# EUR-Lex - 52011DC0363 - EN

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# 52011DC0363

**COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Rio+20: towards the green economy and better governance /* COM/2011/0363 final */**

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

Rio+20: towards the green economy and
better governance

1.
Rio+20: an opportunity the world cannot afford
to miss

In June 2012 all eyes will be on Rio de
Janeiro, where twenty years after the first "Earth Summit", Heads of
State and Government will attend the United Nations Conference on Sustainable
Development[1]
(UNCSD or "Rio+20"). Rio+20 will build on previous global summits:
the United Nations Conference
on the Human Environment in Stockholm (1972), the Conference on Environment and Development
('Earth Summit') in Rio de Janeiro (1992), and the World Summit on Sustainable
Development in Johannesburg (2002). It also follows on
from the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000 and the establishment of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Rio+20 offers a unique opportunity for our
mutually interdependent world to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable
development. It will assess progress made and address implementation gaps and
emerging challenges. It will do so in the context of two intertwined themes:
"a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty
eradication" and "the institutional framework for sustainable
development".

Rio+20 can mark the start of an accelerated
and profound, world-wide transition towards a green economy – an economy that
generates growth, creates jobs and eradicates poverty by investing in and
preserving the natural capital offers upon which the long-term survival of our
planet depends. It can also launch the needed reform of international
sustainable development governance.

The European Commission is determined to help
make Rio+20 a success. As a basis for further dialogue with EU institutions,
civil society, business and countries globally, this Communication sets out the
Commission's initial views on potential concrete outcomes for Rio+20. It builds
on the EU's range of policies pertaining to sustainable development and the EU
2020 Strategy, and also takes account of a public
consultation launched in February 2011[2].

2.
Taking stock since '92: implementation gaps and
emerging challenges
2.1.
Sustainable development at international level

The past decades have witnessed a number of
positive global trends. This is most notable for income growth, for which more
than 120 million people rose above the "dollar a day" benchmark
between 2000 and 2005. Access to education, healthcare and water has also seen
improvements.

The United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
launched at Rio in 1992 have demonstrated the potential of action at global
level. The 2010 climate negotiations in Cancún marked progress towards new
global climate change governance and the objective of limiting climate change
to less than a 2°C increase. Similarly, the 2010 CBD meeting in Nagoya achieved
significant progress. There has also been a major increase in scientific
information and public awareness of environmental issues, in particular climate
change, and the participation of civil society in global policy-making, not
least thanks to improved internet communication.

Over the past twenty years, a number of
developing countries have now become major economic and political players. As a
result, a new balance of power and influence has started to emerge, entailing
new roles – which will also require the acceptance of new responsibilities.

Despite positive developments, considerable
implementation gaps and challenges remain, and these will have to be addressed
as part of the Rio+20 agenda. Around 1.4 billion people still live in extreme
poverty (a large part of them in Sub-Saharan Africa and South-Asia) and one
sixth of the world’s population is undernourished. Several of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are
severely off-track. For instance, for the MDG on
sanitation, only half of the developing world’s population uses improved
sanitation. Progress towards the MDGs is very uneven
geographically with some regions lagging behind others; and no single MDG has
been achieved in any one fragile state. Efforts to address these problems have
been hindered by the recent economic crisis and rising food prices that have
increased the number of people living in poverty.

Many environmental challenges have not been
solved and have become more acute. Increasing demand for resources (such as
land, water, forests, ecosystems) has led to increasing depletion and
degradation, and biodiversity loss and deforestation continue at an alarming
rate. Scarcities of material resources, as well as access to these resources,
are also becoming issues of global concern. Global greenhouse gas emissions
continue to rise, fuelled by land-use changes and growing demand for fossil
fuels. Furthermore, the impacts of climate change (such as changing
precipitation and sea level rise) can further multiply existing environmental
problems. The depletion and pollution of water resources and the marine
environment pose increasingly serious problems, and water scarcity could affect
one-third of the world population by 2025. Desertification and land degradation
impact a number of developing countries whose economies largely depend on
agriculture and subsistence farming. Exposure to hazardous substances (such as
pesticides hazardous waste) continues in developing countries and emerging
economies, despite progress in implementing international conventions. Many of
these environmental problems are not stand alone issues, but are mutually
related and inter-dependent.

