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Poverty Environment Partnership 19th
Meeting:
“From Cities to Sustainable Development Goals: Experiences with Green Economy
and Climate Change Mainstreaming”
21 – 23 May 2014, eThekwini Municipality, Durban, South Africa
Hosted by European Commission & eThekwini Municipality
Meeting Summary and Proposed Next Steps
The 19th meeting of the Poverty-Environment Partnership (PEP 19) was hosted by European Commission and eThekwini Municipality, Durban, South Africa. Some 60 participants attended representing over 30 organisations including 12 sponsored participants from municipalities in eight partner countries (see participation list in Annex 1). Objectives of PEP 19:
1. Elaborate on the opportunities and challenges for an inclusive Green Economy and addressing climate change with a focus on cities.
2. Strengthen partnerships on Green Economy, Climate Change Mainstreaming and urbanisation.
3. Reflect on how PEP members can contribute to the development of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
4. Identify and initiate concrete collaboration opportunities and follow up actions.
5. Agree and prepare for decisions on the next PEP meeting. Participants discussed the following main themes:
1. Cities experiences with Green Economy and Climate Change Mainstreaming.
2. Strengthening partnerships on Green Economy, Climate Change Mainstreaming and Urbanisation.
3. Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s), Green Economy and Climate Change Mainstreaming.
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Day 1 Cities experiences with Green Economy and Climate Change Mainstreaming Setting the scene on Cities, Green Economy and Climate Adaptation The Mayor of eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, Councilor James Nxumalo opened the PEP 19 meeting by highlighting the City’s commitment to poverty reduction and environmental improvement. To frame the issues of Green Economy and Cities, UNEP delivered a “scene setting” presentation on the topic (www.unep.org/greeneconomy).
Durban Adaptation Charter (DAC) is one initiative which was born out of the UNFCCC COP17. DAC provides an opportunity for local governments to address the “adaptation deficit”. It currently has 1100 signatories in 35 countries (www.durbanadaptationcharter.org). Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has charted trends and patterns that relate to urban leadership, climate adaptation and development assistance. OECD presented the statistical information (www.oecd.org/dac/environment-development), the OECD Green Cities initiative (www.oecd.org/greencities), the Partnership for Climate Finance and Development (http://www.oecd.org/development/environment-development/climate-partnership.htm) and OECD DAC CRS Rio marker statistics and analysis (www.oecd.org/dac/stats/rioconventions.htm). City experiences Conference co-sponsor, eThekwini Municipality provided a “bird’s eye view” on Climate Change Mainstreaming and the move to Green Economy in Durban. They have worked to achieve growth and development in the emerging green services and industries sector while encouraging innovation and transitioning to greener practices in traditional industries. Representatives from the Municipality also delivered presentations on Durban’s Energy Plan and the Urban Ecosystems Restoration Programme where three large scale restoration programmes were reviewed. The conference provided an opportunity to consider African, (South Africa, Nigeria, Burkina Faso), Latin America, Caribbean (Saint Lucia) and Asian (Indonesia, Japan, Kyrgyz Republic, and Tajikistan) experiences of addressing Green Economy and Climate Change Mainstreaming at country and city level. South Africa shared their pioneering work on green jobs. Lagos explained the opportunities and challenges of working in a city of 20 million which is one of the biggest cities in the world. Burkina Faso shared results of a participatory approach to environment management in the city. Saint Lucia presented the experience of linking environment and social agendas to address both economic and environmental vulnerability. Indonesia’s Surabaya city presented the dramatic impacts of climate change to the city. Japan shared how it was partnering with other countries to promote
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sustainable cities. Kyrgyz Republic demonstrated what motivated the Ministry of Planning to become involved in climate change. For a more detailed analysis of these experiences, please refer to the detailed presentation material found on the PEP website. A second scene setting presentation was made by UN-Habitat. It suggested that, “Urbanization and Climate Change, would possibly be the two most important defining factors of the 21 Century in Africa”. Future trends and statistics relevant to cities were reviewed on changes to the climate, urbanization, city demography and natural resource usage. UN- Habitat is an organization that seeks “a better urban future” for all. (www.unhabitat.org) UN-Habitat offered to coordinate a joint agency (working group) on the topic. Contact [email protected]
