantsbothinsideandoutsidetheEU.

Thepurposeof thispaper is to lookmore closelyat theEU’s roleand theprospects forpromotingsustainabledevelopmentduringtheRio+20process.Inparticular,thefocusisontheUnion’sapproachto the key issues on the current Rio+20 agenda:theGreenEconomy in thecontextof sustainabledevelopment, institutionalreformandnewgoalsandindicators.Totakeafewstepsback,thepaperfirststartswithashortreminderofthelegacyofthefirstEarthSummit.Second,itproceedstothethreekeyissueareasthatformthebasisfortheRio+20negotiations.Third,thepreliminaryEUprioritiesandchallengesareanalyzedagainstthisbackdrop.Finally,thepaperconcludeswithashortsummaryoftheUnion’sprospectsforpromotingsustainabledevelopmentattheRio+20Conferenceandbeyond.

The legacy of the Earth Summit and the European Union

ThedifficultiesoftheRioprocessandthebreadthoftheagendastemfromthecomplexityof themat-ter.SustainabledevelopmentasanapproachwasoutlinedfirstintheconcludingreportbytheWorldCommission on Environment and Development(WCED)entitledOurCommonFuture(1987).5The

5 TheWCEDreport,alsoknownastheBrundtlandReport,pro-

videdagenericdefinitionforsustainabledevelopmentasde-

velopmentthatmeetsthepresentneedswithoutsacrificing

futuregenerations’capacitytosatisfytheirneeds.

The main UN events include:

• UN conference on the human environment,

stockholm 1972

• UN stockholm + 10, nairobi 1982

• UN conference on environment and

development, rio de Janeiro 1992 (earth

summit)

• UN General assembly General session to

review agenda21, new york 1997

• World summit on sustainable development,

Johannesburg 2002

• UN conference on sustainable development,

rio de Janeiro 2012.


purposeof thefirstEarthSummit in 1992was totranslatetheideaofsustainabledevelopmentintoconcreteaction.Ideally,sustainabledevelopmentimpliestwoimportantchangesinpolicy-making.First, it implies the ability topromote economic,socialandenvironmentalaspectsofdevelopmentsimultaneouslybothathomeandabroad.Second,it requirescarefulbalancingbetweenshort-terminterests and long-term values and principles.Consequently, this would require a new way ofintegratingpoliticsintonationalandinternationalnegotiations.

Inthisregard,thelegacyofthefirstRioConferenceonEnvironmentandDevelopmentresultedinthefirst historic programme for promoting sustain-able development. Th e programme consisted ofthreetypesofelements:internationalagreements,principles for global governance and agendas foraction. Regarding international agreements, twobinding environmental regimeswere put on thetable.Th eseweretheUNFrameworkConventiononClimateChange(UNFCCC)andtheUNConventiononBiologicalDiversity(CBD)thathaveledprocessesand institutions of their own since Rio. In turn,the Rio Declaration on Environment and Devel-opment set out the key principles of sustainabledevelopment,suchascommonanddifferentiatedresponsibilitiesandequityprinciplesfordevelopedand developing countries alike. Equally impor-tantwastheadoptionofthe“precautionary”and

“polluter pays”principles of good environmentalgovernance.⁶Notablyforsocialdevelopment,theRioDeclarationstressestherightto,andneedfor,development,growthandpovertyeradicationinthepoorercountries.Inaddition,theForestPrinciplesdefinedsustainablemanagement,conservationanddevelopmentofalloftheworld’sforests.Andlastly,regarding practices for sustainable development,Agenda 21 was adopted, which presented fortychaptersofactionplansengagingactorsfromlocalcommunitiestothehighestechelonsofworldpoli-ticsandbusiness.OneofthekeypurposesofAgenda21wastogetthedifferentactorstoincorporatethespiritofRiointotheirowndevelopmentstrategies.