Future economic growth is likely to be
fastest in emerging economies, and if well managed, can help lift people out of
poverty. However, the continuation of current consumption and production
patterns in many countries around the world will increase the use of natural
resources, accelerate environmental degradation and worsen climate change.
Environmental pressures and impacts will be exacerbated by an increasing
population (expected to rise to at least 9 billion in 2050), urbanization and
social changes (such as an additional 1.2 billion people joining the
"middle class" population in emerging economies).

2.2.
Sustainable Development in the EU

Over the past decades, sustainable
development has been promoted by a number of EU policies. For example, the EU
has adopted binding climate targets together with the EU Emissions Trading
Scheme, as well as range of legislative instruments on biodiversity, waste
management, water and air quality. This has encouraged the growth of EU eco-industries,
which now correspond to over 2.5% of EU GDP and provide jobs to over 3.4
million people. In 2001 the EU adopted an EU Sustainable Development Strategy
(EU SDS) which was renewed in 2006.

Since the most recent EU SDS report in
2009, progress towards achieving sustainability in the EU has been assessed in
various ways, including sustainability indicators and the State of the
Environment Report of the European Environmental Agency . These publications
show that while progress has been made many challenges still exist, in
particular to make growth more sustainable.

A key policy development has been the
adoption of the Europe 2020 Strategy in 2010. This aims to transform the EU
into a knowledge-based, resource efficient and low-carbon economy and provide a
sustainable response to the challenges facing the EU up to 2050. The Strategy
seeks to mainstream and reinforce the role of sustainability in policy
development by establishing the mutually reinforcing priorities of smart,
sustainable and inclusive growth which are driven by five
headline targets and seven flagship initiatives (see Annex).

Many of these flagship initiatives are of
direct relevance for this Communication. For example, the flagship initiative
on resource efficiency aims to decouple the use of natural resources from
economic growth and envisages a range of new policy measures including action
on raw materials, energy efficiency, biodiversity, as well roadmaps to
decarbonise the economy, energy and transport. It also advocates the stepping
up of the use of market-based instruments, phasing out environmentally harmful
subsidies and the "greening" of tax systems.

Progress on improving resource efficiency
and the other targets and flagship initiatives will be monitored within the
governance framework of the Europe 2020 Strategy and the "European
Semester". This will bring together the input of sectoral Councils, the
Member States' national reform programmes, the opinions of the Commission as
well conclusions of the European Council. This will result in a strengthened
mechanism to deliver greater integration and policy coherence in favour of the
environment and sustainable development.

To assess progress on the implementation of
the EU SDS, the European Commission through its statistical office Eurostat,
the European Environmental Agency and others will continue to provide
statistical information and indicators that allow sustainability to be measured
and reported, also in the context of Europe 2020 Strategy.

Rio+20 will be a defining moment for
sustainable development, both in the EU and globally. Its outcome will inspire
the EU's strategy and actions for sustainable development, and in particular
help further shape the EU Europe 2020 strategy as an effective tool for
delivering on sustainable development.

3.
Towards the Green Economy and better governance
3.1.
Enabling the transition

Twenty years after the Rio Summit, the
world is still facing two major and interlinked challenges: meeting the demands
for better lives for a global population set to grow by over a third by 2050,
and addressing environmental pressures that if not tackled, will undermine the
world's ability to meet those demands.

Responses to these challenges will not come
from slowing growth, but rather from promoting the right kind of growth.
There are compelling reasons to fundamentally rethink the conventional model of
economic progress: simply working at the margins of an economic system that
promotes inefficient use of natural capital and resources, will not be
sufficient to bring about change. What is needed is an economy that can secure
growth and development, while at the same time improving human well-being,
providing decent jobs, reducing inequalities, tackling poverty and preserving
the natural capital upon which we all depend. Such an economy – a green economy
– offers an effective way of promoting sustainable
development, eradicating poverty and addressing emerging challenges and
outstanding implementation gaps.

Moving towards a green economy necessitates
preserving and investing in the assets of key natural resources. This is
essential for all economies, but applies in particular to developing countries,
which have the opportunity to grow their economies, by building on the
sustainable management of their natural capital. It also
means making use of low-carbon
and resource efficient solutions and stepping up efforts to promote sustainable
consumption and production patterns. All this involves
establishing the right regulatory frameworks, creating strong incentives for
markets and innovation, leveraging financial resources, and promoting
entrepreneurship and greater private sector involvement. It also involves the
proper valuation of natural capital, and, in more general terms, a revision of the way in which we measure growth and progress.