A critical aspect in Green Economy is the promotion and creation of green jobs. This has particular relevance in the African context. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) highlighted several examples of projects in Africa where a significant number of jobs have been created on the continent by Green Economy and Climate Change Mainstreaming projects. (www.ilo.org) Breakout Sessions – Day One: Learning across regions on addressing Green Economy and Climate Change Mainstreaming in cities Group One: Citizen: Is local government action complemented by action and engagement with citizens? This group considered whether the aspiration and demand of the fast growing urban middle class is aligned with the vision of local government and authorities for sustainable cities. It also asked if there is a robust public understanding of basic climate change knowledge. The group felt it important to understand the balance between Local Government and Civil Society Organizations. Sometimes local government leads the process/action, and sometimes Civil Society takes the lead. It is important to create spaces for shared engagement and learning. As regards politics and governance, civil society actors can be advocates for social change and development. Finally, PEP can help create a useful space for government, civil society and business to come together. Group Two: Trade-offs: How do cities and local governments address the trade-offs of moving towards Green Economy and Business as Usual in the short to medium term? The group felt it important that cities need to “make the economic (and technical) case” using all opportunities for advocacy and awareness. Cities
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need a clear vision, good leadership and must endeavor to take the economic evidence one step further to impacting livelihoods. They suggested that PEP research, gather and publish/disseminate examples/best practices from urban areas including the economic case and, livelihood links. PEP can also move the dialogue from “integration” towards “managing trade-offs” and encourage peer-to-peer learning opportunities. Group Three: Financing the future:
The following were listed as potential sources of Finance: Public and private sector funds, Domestic sources, NGO finance community, Beneficiaries, Development and Commercial bank grants, Public/Private partnerships, Philanthropic/Charities (i.e. Gates Foundation), User financing (i.e. Watershed protection in NYC), Green and municipal bonds and Official Donor Assistance (ODA). The challenges cities face includes shortfalls in budget as funding often comes with conditions (i.e. job creation). International agencies need to do more to finance municipalities directly which requires capacity and fiduciary controls in place to manage these funds. Finally, National Development Banks (& private banks) look for return on investment opportunities and cities often do not factor this enough into their planning. Day 2. Strengthening partnerships on Green Economy, Climate Change Mainstreaming and Urbanisation Potential synergies and collaborations between role players in the field were discussed. The following organisations gave presentations on their scope of work in supporting the above theme. 2a. Strengthening partnerships on Green Economy Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) vision is to provide targeted support that will enable countries to transition to socially inclusive green economies. PAGE is designed to mobilize resources and deliver tailored support for Green Economy action at the national level, which in turn will spur a global transition. PAGE partners include UNEP, ILO, UNIDO, UNITAR, and UNDP. www.unep.org/greeneconomy/PAGE/ Green Growth Knowledge Platform (GGKP) generates, manages and shares Green Knowledge through collaborative research committees, conferences/workshops and a dedicated web platform. It has over 40 member organisations which are part of their network. For more information view the link, www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjN62YdfTFA or visit www.greengrowthknowledge.org