Relatedly,sustainabledevelopmenthasappearedasaguidingstrategywithalegalbasisforallEUpoli-cymakerssincethesigningoftheTreatyonEuro-peanUnion(TEU)in1992.Toavaryingdegree,ithassincebeenpresentininternalandexternalpolicies.Th ese include theEU’s relationswithdevelopingcountriesaswellasitscontributionstoglobalgov-ernance.Moreprecisely,theTreatyofAmsterdam(Article6)statesthatthepromotionofsustainabledevelopmentmustbeintegratedintothedefinitionandimplementationofallEUpolicies.Internation-ally,theEU(EC+memberstates)hasclaimedakeyrolesincethefirstRio“EarthSummit”,andamore

6 Theprecautionaryprincipleimpliesthatalackofscientific

certaintyisnoreasontopostponeactiontoavoidpotentially

seriousorirreversibleharmtotheenvironment.

the very first earth summit, held in rio in 1992, saw the launch the UN framework convention on climate

change (UNfCCC) and the UN convention on Biological diversity (CBd). photo: united nations


systematic,Union-wideprocesswaslaunchedasapartofthepreparationsforRio+10,theUNWorldSummitonSustainableDevelopment,heldinJohan-nesburgin2002.7

However,themultidimensionalsustainabledevel-opmentagendaposesapersistentproblemfortheUnionas itdoesnot fallneatly into thecompart-mentalizedstructureofEUpolicy-making.Often,sustainable development issues risk being over-ridden by other immediate sectoral interests ordisagreements onwhat sustainable developmentimplies. On amore positive front, the Union initself already has in place a unique form of gov-ernance—comprising subnational, national tolocallevelsthatcouldbeutilizedmoreeffectivelyforsustainabledevelopment. Inthe internationalnegotiationsonsustainabledevelopment,theEU’sleadershiphasbeenlargelybasedontherelativelystrongEUenvironmentalpolicy.Yet,theenviron-mentaldimensionconstitutesjustonedimensionofsustainabledevelopment.

Tenyearsago,atthepreviousWorldSummitonSus-tainableDevelopmentinJohannesburg,theEUwasparticularlysuccessfulinsafewaterandsanitationissues.Italsopushedforwardtime-boundtargetstoreducelossofbiodiversity,affordableandcleanenergy and climate change.Although the effortsdidnotresultinaninternationalbreakthroughduetoreluctancefromotherparties(mainlytheUSA,Australia,OPECandstrongdevelopingstates),theEUstilldemonstratedatruecommitmentinthesefields.Ona furtherpositivenote, theEU’sactivecampaigningforincreasingdevelopmentassistanceattheUNFinancingforDevelopmentofMonterreyearlierthatyearelevatedtheEU’sprofileinthepro-motionofsustainabledevelopment.Onagloomiernote,theEU(DGtrade)oppositiontolegallybindingcorporateruleswatereddowntheprovisionofsocialandenvironmentalaspectsoftradeandsustainabledevelopment.Inalargerperspective,thehistoryofthecommonagricultureandfisheriespolicieshasarecordthatisinsharpcontrasttotheveryideaofsustainabledevelopmentandpovertyeradication,

7 ThebasisfortheEURio+10positionwasdefinedintheEU

sustainabledevelopmentstrategiesof2001and2002with

aglobaldimension.Thelatterwasupdatedin2005.Docu-

mentsareaccessibleathttp://europa.eu/legislation_summa-

ries/environment/sustainable_development/l28117_en.htm

andwhichovershadowstheoverallEUprofilealsointheinternationalnegotiations.Furthermore,theprovisiononenvironmentallyharmfulsubsidiesisasorepointwithsomeofthememberstates.Inaddi-tion,theEU’sproactivebilateraltradeliberalizationpolicywithitsstrongregulatoryapproachhasoftenbeenseenaschallengingfornationalsovereigntyindevelopingcountriesnegotiatingwiththeUnion.

TheheterogeneityoftheEUcontributioninprevi-ousnegotiationswascausedbythelackofcommonvision and coordination by the EU negotiators.Earlier,thepowertonegotiatewasdefinedbytheTreaty-based competencies. Consequently, theCommission negotiated on all areas of exclusivecompetence(mainlytradeandagriculture),whilsttheCouncilPresidency(alsoDenmarkatthattime)expressedthecommonpositiononareasofmixedcompetence.However, indevelopmentandenvi-ronmentpoliciestherespectiveCommissionerstookastronger,yetsometimescompetingratherthancomplementaryrole.InJohannesburg,theEUwasgranteda“fullparticipantstatus”.Withtheadventof theLisbonTreaty, theUnionnowhasanevenstronger role.Thequestion ishow theEU actorswillseizethisopportunity.OnewaytoaddressthisquestionistolookattheEU’sstancetowardsthekeynegotiationareasoftheRio+20Summit.