In a green economy many challenges can be
transformed into economic opportunities, not only reversing
negative environmental trends, but also driving future growth and jobs. For
instance, experience shows that market-based approaches such as emissions
trading are not only cost effective tools to address environmental problems but
are also a source for investment.

The green economy offers opportunities to all
countries, irrespective of their level of development and the structure of
their economies. While in many cases investments to move towards a green
economy can result in short-term win-win solutions, in other cases a medium
term perspective will be needed, and transitional costs will have to be
addressed, including through "pro-poor" policies. Even though there
is no "one-size-fits-all" model, there are common challenges and
solutions, and countries will benefit from exchanging experience and improved
international cooperation.

At the same time, moving towards the green
economy does not start from zero. There are already a number of strategies in
place that countries can build on, such as: climate change, biodiversity, sustainable
consumption and production, research and innovation, all of which can
contribute to enabling a green economy. Future national and international green
economy strategies should build on and strengthen these, as is happening in Europe
2020 Strategy, and recently in the roadmap for moving to a competitive low
carbon economy by 2050.

International organisations, including the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) are developing Green Economy and Green
Growth Strategies. The International Labour Organisation is developing
programmes for green, decent jobs. The G8 and G20 are also increasingly
engaging in the green economy agenda. In Cancún, the Parties to UNFCCC agreed
that that all countries should develop low-carbon development strategies,
consistent with sustainable development.

Following from the above initiatives, to
achieve the transition to a green economy we need to address three interlinked
policy dimensions:

(1) Investing in the sustainable management
of key resources and natural capital ("what")

(2) Establishing
the right market and regulatory conditions ("how")

(3) Improving
governance and private sector involvement ("who")

In the next sections these three dimensions
will be analysed in more detail, as a framework for targeted action and
investment.

3.2.
Investing in the sustainable management of key
resources and natural capital

Resources such as water, energy, land,
forests as well as materials constitute the foundations of any economy – and in
particular of the green economy. The livelihoods of many people across the
world depend on them, especially in developing countries, where the lack of
access to quality resources, as well as insufficient knowledge on how to manage
them sustainably, are important underlying causes of poverty. There are many
telling examples of how access to sustainably managed resources can draw people
out of poverty. Thus, the resource areas outlined below could become the green
economy's key growth markets, underpinning future economic development, the
creation of jobs and the eradication of poverty, in particular in developing
countries.

Water
is one of the most valuable resources, fundamental to life and health, but also
to the growth of many economic sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing and
energy production. The sustainable management of water is crucial in the efforts
to eliminate poverty, since poor people’s lives are closely linked to access to
water and its multiple uses and functions. Water also has
strong implications for regional relations, peace and security. Clearly, policies have to be strengthened to improve water access,
quality and efficiency.

Access to energy services is
a fundamental prerequisite for social and economic development. Access to
energy is also a key ingredient to poverty eradication. In developing
countries, more than 1.4 billion people currently lack access to electricity
and 2.7 billion people rely on traditional use of biomass for cooking. Many
regions in the developing world have a huge potential for renewable
energy, in particular where extensions of the electricity grid
are not economical. Developing renewable energy should go hand in hand with
measures to enhance energy efficiency and reduce the dependency
on fossil fuels.

Marine resources are a source of food and economic prosperity. The fisheries sector
is essential for the economic development and livelihood of millions of people
around the world, particularly in developing countries. Oceans and
seas are an essential component of the earth's ecosystem and play a key
role in moderating climate change. Coral reefs and mangrove forests are not
only a store of carbon and a source of biodiversity; they also protect coastal
areas against flooding, thus reducing disaster risks. However, the marine
environment faces several threats: the depletion of fish stocks, biodiversity
loss, marine litter, waste and pollution including acidification. Many issues
are trans-boundary and need to be addressed at the international level.

A key challenge for agriculture is
to be able to feed 9 billion people by 2050 without further degrading and
polluting land. The sustainable use of land and agriculture will be a
cornerstone of the green economy. Current farming practices represent over 70%
of the world's freshwater resources and contribute to over 13% of greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions. Sustainable agriculture can substantially increase yields,
especially on small farms. Even though many sustainable land management
techniques are available, investment in these is not sufficient. Land
degradation has a direct link to agriculture, and has a direct effect on some
1.5 billion people, including 42 % of the world’s poor. Land degradation is a
global issue, not only in arid and semi-arid regions, and requires a global
response. Good governance is essential to address these
problems, through respect for land rights and ownership, including from
communities and indigenous peoples. All these aspects
must be addressed in order to ensure the sustainable supply of food.