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Poverty Environment Initiative (UNDP-UNEP PEI) works in 25 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe. Its focus is on mainstreaming and building links with the non-environment departments in government (i.e. planning, finance, local government.) www.unpei.org Switch to Green (EC) is a new European Commission flagship initiative. It builds on the experience with the Switch family of programmes including Switch Asia, Switch Africa and Switch Med. Its objective is to to promote the transformation to Green Economy and SCP practices among consumers and SMEs and policy-makers. www.ec.europa.eu/europeaid/where/asia/regional-cooperation/ Wealth Accounting and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services (WAVES) seeks to promote sustainable development by mainstreaming natural capital accounting in development and national economic fiscal planning. www.wavespartnership.org Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) is a scientific initiative tasked with doing cutting edge research on Ecosystem service flows and the conditions under which they help poverty reduction. It currently has 90 research projects involving 50 developing countries. It is a partnership between British funding bodies DFID, Natural Environment Research Council, and Economic & Social Research Council. www.espa.ac.uk Green Economy Coalition is the largest multi stakeholder network working on Green Economy. It currently has 35 member organizations. Its emphasis is on in-country dialogue, communications and publications. They have produced a very informative document tracking organizations involved in the Green Economy. This booklet gives an overview of “who is doing what, where & why?” in the Green Economy mix. www.greeneconomycoalition.org World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) recognises that Cities are new hotspots driving the crisis of ecological overshoot and biodiversity losses. Therefore they have devised the Earth Hour City Challenge. The purpose of the initiative is to mobilize action and support from cities in the global transition towards a climate friendly, sustainable future with a focus on shifting from fossil to renewable energy solutions. www.welovecities.org Other organizations and initiatives mentioned during discussion UN Decade of Education for SD (unesdoc.unesco.org); UNEP Global Universities Partnership for SD - GUPES (www.unep.org/training/programmes/gupes.asp); Green Growth Best Practices - GGBP (gggi.org/activities/knowledge-development); United Nations Institute for Training and Research - UNITAR (www.unitar.org); Gaborone Declaration for Sustainability in Africa (www.gaboronedeclaration.com)
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2b. Strengthening partnerships in support of Climate Change Mainstreaming Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA) is a European Commission policy initiative that seeks to help developing countries vulnerable to climate change. The initiative works to increase both LDCs and SIDS to adapt to the effects of climate change and participate in global mitigation efforts. GCCA builds platforms for dialogue and cooperation while also providing technical and financial support to assist countries in National planning. www.gcca.eu Poverty-Environment Initiative (UNDP-UNEP PEI) seeks to move the discussion on climate from being considered just an Environmental issue to that of a Developmental one. Therefore they endeavour to link with Planning, Finance and Local Government departments. One area of focus is Inclusive planning and budgeting for climate resilience and low carbon economies. www.unpei.org National Adaptation Plans (UNDP, UNEP, Others).This programme can help countries consider how climate adaptation can be integrated into their planning and budgeting process. unfccc.int › Adaptation Climate Public Expenditure and Institutional Review (UNDP, World Bank) An expenditure review tool has been developed to help governments in their budget process to calculate how much they are spending on Climate Change. http://www.climatefinance-developmenteffectiveness.org/ Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL) (UNCDF withEU and other support) has devised a mechanism to assist in the transfer of funds from Central to Local government for climate through performance based grants It is being rolled out in Africa and Asia Pacific and currently has a rural focus. www.uncdf.org › ... › Programme Assistance › Global Programmes Other organizations and initiatives mentioned during discussion Adaptation Fund (unfccc.int › Cooperation & Support › Climate Finance); Climate Solve Initiative (www.wwf.org.za); Gold Standard – WWF (wwf.panda.org › ... › Business & Climate Change › Offset); Social and Environmental Enterprises - SEED (www.seedinit.org); GEF Small Programme (www.undp.org/gef/); Energy and Environment Partnership - EEP (eepglobal.org); International Development Finance Club (www.idfc.org) Your Space sessions: UN-Habitat presented a paper "Raising the role of Cities in the International Climate Change, Cities and SDGs". The organisation has an initiative called Cities and Climate Change Initiative (CCCI). Due to urbanization, it is recognized that Cities’ “issues” are growing in importance in the international