‘The Future We Want’:

The spearheads of the Rio+20 agenda

As always, theofficial summitdates are only thetipof the icebergwhencomparedtothemonths,sometimesevenyears,ofactivepreparation.Thistimearound,theinitiativefortheRio+20Confer-encewasputonthetablebytheG77inDecember2009.Threeyears later, theUNpublished the so-calledzerodraftversionoftheproposedoutcomedocumententitled“TheFutureWeWant”.Thepro-posalconsistedof280pagescrystallizingover6000pagesof submissions fromnationalgovernments,internationalorganizations,civilsocietynetworksand individuals. Since March, informal sessionshavebeenarrangedtobuildaconsensusaroundthemajorthemes.Alongandwindingroadliesaheadas401ofthe422paragraphsoftheoutcomedocumentremaintobesettledjustweeksbeforethesummit.Thistimethedevilseemstobeinthedetailedtargetsasmuchasinthelargerframeworks.Furthermore,discussions are marked by disagreements both


insidethecountrygroupsaswellasbetweenthem.ThispaperproceedsbylookingateachofthemainnegotiationitemsfirstlyingeneralandthenfromtheEUperspective(s).

The Green Economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication Unsurprisingly,thecorequestionofeconomyandgrowthfeaturesatthetopofthe“FutureWeWant”agenda.Afterfortyyearsofdebateonsustainabilityandeconomicgrowth,theequationremainstobesolved.AtRio+20,thedebatewillcontinueunderthe“greeneconomyandgreengrowth”heading.According to the United Nations EnvironmentalProgramme(UNEP),agreeneconomyisonethat“resultsinimprovedhumanwell-beingandsocialequity,whilesignificantlyreducingenvironmentalrisks andecological scarcities”.Thisgoalposes areallitmustestfortheinternationalcommunityasits realizationwould require amajoroverhaul intheways inwhicheconomyandgrowtharecon-templatedandgovernedbothintheindustrializedeconomiesaswell as in thedevelopingworld. Inmoreconcrete terms, this impliesmajorchangesinproductionandconsumptionhabitsacrosstheglobe,aswellasarethinkwhereproductionnet-works, international trade, intellectual propertyandinvestmentareconcerned.Ideally,theresultingnewbreedofgrowthwouldcontributetopovertyeradication(whilemaintaininglevelsofcompetive-ness)withless intensiveenergyandresourceuseandlesspollution(especiallylowcarbon)thanhastraditionallybeenthecase.

Withsuchademand,thisprovisionwithitsvariousnegotiationitemsislikelytobecomeoneofthemainbonesofcontentionduringtheactualnegotiations.Thekeyquestionishowtheinternationalcommu-nitycanreachaconsensusontheoverallgoal,aswellasapoliticallyacceptableprocesstoimplementitindifferentcountrycontexts.ThisisaparticularlysensitiveissuefortheG77group,whichprioritizespoverty reduction over environmental concerns.Boththemajoremergingpowersaswellasmanyof theAfricandevelopingstatesview“theGreenEconomy”asamanifestationofWesterndominancebasedonspecifictechnologyandknow-howthataddsonmorecostsforpoorercountrieswhilenar-rowingthescaleoftheirdevelopmentandgrowthstrategies. Also, in times of sluggish economicgrowthintheUSandthesovereigndebtcrisis inEurope,thewillingnessofadvancedeconomiesto

leadtheway—tochangetheirowneconomiesandsharetechnologiesandknow-how,forinstance—isincreasinglybeingquestioned.