Forests are the basis for the livelihoods of millions of people, many
of whom live in the tropics and belong to poorer segments of
society. Furthermore, forests are a crucial part of the earth's ecosystem,
providing functions such as protection of soil, water and
biodiversity. However, the global rate of
deforestation is still alarmingly high and has significant impacts on global
climate change and biodiversity. Emissions from tropical deforestation, forest
and peat degradation are currently estimated to be 15% of global CO2 emissions. Forests
are likely to become increasingly important in a green economy as sources of
new materials such as bio-based plastics and in renewable energy strategies. In
this context the conservation and sustainable management of forests
is crucial.

Sustainable land use, agriculture, forests,
water and the oceans are underpinned by ecosystems and biodiversity,
which determine the longer term resilience and health of the environment. There
is a growing awareness of the benefits of ecosystem services for businesses and
society at large[3],
and of the potential of investing in natural capital for the green economy.

Waste can be a valuable resource, and if
not properly managed causes environmental and health risks. Good waste
management minimises environmental impacts such as green house gas
emissions, promotes efficient use of resources, and provides a new source of
recycled materials. The economic potential of waste management is growing in
many regions of the world, offering important business and job opportunities.
It is crucial to ensure that these jobs are decent, in particular in terms of
working conditions. As developing countries grow economically, there are
increasing needs and economic opportunities for better waste management. Hazardous
waste and chemicals also remain an area of particular concern, both nationally
and globally.

The transition towards a global green
economy will need reinforced global policies based on these areas, and Rio+20
should offer a platform to help achieve this.

3.3.
Establishing the right market and regulatory conditions

A number of market and regulatory conditions
need to be put in place to enable and direct growth in the above areas. Such
enabling conditions are not only key to promote environmental objectives, but
also to ensure predictability and a level playing field for business. They also
provide a sound basis for investments and fostering eco-innovation through new technologies
and new ways of working.

Regulatory instruments will play an important role in greening the economy both nationally
and internationally. Regulatory instruments should be combined with market-based
instruments (such as taxes, tradable permits and environmental
subsidies) which are flexible and cost-effective tools that can help achieve
combined economic, social and environmental objectives. Fiscal reforms that
shift tax burdens from labour to environmental impacts and energy can create
win-win outcomes for employment and the environment. Cap and trade systems,
such as the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, have proven to be effective markets
instruments. Other effective schemes include fiscal incentives for SMEs, water
charges, eco-taxes, and feed-in tariffs. Payments for ecosystem services are
already being applied in some countries and reflected in ongoing negotiations
on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD).

Environmentally harmful subsidies are a major obstacle for a greener economy. They perpetuate
unsustainable practices and direct financial resources from needed green
investments. Momentum is building to address them. In 2009, the G20 committed
to rationalize and phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage
wasteful consumption. This commitment will be revisited in 2011. In 2010,
Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity committed to eliminate, phase
out or reform subsidies harmful to biodiversity by 2020.

To enable the transition to a global green
economy, large scale financial resources will have to mobilized.
This will require action by all countries, international organisations
and banks. UNEP estimates that the scale of global investments needed could be
to the order of 2% of global GDP per year in the period up to 2050. This will require
a paradigm shift in approaches to financing, enabling countries to make use of innovative
public and private solutions. Reliance on public funds alone will not be
sufficient ­– rather, public financing will have to catalyse and leverage much
greater private investment. Incentives will have to be put into place to
encourage private green investments, and ways of channelling equity, insurance
and pension funds towards sustainable development can be applied on a much
greater scale. At the same time, both the national public sector and
international public financing will have important roles to play in laying down
conditions to help reduce risks for private investment and to ensure fair and
equitable approaches to investment. In addition, access to finance and venture
capital coupled with a favourable regulatory environment is crucial to stimulate
eco-innovation, environmental technologies and green SMEs.

Without the necessary skills and
know-how, a transition to a green economy will not be possible. At the
same time, it must be ensured that new jobs will be "decent
jobs" including guarantees of rights at work, social protection and social
dialogue. Economic policies need to be accompanied by labour policies to equip
employees with new skills and help create new job opportunities. Of the world's
estimated 211 million unemployed people in 2009, nearly 40 per cent are between
15 and 24 years of age, and a range of measures need to be taken to provide
opportunities for youth. In addition, many of the obstacles hindering the
transition to a green economy and a more sustainable future can only be removed
through greater scientific and research cooperation.