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climate change discussion. The talk highlighted the National Adaptation and Mitigation Architecture and gave an overview of the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and National Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMA) frameworks. Finally it motivated the need for urban SDGs (www.fukuoka.unhabitat.org › HOME › Programmes). JICA presented a report on highlights from the “Sustainable Future City We Want” conference at the 7th Open Working Group on SDGs in NYC. The objective of the event was to seek a practical and realistic vision for ”Sustainable Future Cities”, which can enrich the discussions on the SDGs/Post-2015 Development Agenda (http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/owg.html). Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN) presented Assessment Report on Climate Change and Cities "Towards the Second UCCRN" (ARC3-2). UCCRN’s mission is to enable cities to fulfil their climate change leadership potential in both mitigation and adaptation. It is a consortium of over 500 scholars and practitioners from over 100 developed and developing cities around the world. The UCCRN is in the process of writing the Second UCCRN Assessment Report scheduled to be published by end of 2015 (uccrn.org/about-uccrn). Durban Energy Office presented on vertically integrated NAMAS for the involvement of subnational actors in National Mitigation Strategies. This pilot project was explained on Energy Efficiency Programmes in Public Buildings. The Republic of Tajikistan presented on integrating Poverty–Environment Issues into the development planning processes. A study showed that the costs of land degradation and declines in the productivity of four crops and milk production amounted to US$346 million. A strong case for P-E mainstreaming was made and sound outcomes have been realized from a coordinated development strategy/plan between the national, district and local/urban government departments. In conclusion it was noted during the partnerships discussion that the GE and CC partnerships covered policy, science, and finance. There seemed to be gaps however in partnerships for university training in CC/GE, poor groups’ and citizens’ groups partnerships on GE/CC across countries, and city/local authority partnerships on GE. There are also difficulties for local authorities and groups in accessing some of the existing partnerships. Furthermore, all partnerships need to concentrate more on cross-learning between countries and sectors. Finally, it was noted that PEP members could play a possible role in easing these problems All meeting's presentations are available through: www.povertyenvironment.net/partnership
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Day 3. Sustainable Development Goals, Green Economy, and Climate Change Mainstreaming and Conclusions. World Resources Institute (WRI) opened the session by sketching background information on the MDGs and the framework for the post 2015 agenda. He then summarised current information on SDGs with particular reference to Green Economy, Climate Change and Sustainable Cities. He concluded by asking what role PEP should play in informing the discussion. Presentation material is available. www.povertyenvironment.net/partnership www.wri.org/ Rio+20, the UN’s Conference on Sustainable Development built a firm foundation on which today’s SDGs will be built. In a presentation by S.A.’s Dept. of Environmental Affairs the Rio+20 outcomes were reviewed. Challenges being faced include the loss of biodiversity and ecosystems, deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions. It was suggested that today’s SDGs should complement the MDGs targets with an emphasis on protection and management of natural resources. Presentation material is available. www.povertyenvironment.net/partnership The meeting concluded that PEP should engage in the following:
1. Inform the SDGs dialogue and help stakeholders to work out how to effectively implement resulting SDGs.
2. Membership should agree on a few SDGs to “push for”. 3. Identify and motivate “must haves” among the SDGs. 4. Help integrate Economic, Social, & Environmental issues into SDGs. 5. Focus on and help inform implementation. 6. Focus on evidence for the Poverty Environment position. 7. Share resources to frame our case 8. Adopt and promote the use of the transformative, universal, integrated
and smart targets 9. Give support to member countries in making their SDG submissions
(i.e. LDC Group submission) World Resources Institute (WRI) will be following-up on the SDG/Post-2015 discussion and update the PEP. [email protected] Conclusions: The meetings discussed PEP's future roles and the way forward. PEP was formed in 2002 to fill the need to work together on bridging Poverty and Environment issues and building linkages; discuss how to reform agencies to focus on these issues; advance policy and practice. Since 2002, the world has changed and so has PEP. Many new entities now have been formed. The PEP membership is more diverse and the number of issues considered has grown. i.e. water, health, growth, climate change, Green Economy etc. PEP’s description as a “network of networks” is a good one.