New institutional structure for better governanceThefirstRioConferencerecognizedthatthepromo-tionofsustainabledevelopmentrequiresadequateinstitutional arrangements at the local, national,regional and international levels. Regarding theinternationallevel,therehasbeenawidelysharedconcern that environmental governance suffersfrom fragmented and weak institutions, whichresultsinweakerimplementationandmonitoringofmultilateralenvironmentalagreements(MEAs).Nowwithmorethan500suchagreementsinplace,this gap needs to be addressed. As regards the40-year-old United Nations Environmental Pro-gramme(UNEP)aswellastheEconomicandSocialCouncil(ECOSOC),thereisaproposaltoturnthemintostrongerUNbodiesthatwouldbridgethegapbetweenenvironmentalgovernanceandeconomicgovernance. This is particularly important forensuringgreatercoherencebetweentheeconomic,social and environmental aspects of sustainabledevelopmentandimprovingcoordinationwiththeInternationalFinancialInstitutions(IFIs),theWorldTradeOrganization(WTO),aswellasotherUNagen-cies. Inpractice, thiswould requireenlargementoftheUNEPgoverningcouncilmembershipfromthecurrent58countriestoamoreuniversalcon-stellation,orthecreationofanewenvironmentalorganization(UNEO)basedontheUNEP.

Perhaps amore controversial issue concerns thefutureoftheCommissiononSustainableDevelop-ment(CSD),whichfunctionsundertheEconomicandSocialCounciloftheUnitedNations.However,in itscurrent form, it is largelyperceivedwithintheUNthatthemererenewaloftheCSDmandateisnotenoughanditshouldbetransformedintoaSustainableDevelopmentCouncil.Theroleofsuchabodywouldbeessentialas itwouldserveasanauthoritative,high-levelbodyforallmattersrelat-ingtoanyofthethreeaspectsofsustainabledevel-opment,aswellasthewholefollow-uptoRio+20.Essentially,theCouncilwouldhavesimilarpowerstotheUNHumanRightsCouncil.Thiswouldalsoincludeapeerreviewmechanism.However,alsointhisrespect,thedisagreementswithinthegroupshavesloweddownthenegotiationsforeachoftheproposedalternatives.Inthissituation,Mexicohasprovidedanopeningforthecreationofaspecific


forumforsustainabledevelopmentthatwouldofferacompromisesolutiontothedeadlockandprovidemoretimefortheinstitutionalreform.

New goals for sustainable developmentTogalvanizetheRio+20agendaintoaction,thereisaneedforjointlyagreedgoals,targetsandmilestonesthatwouldcommitall stakeholdersandshift thefocusbeyondthetraditionalGDP.Regardingthefor-mer,thechallengeisatleasttwofold.First,tohavegoalsthatwouldencompasstheeconomic,socialandenvironmentalaspectsofsustainabledevelop-mentinabalancedway.Second,tohaveobjectivesthatwouldengagenotonlydevelopingcountriesbutalsoindustrializedeconomiestopushtheirsustain-abledevelopmentstrategiesforward.Theproposalfor such a process is related to the future of theUNMillenniumDevelopmentGoals (MGSs)whoseprimarypurposeistobringabouttheeradicationofextremepovertyandhungerby2015.WhereastheMDGswereformulatedtodirectdevelopingcoun-tries, thenewgoalswouldconcerneachcountryregardlessofthelevelofdevelopment.Inthisregard,the “Future We Want” agenda already includesaproposal toestablisha setofglobalSustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs)aswellasamechanismforperiodicfollow-upandreporting.Logically,thecoresetofSDGsislargelybasedonthe15keythemesonthenegotiatingtable.8However,atthisstageitremainstobeseeniftheoutcomewillalsoincludeadecisionontheprocessandexactthemesassup-ported,forinstance,bySwitzerland,NewZealand,Mexico,Norway,AustraliaandcertainEUmemberstates,orjustadecisiontocreateSDGsinthefuture.

The purpose of the SDGs is to complement andstrengthentheMillenniumDevelopmentGoalsuptothe2015deadline.However,inthelightoftheprogress reviews so far, it ishighlyunlikely thatthesetargetswillbemetwithinthenextfewyears,especiallybytheleastdevelopedfragilecountriesinSub-SaharanAfrica.Consequently,whatremainstobesolvedistheroleofthepoverty-orientedagendainthewidercontextofsustainabledevelopment.To

8 TheproposedSDGsareslatedtoincludesustainablecon-

sumptionandproductionpatternsaswellaspriorityare-

assuchasoceans,foodsecurityandsustainableagriculture,

sustainableenergyforall,wateraccessandefficiency,sus-

tainablecities,greenjobs,decentworkandsocialinclusion,

anddisasterriskreductionandresilience.