Sustainable patterns of supply and demand
at international level can be supported by enhancing mutual
supportiveness between trade and sustainable development. This includes
maintaining an open and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system, and
ensuring that no country should be prevented from
taking measures to promote sustainable development, provided that such measures
do not constitute arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination, or a disguised
restriction on international trade. Mutual supportiveness
can also be promoted by reducing or eliminating tariff and non-tariff barriers
for environmental goods, technologies and services, as well as
environmentally-friendly or fair trade products. In addition, as sustainability
assurance schemes and corporate social responsibility practices expand, the
development of international guidelines and standards, certification schemes
and labels, can provide economic, environmental and social benefits.
International measures to combat illegal trade in environmentally sensitive
goods (such as wildlife, hazardous substances and natural resources) need to be
strengthened – a good example of what can be done are the Voluntary Partnership
Agreements that the EU is negotiating in the context of its initiative on
Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT). The inclusion of
sustainability provisions as part of multilateral and bilateral trade
agreements also need to be promoted.

Ensuring and measuring progress requires comparable metrics and indicators to be in place. A number
of organisations, such as the OECD, have been working to provide various forms
of indicators that can reflect the state of the environment and natural assets,
well being and the quality of life. These indicators should be used alongside
Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, only some of these indicators have so
far been used widely in communicating policy needs, such as CO2
intensity and the Human Development Index. Agenda 21 already requested
governments to develop sustainable development indicators and environmental
accounting. However, progress has been slow and uneven. Rio+20 should promote
the transparency of national reporting and agree on the use of environmental
accounting and robust indicators at national and at global level in order to measure
this wider sense of progress in addition to GDP.

3.4.
Improving governance and private sector
involvement

Governance structures are crucial to help
deliver sustainable development, green our economies and eradicate poverty. However,
it is widely recognized that current governance structures need significant
reform. Four broad tracks of reform need to be addressed.

There is a need to reinforce and mainstream
sustainable development governance within the UN system, inter
alia by enhancing coherence and policy integration between the activities
carried out under the economic, social and environmental pillars. Within the
UN, a number of efforts are ongoing, including improved inter-agency mechanisms
and as part of the “Delivering as One" initiative that seeks to promote
UN-wide coherence in the areas of development, humanitarian assistance and the
environment. Also, cross-cutting issues such as climate change call for further
mainstreaming. Such processes should be reinforced. While reinforcing
international governance for sustainable development is crucial, corresponding regional,
national and local structures also need attention.

Compared to global economic structures
international environmental governance is weak. This is due to
institutional fragmentation, a lack of accountability for implementing agreed
policies, the lack of a strong and authoritative voice within the global
governance system, as well as a lack of human and financial resources. In
addition, the new roles and responsibilities of emerging economies are not
sufficiently defined. Over the past decade, attempts to improve international
environmental governance have been made – most recently as part of high-level
consultative group under the aegis of UNEP (Nairobi-Helsinki process) – but
making tangible progress has so far proved difficult.

International economic and social
governance is addressed by a number of
institutions. The International Financial Institutions (such as the
World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund) as well as regional
development banks (such as the Asian Development Bank, the Inter-American
Development Bank, the African Development bank, the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank) play a central
role in world economic policies and actions. The role of the World Trade
Organisation in regulating global trade is essential. Furthermore, institutions
such as the International Labour Organisation and other UN bodies play roles in
shaping employment and social issues. Each of these will have to play a role in
greening global economy.

Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of
Implementation stress the important role of non-state actors (the
"Major Groups") which include indigenous people, women, youth,
workers, farmers, local governments, the scientific community, business and
industry, and NGOs. However, their role and impact has been limited in scope
and needs strengthening. In particular, boosting the participation of
business will be essential. In a number of cases business is already
committing to greening their operations, such as in the food, drink and
chemical industries. This needs to be taken further through more dynamic
public/private partnerships, new business networks and alliances, as well as
financing facilities to accelerate green business and innovation.

