Sustainable Development - Environmental and Governance Perspective

SD for CD: an environmental and governance perspective

Dr. Ingeborg NiestroyPublicStrategy for SD

www.ps4sd.eu

[email protected]

Overview

1. Environmental integration – sustainable development

2. Rio+20 debates on GE: the conflict on development and environment is

back, or has never disappeared

3. Policy issues: ‘Greening’ and ‘distribution’

4. Environment and Devco communities seem quite separated

� this needs to change in all institutions� this needs to change in all institutions

5. SDGs as opportunity for both (3. and 4.): universality

� open how it will go together with the post 2015 MDGs (process)

6. Governance for SD – key elements for CD

7. Supporting instruments/approaches:

SD (and similar) strategies, SD councils, (Sust.) Impact Assessment

� do it pragmatic; improve skills for acting as ‘agent’

I.Niestroy, 15.10.2012 2UNDP Bratislava

(1) Environmental integration - SD

• Environmental problems

� from end of the pipe to the “environmental integration requirement”

(since 1987 in EC Treaty)

� ‘greening’ all (sectoral) policies (… incl. aid + dev. coop. …)

… now typically called “environmental sustainability”

• Procedural instruments since 80s/90s, in EU and beyond (US earlier!):

EIA/SEA (also: Espoo Convention for transboundary)EIA/SEA (also: Espoo Convention for transboundary)

• + social aspects + global dimension (equity) + long-term

� “sustainable development” (Brundtland)

• Tension between N and S, between environment and development

� sustainable development agreed as concept to reconcile (1992 Rio)


(2) Rio debates on GE

• The conflict is back, or has never

disappeared and becomes (more)

apparent with emerging

economies:

- “first develop then clean up”

- suspicion about GE

(green protectionism,

monetization of nature), fueled monetization of nature), fueled

by..


• Despite the well-known links that environmental degradation hits the

poorest first and most

• However: The North has reduced environmental pollution, but not its

ecological footprint, and economies are failing � was not so credible

(3) ‘Greening’ and ‘distribution’

• Greening:

- Living within the carrying capacities of the planet (“planetary boundaries”),

environmental “guard rails”

- Notion of limits / resource scarcity

• Distribution / Equity:

- Fairer shares between N and S, but also:

- What about equity within countries of the South (GINI coefficient …)?

Sustainable production, ok, but sustainable consumption almost more • � Sustainable production, ok, but sustainable consumption almost more

challenging:

- in the North anyhow (awareness (+), realities not)

- but now also rising middle-class in the South, desiring western (US!) high-

consumption life-styles, follow bad models in urban development etc.

• � Efficiency increase is important, but not enough, decoupling does not work,

rebound effects etc.: growth – de-growth debate


Contraction and Convergence

Industrial countriesFormer Eastern

European countries

Use

of

na

tura

l re

sou

rce

s p

p

Ceiling (= overconsumption)

Environmental Space

Developing countries

Level of welfare

Use

of

na

tura

l re

sou

rce

s p

p

Ceiling (= overconsumption)

Floor (= dignity life line)

Based on Rochol

(4) Communities: Environment and ‘Devco’

• The communities are strangely apart – along the lines

of the substantial / belief system (?) conflict

� reasons ?

• Among NGOs: partly conflicts, partly convergence

• European Commission (DG ENV: DG DEVCO difficult to collaborate with)<

European Parliament: two Committees (competition prevails)

• National Ministries (and Parliaments): look for good practice examples• National Ministries (and Parliaments): look for good practice examples

• Agencies for development cooperation:

some have enshrined SD (e.g. German GIZ), but…

• UN system: also here a rather strong divide?


(5) SDGs: a unique opportunity?! … MDGs

• … to bring the two worlds/agendas/goals together, because of:

universality of the SDGs

• Will be challenging already methodologically – same goals, different targets

• Take the opportunity, - at crossroads!

• Stake is apparently felt high:

- quite some competition about membership in the ‘open working group’

- competition with MDGs post 2015 process – hopefully getting - competition with MDGs post 2015 process – hopefully getting

constructively solved

• SDGs will bring back approaches and instruments that are weaker in the

outcome document than before, in particular:

- SD strategies: much stronger commitment in JPoI

� in the South to solve: relation to National Development Plans (and

others)


(6) Governance for SD – key elements for CD

• Multi - level, - sector, - actor (… - polar) situation of governance

• Leadership AND ownership

• Bottom-up AND top-down

• Long-term: finding ways to avoid or soften (political) U-turns

• � where to focus on depends on the starting point � moving towards the other ‘end’

More concrete �� also for UNDP?!:

• Governments to do their job (at all levels): • Governments to do their job (at all levels): - there is no way around improving policy coherence and establishing mechanisms for horizontal and vertical coordination- this needs to have commitment and need to be (powerful) arrangements- openness for dialogue (on policies) and partnerships (in action) is a must

• Civil society to engage

• Business to explore opportunities (R&D to be fostered? Top-down regulation often triggers innovation)


(7) Supporting instruments / approaches

• SD (and similar) strategies:

� support needed for the ‘governance of strategies’ (.. do not use it as a ‘plan’

that needs to be implemented, but as a process steering instrument’)

• SD councils:

- invention of Rio 1992, as a tool for better policy coordination and the

involvement of non-governmental actors

- but: the label was used for the governmental coordination mechanism

(closed shops), bodies often died out(closed shops), bodies often died out

- Rio outcome document now: “multi-stakeholder bodies”

• (Sust.) Impact Assessment: European Commission’ system as credible role

model for assessing the impacts of all policy proposals in the 3 SD dimensions

� useful, check for simple use, do not get lost in sophistication (e.g. of

modeling etc.)

� but not instead of EIA/SEA


(7) Challenges – also UNDP to work on?!

• From an environmental perspective: Governance is key for moving the SD agenda ahead

• Skills as ‘agent’ is key for people working on SD: - making the links, being able to ‘webbing’ (into society, between silos ..)- strong communication skills- a team-based and collaborative approach is key: people are specialists, but need to learn to talk and interact with other communities, while some are needed that have the ‘SD glasses on’ (“champions”?)- include MGA in training?- Civil society actors need to learn to develop self-esteem (vs. Calimero)

• Government: • Government: - If high-level horizontal coordination bodies take only short-term decisions (politicised), ways needs to be found to open it up (with experts and/or CS)- Set up inclusive systems, with a piece to gain for everybody- Be a role model with green/sustainable public procurement- Work on vertical coordination (UNDP to work across levels..)

• Budget rules internal and external: - not possible to switch between budget lines: amendments are required in national and international rule - short term project orientation, and inflexibility, in international funding: to be revised (finding a balance between flexibility and avoiding abuse)


2000: but now:


Overview

1. Environmental integration – sustainable development

2. Rio+20 debates on GE: the conflict on development and environment is

back, or has never disappeared

3. Policy issues: ‘Greening’ and ‘distribution’

4. Environment and Devco communities seem quite separated

� this needs to change in all institutions� this needs to change in all institutions

5. SDGs as opportunity for both (3. and 4.): universality

� open how it will go together with the post 2015 MDGs (process)

6. Governance for SD – key elements for CD

7. Supporting instruments/approaches:

SD (and similar) strategies, SD councils, (Sust.) Impact Assessment

� do it pragmatic; improve skills for acting as ‘agent’


Sustainable Development - Environmental and Governance Perspective

Self Improvement

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