thisend,aproperbalancingbetweenhuman—andespecially gender-oriented MDGs—and a moreenvironmentallyinclinedSDGagendawillbecomecrucial.Equallyimportantistheneedtoensurethatthe economic aspects, including (green) growthstrategiesaswellasthewider(green)economy,areadequatelyaddressed.However,muchconfusionreigns over the relationship between the GreenEconomy as a universal approach, the thematicissuesandtheproposedgoals.To thedisappoint-mentofmany,theUSadministrationunderPresi-dentObamahastakenaverycautiousstandinthisregardandhasshownvery little interest inmak-inganyuniversalcommitmentsthat theUS itselfshouldalsoadhereto.Inaddition,theuncertaintywithregardtowhetherObamahimselfwillactuallyattendthenegotiationsraisesquestionsaroundtheUSroleinRio+20ingeneral.

The EU as the underdog of Rio

AsregardsthemainthemesoftheFutureWeWantagenda,theEUhasingeneralsoughtahighprofilewith respect to all the key areas. In so doing, ithasactedasadrivingforcefortheagenda-settingamongst the negotiation parties. For the Union,theseitemsarecloselyinterconnectedastheGreenEconomy is the overall context to facilitate theachievementoftheSDGs,whileimprovedgovern-anceisneededforbothpurposes.Inaddition,theEUhaskeeninterestsinmanyofthesectoralthemes,particularlyinthefivecorethemesofwater,oceans,energy,landuse,ecosystemsandresourceefficiency.EUvisibilityatRioisguaranteedwithahigh-leveldelegationcomprisingtherespectiveleadersoftheEUinstitutions,whichalsoillustratesthepoliticalimportanceoftheConferencetotheUnion.

Intheinternalpreparations,theEuropeanCommis-sionhasmadeaconcertedefforttoproduceacoor-dinatedposition(includingpublicconsultations.)TheCommission initiated theofficialpreparatoryprocess,drawingontheEUEurope2020strategyinJune2011withaCommunicationentitledRio+20: Towards the Green Economy and Better Govern-ance.AsfortheCouncil,prioritieswereadoptedattheEnvironmentalCouncilinMarch2012.Whereastenyearsagodevelopmentministersledtheprocessintheworkinggroups,theRio+20preparationshaveclearlybeenenvironment-ledbothintheCouncilandinthememberstates.ThechallengefortheEU


liesinthebreadthofthesustainabledevelopmentagenda,whichmakesitverydifficulttocontrolandcoordinatethememberstates’interests,aswellassectoralpolicyinterests.Intheabsenceofasolidcommonviewonmanyofthedetails,insteadofjustadjustingitspositionsinthenegotiationswiththeothers, theEUhas tonegotiate itsowncontribu-tionsinparallel.Th isagainputsalotofpressureonDenmark,whichisholdingtheCouncilpresidency.

Th e EU take on the Green Economy: Views from the Commission and the CouncilAstheGreenEconomyinthecontextofsustainabledevelopment and poverty eradication forms thebackboneoftheEU’sapproachinthenegotiations,itmeritsacloser look.BoththeCommissionandtheCouncilseeitascrucialtoconcludeaconcretestrategyfortheGreenEconomyglobally.However,their stances also differ from one another. In anutshell,theCommissionpositionisaninterestingmixofmarket-ledsolutions(e.g.emissiontrading,taxes,tradablepermits,paymentsforanecosystemservicesscheme),awell-acknowledgedcontextofenvironmental degradation andpersistent globalpoverty.However,environmentalandsocialchal-lengesaretransferredvia innovationsandinvest-ment into economicpossibilities inall countries.Consequently, theCommissionpriorities revolvearoundwell-managedeconomicgrowth,andthesustainablemanagementofnaturalresourcescom-binedwiththecreationofthe“rightmarketcondi-tions”,includingastrongregulatoryframework.Inthisrespect,theCommissionplacesmuchemphasis

on greater private sector involvement and entre-preneurship,placinglessweightondemocracyandtheparticipationofcitizensatthenationalandlocallevels.Toadvancesustainabledevelopmentinterna-tionally,theCommissionproposes“partnerships”in the crucial sectors of water, energy, oceans,forests, sanitationandagriculture.Agriculture isaparticularly interestingcaseas theCommissionisvocalwhen itcomesto foodsecurityandgoodgovernance,bothgloballyandlocally.IntheCom-missionvision,thekeyisthesustainableuseoflandandinvestmentinagriculture.However,theCom-mission’sviewlacksanyreflectionsontheEU’sownagriculturalpolicyortradeinagriculturewithoutwhichthevisionrisksremainingincomplete.