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The participants underscored PEP's unique strengths: PEP is a sustainable organization and has a long track record; a good reputation and networking/ sharing experiences across the world. The combination of the poverty and environment focus makes PEP a unique partnership. PEP's value comes from creating opportunities for NGOs and governments to meet funders and share experiences. PEP also enables countries to network, learn from each other and examine specific examples of implemented projects PEP should continue providing evidence on the poverty-environment links by generating peer reviewed and published research; producing and documenting strong case studies; communicating lessons learned and best practices; documenting concrete integrated urban examples; creating opportunities for experiential peer to peer learning; creating Internet Webinars and face-to-face seminars. PEP should focus on poverty-environment but explore more the poverty dimension (inequality, social protection schemes, job creation based on the environment – BRICS have much to contribute; LDCs have many needs). Also it should be considered whether and how to engage with the Private and Labour sectors as well as to “scale up” links with local organisations. PEP should influence the SDGs process. Next Meeting: Given the timing significance – 20th PEP meeting since partnership started 12 years ago at WSSD; the 2015 MDG milestone; the post-2015 architecture CC/SDGs – the next PEP meeting should be a milestone one. It should be an occasion to:
review evidence of what we have learned in all the joint PEP work on the poverty-environment link over the 13 years – synthesis of what we know should be shared with key decision-makers
look forward – setting the poverty-environment agenda that really matters from this point on (partly poverty-environment synergies and what is needed to scale up and remove remaining barriers, partly tough questions remaining – many around trade-offs and how to handle them)
refresh the attention of original partners (DFID, UNDP, EC, WB and others)
consolidate our trend to involve more developing countries (BRICS development/environment authorities and aid agencies)
begin to involve key new players – business/cities/civil society – hearing our evidence
more organised approach to engaging the most vulnerable – LDCs and SIDs, informal economy actors
Location: Possibly UK – either London or Edinburgh (to be confirmed with DFID and IIED). Finally, PEP would once again like to extend our thanks to eThekwini Municipality and the European Commission for their generous sponsorship of this 19th meeting.
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Annex 1
Poverty Environment Partnership 19th Meeting
21-23 May 2014
Surname/Name/Gender Title Country/
Nationality
ABROROV /Shukuhiddin MR
Leading Expert, Department of Regions Development and National Programs Monitoring, The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of the Republic of Tajikistan [email protected] [email protected]
Tajikistan
AVIS / Charlie MR UNEP/UNDP PEI [email protected]
BAGUIAN/Hamidou MR
City of Bobo-Dioulasso, Focal Point For Climate Change [email protected] Burkina Faso
BASS / Stephen MR
Head, Sustainable Markets Group, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) [email protected] UK
BISOM / Nina MS Advisor, GIZ [email protected] Germany
BRACKING / Sarah MS
Professor, SARCHi Chair in Poverty Reduction, University of KwaZulu-Natal [email protected] South Africa
CHIVALE /Isac Jeremias MR
Conselho Municipal do Dondo. Vereador de Serviços Urbanos e Gestão Ambiental [email protected] Mozambique
DIGA / Kathleen MS Project Manager University of KwaZulu Natal [email protected] South Africa
DOUWES / Errol MR EThekwini Municipality (South Africa) [email protected] South Africa
MARUMO / Moscow Dr
Chief Director: Biodiversity Planning & Management, National Department of Environmental Affairs [email protected] South Africa
DWI SASONGKO/Purnomo MR
Development and Planning Agency of Semarang Municipality, Indonesia [email protected] Indonesia
FENNEMORE / Christopher MR
EThekwini Municipality (South Africa) [email protected] South Africa
FORREST / Caili MS EThekwini Municipality (South Africa) [email protected] South Africa