Th eEU’sfirstgeneralpositionatRio+20wasinitiallydiscussedattheOctober2011Councilmeeting.Simi-larlytotheCommission’sinitialview,itemphasizesthe importance of the Green Economy and thepackageofreformsforenvironmentalgovernance.However, the Council places democracy, humanrights,citizens’participation,theruleoflaw,edu-cation,youthandgenderatthecoreofsustainabledevelopment much more emphatically than theCommission.Whilehighlightingtheimportanceoftheprivatesectorandpublic-privatepartnershipsinpromotinginvestment,tradeandinnovationfortheGreenEconomy,theCouncilalsoreaffirmstheneedtoimplementworldwidesoundcorporategovern-anceaswellasinternationalprinciplesandstand-ardsoncorporateresponsibility.Th us,bothpartiesstresstheimportanceofgovernanceforsustainable

Wind turbine near palanga, lithuania.

photo: andrius Baranauskas


developmentbutwithdifferent emphases on themarket and citizens. Overall, the success of theGreenEconomy frameworkdependson itsactualcontentandtangibletargets.Inthisrespect,theEUhasfoundcautioussupportfromtheUSside,buttheG77stillneedsconvincingoftheircommitments.

As the time to lock into the official positionsapproaches,nationalcharacteristicsbecomemoreapparent on the EU front. As regards the GreenEconomy,theEUhasproblemsformulatingacom-monstandonharmfulsubsidiesandfisheriesduetothevestedinterestsofsomeofthememberstates,whichsendsoutadiscouragingsignal.Moreover,theeconomicandeurocrisismayalsoexplainthereluctancetomakefurthercommitments.Alarm-inglyfortherights-basedapproachadvocatedbytheCouncil, themoreconservativenewmemberstates(Malta,Poland,Hungary)aimtowaterdowntheUnion’sstancetowardssexualandreproductivehealthandrights.Thequestionofwaterandsanita-tionhasalsocausedadegreeofinternalconfusionastheUKhasdifficulties inacceptingthehumanrights-basedEUstancetowardstheseprovisions.

Almost a common EU ground: Institutional reform and SDGsRegardingtheissueofstrongerenvironmentalgov-ernance, theUnionstronglysupports theplantoreinforcetheUNEPinordertoupgradeittoanEnvi-ronmentalOrganization(UNEO).Inthisrespect,theCommissionhasprioritizedtheoptiontotransferandupgradetheUNEP,evenifthisweretoentailtheadoptionofalegallybindingtreaty.However,theCommissionalsoregardsitasimportanttoimprovethesustainabledevelopmentcapacitywithintheUNstructureviaECOSOC,aswellaschangingtheroleoftheCouncilforSustainableDevelopment.Regardingtheexactmandatesoftheseproposedinstitutions,both the Commission and the Council are as yetdivided.

CommonEUgroundcanalsobefoundintheaimofnegotiatingclearguidelinesforimplementingtheRio+20outcomes.Thus,bothinstitutionshighlighttheimportanceof“roadmaps”forbasicallyeverykeyareaundernegotiationwithtime-boundobjec-tivesandactionstobesimultaneouslyachievedattheinternational,regionalandnationallevels.Thiskindoftarget-orientedapproachappearstobeofimportancetotheUnionatRio+20.However,almostfromtheoutset,“theroadmapapproach”aroused

opposition,especiallyamongtheG77group.Ontheotherhand,theCouncilstressestheimportanceoftheUNMillenniumGoalsreviewprocessandeffortstoachievethesegoals.Thus,supportingtheideaofuniversalsustainabledevelopmentgoalspost-2015wouldnotcompromisethecommitmentsalreadymade to theMDGs.This stance, together with acontinuedcommitmenttodevelopmentfinancing,isimportantparticularlyfortheAfricanG77coun-tries.Inaddition,thenegotiationsonthesubstanceofthe15thematicareasprovidetheUnionwithslotsinwhichitcaneffectivelypromoteitssustainabledevelopmentagendainapragmaticwayanddem-onstrateatruecommitment.