GIL / Sebastian MR European Commission (DG DEVCO) [email protected] European Commission
HABTEGABER / Kookie Ms WWF International [email protected] WWF
HAZLEWOOD / Peter MR World Resources Institute [email protected] World Resources Institute
ISMAIL / Aalia MRS Department of Public Enterprises (South Africa) [email protected] South Africa
KAZAKBAEV/ Aibek MR
Specialist of International Cooperation Department/State Agency for Environment Protection and Forestry [email protected] Kyrgyz Republic
KOALA/ Ouamnoaga Alain Gilbert MR
Past President of the College of Architects Burkina Faso. College of Architect Burkina Faso [email protected] Burkina Faso
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NYEMBEZI/ F.G. MR Alfred Nzo District Municipality. Environmental Manager South Africa
LINES / Kate MS
Senior Coordinator, Partnerships, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) [email protected] UK
MAVUNDLA / Khulile MR EThekwini Municipality (South Africa) [email protected] South Africa
MORGAN / Derek MR EThekwini Municipality (South Africa) South Africa
NAQVI / Asad MR
UNEP [email protected] [email protected] UNEP
O'DONOGHUE / Sean MR EThekwini Municipality (South Africa) Sean.O’[email protected] South Africa
PRESTON / Guy Dr
Deputy Director General: Environmental Programmes, National Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) [email protected] South Africa
RASULOV/Homid MR
Deputy Chairman, Centre of Standardization and Environmental Norms, the Committee of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Tajikistan
hamidjon1966@mail [email protected] Tajikistan
REYNOLDS / Stephanie MS Research Assistant, eThekwini Municipality [email protected] South Africa
SAZBAKOV/ Almaz MR
Head of Strategic Planning Department/ Ministry of Economy [email protected] Kyrgyz Republic
SINEGUGU / Zukulu MR CSA (Conservation South Africa) [email protected] South Africa
SUDO/Tomonori MR
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Advisor, Office for Global Issues and Development Partnership, Operations Strategy Department [email protected] Japan
TERBLANCHE / Kathryn MS EThekwini Municipality (South Africa) [email protected] South Africa
TOOLEY / Geoffrey MR EThekwini Municipality (South Africa) [email protected] South Africa
TOUSSAINT/Tanzia MS
Assistant Director, Social Transformation - Ministry of Social Transformation, Local Government and Community Empowerment [email protected] [email protected] Saint Lucia
UGWUOKE / Maximus MR Lagos State Government, Nigeria [email protected] Nigeria
VARTIAINEN / Katariina MS Ministry for Foreign Affairs – Finland [email protected] Finland
WARD / Mike MR Executive Director, WESSA [email protected] South Africa
WHITE / Derek MR EThekwini Municipality (South Africa) [email protected] South Africa
NAUDE / Louise MS Lead: Low-carbon Frameworks, WWF South Africa [email protected] South Africa
BADUL / Jenitha Dr
Senior Policy Advisor - Greening Programs & Fund, National Department of Environmental Affairs [email protected] South Africa
WESTPHAL/Nico MR Associate Expert. ILO Office Pretoria South Africa
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CHIMBARI/Moses MR [email protected] South Africa
STEELE / Paul MR PEP Coordinator, UNDP [email protected] Thailand
MAYR / Marcus MR Associate Human Settlements Officer, UN-HABITAT [email protected] Kenya
RATHIYAYA/Takalani MR eThekwini Municipality [email protected] South Africa
MATUSZAK/John Michael MR
WAVES Partnership, World Bank. Head of Global Engagement [email protected] USA
BEIRES/Liesel MRS
KZN Department of Economic Development and Tourism. Green Economy Specialist [email protected] South Africa
MBONAMBI / Phakamile MS
Programme Manager: Services, Ethekwini Municipality [email protected] South Africa
IFTIKHAR/Usman MR Policy Advisor, MDGs – UNDP [email protected] UNDP
MALHERBE/ Carina MRS
Environmental Programmes Advocacy and Coordination. Department of Environmental Affairs [email protected] South Africa
DOLYA/Natalija MRS EU Delegation [email protected] South Africa
GRIFFITHS /Geoff MR Ethekwini Project Manager South Africa
NONDU/Nokogo Ethekwini Communication South Africa
NUMALO/Vamiles Ethekwini Communication South Africa
VUMO/Crazu Ethekwini Communication South Africa
NISAAR/Maitomed Trade & Investment KZN South Africa
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