Prospects for Rio+20 and beyond

ThechallengeofRio+20liesintheenormityofthetaskathand,whichisnotcommensuratewiththeprogressandpoliticalcommitmentssofar.Italsoreflects the difficulties in the other multilateralfora,suchastheWTO,UNCTADortheClimatetalks.Althoughallindicatorssuggestthatitistheeleventhhourtoact,noneofthepartiesiseagertoshowtheway.Despiteitsinternalstrugglesandincoherence,theEUstillstandsoutinthisrespect.Takentogether,theinitialEUpositiontowardsRio+20enhancesthemultilateral process for sustainable developmentsignificantly.TheEU’swillingnesstoreachnotonlyapoliticalagreement,butaclear,multilevelstrat-egyisessentialforanysuccessfuloutcomeofRio+20.Inthisrespect,theEUisripeandreadyenoughtoenter the negotiations, but leadershipwould betoomuch toclaim.Althoughmuchof thepoten-tialsuccessdependsontheUnion,italsorequiresa consensuswith the other actors,most notablytheotherindustrializedcountries,BRICSsandtheG77.Therefore,itisofutmostimportancethattheEUispoisedtotakeamoreproactiveandcoherentstanceacrosstheboardalsoattheformalnegotia-tiontables.Similarly,itiscrucialfortheUniontowork inunisonwith clearnegotiationmandates,andtocoordinateeffortseffectivelythroughouttheprocessandprovisions.

As regards the EU’s priorities, it appears likelythat theUnion’sroadmapapproachto theGreenEconomywillfacemostoppositionfromthemajoremergingpowersandtheG77.Ontheotherhand,theEU’stakeonthesocialdimensions,especiallyontheMillenniumDevelopmentGoalsandfuture



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Suggested reading

BAker, SUSAN (2006) Sustainable Development.

london & new york: routledge.

BomBerg, eliSABeth (2004) “adapting form to

function? from economic to sustainable

development Governance in the european

union”. in W.m. lAfferty (ed.) Governance

for Sustainable Development: The Challenge

of Adapting Form to Function. edward elgar:

cheltenham, Uk & northampton, mA USA, pp.

61–94.

Policy Coherence and EU Development Policy (2009).

CArBoNe, mAUrizio (ed.).routledge: london &

new york.

liBerAtore, ANgelA (1997) “the integration of

sustainable development objectives into eU

policy-making: Barriers and prospects”. in BAker,

SUSAN & koUSiS, mAriA, riChArdSoN, diCk ANd

yoUNg, StepheN (eds.) The Politics of Sustainable

Development: Theory, Policy and Practice within

the European Union. routledge: london & new

york, pp. 107-126.

lightfoot, SimoN & JoN BUrChell (2005) “the

european union and the World summit on

sustainable development: normative power

europe in action?” Journal of Common Market

Studies, 43(1), pp. 75–95.

Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future

worth Choosing. the report of the UN

secretary General’s high level panel on Global

sustainability (2012)

SustainableDevelopmentGoals,seemsmoreattrac-tiveforawidergroupofparties, inparticularfortheAfricanG77states.AlthoughtheSDGscallforaprocessoftheirown,thiskindofinitialstandmayprovetobefruitfulinthediscussionsafterRio+20.However,theimmediatesuccessfortheUnionatRio+20mayresidemoreinthedetailsandtargetsofthe15thematicareasthaninthegrandplansfortheeconomyandsocialdevelopment.

Fromawiderperspective,theRio+20processisatwo-waystreet.ItisnotonlytheEuropeanUnionthatisimportantfortheUNConference,theRiopro-cessisofcrucialimportancefortheEU.TheUnionneedsexternalpressure,especiallypeerpressure,torealizeitscommitmentstosustainabledevelop-mentbothinitsinternalaswellasitsexternalaction.Thus, a strong Rio+20 outcomemay also help toincreasetheEU’sownpolicycoherenceforsustain-abledevelopment.Inthisrespect,limitedsuccessin thenegotiations isnotenough.As the interna-tionalgovernance lacksan institutionthatwouldsafeguardthelegacyoftheRioprocess,aswellasmonitorandreviewallthreeaspectsofsustainabledevelopment,theEUshouldaddresstheproposalfortheUNCouncilforSustainableDevelopmentoraforumofasimilarnaturewithanopenmind.

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