4.
Proposed lines of action for Rio+20
4.1.
A framework to deliver results

To give renewed impetus to sustainable
development Rio+20 needs to create a shared vision for change, backed by a
decision framework for specific action. The main "ingredients" of an
overall outcome could be envisaged as follows:

1.
A broad political "rallying call" with
a shared, ambitious vision and goals.

2.
A set of specific actions at international,
regional and national level - mapped out as a "Green Economy Roadmap".

3.
A "toolbox" of policy approaches and best
practice examples to be used to reach agreed objectives.

4.
A mechanism to promote and monitor overall
progress.

A Green Economy Roadmap can guarantee
continued commitment beyond Rio+20, ensuring that the agreed vision and goals
will be followed through in a systematic manner. It can map out a range of
international, regional and national actions with milestones, indicators and
targets, as well as mechanisms to monitor overall progress.

A Green Economy Roadmap can help all
countries to accelerate progress towards the green economy, building on
existing initiatives and respecting national differences. The establishment of strategies
for greening the economy as part of the overall economic and development
policies and plans of countries will be essential. Such strategies – to be
designed "bottom-up" – should contain objectives and timelines for
action at national and, where appropriate, regional levels. Actions should
build on existing efforts and could be incorporated into national economic and
development strategies, also bringing together low carbon strategies and sustainable
consumption and production plans. Where needed, donor countries and
international organisations could provide assistance, in line with national
development strategies. In designing specific actions, countries would be able
to make use of a "toolbox" of best practice policy approaches.

However, national efforts alone will not be
enough to green the global economy. As many challenges require a global and
regional response, the Green Economy Roadmap should also include actions at
global and regional level.

To monitor progress towards a green
economy, the identification and development of key indicators and a globally
agreed system for environmental and social accounting to supplement current
economic accounting will be essential. This would build on existing initiatives
such as the international system for integrated environmental and economic
accounting (SEEA), the UNDP (Human Development Index) and the OECD (Measuring
the Progress of Societies). The EU's planned regulatory framework for
environmental accounts could also serve as an example.

Building on the policy dimensions outlined
in section 3 ("what", "how" and "who") the
following sections propose an initial set of specific actions, that would form
part of the Green Economy Roadmap.

4.2.
Action on resources, materials and natural
capital

Rio+20 needs to renew commitment to promote
sustainable water. This could be achieved by establishing international
partnerships on water. These could build on and expand
the EU Water Initiative, which has contributed to improved water management and
water governance, but giving greater emphasis to economic aspects and the
greater engagement of business. International river basin management also needs to be addressed, in
particular within trans-boundary river commissions.

Partnerships could also be launched to increase
energy access, energy security and promote renewable energy and energy
efficiency. These could build on existing actions such as the EU-Africa
Energy Partnership (AEEP), the EU Regional Investment Facilities, the EU Africa
Infrastructure Trust Fund, the ACP Energy Facility and the Global Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund (GEEREF), which could provide experiences
of leveraging private investment for such partnerships.

To strengthen protection of the marine
environment and oceans, those states which have not yet done so
should be encouraged to ratify the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea
(UNCLOS). There is a need for new initiatives for the protection and
conservation of areas beyond national jurisdiction (the "high seas and the
deep sea bed") for instance through an implementing agreement under
UNCLOS. To help conserve marine biodiversity in these areas, an agreement
should establish multi-purpose marine protected areas and ensure access to the
fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from the utilisation of genetic
and other resources. It should also establish surveillance and enforcement
mechanisms. Special attention should also be given to develop a global action
programme to combat marine litter and pollution.

Activities to promote sustainable
agriculture, land-use and food security need to be put into place. This
should include strengthening existing initiatives on sustainable agriculture,
building on multilateral actions (such as the FAO), regional activities (such
as on organic farming) as well as business initiatives. In addition, international
partnerships on food commodities could be established to make the
consumption and production of food commodities more sustainable. Given that
agriculture depends on the quality of land, work should
be strengthened to improve land quality and to combat desertification. This
could include launching a global economic valuation of
the costs and benefits of improving land quality. Initiatives could also
include giving further impetus to the "Global Soil Partnership", as
well as implementing services for global land use monitoring, as part of the
Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS).

Partnerships with governments, civil
society and the private sector can also help promote sustainable forest management
and combat deforestation. Such partnerships could build on the successful
approach of FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade) and on the initial
experiences of REDD+.

The time is ripe to establish a more robust
and coherent international regime on chemicals and hazardous substances
and Rio+20 could launch a process to achieve this. This would build on previous
commitments, such as the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals
Management (SAICM) as well experience gained from the EU approach to managing
chemicals. A regime – possibly in the form of a framework convention – should
be guided by the Johannesburg target, according to which by 2020 chemicals
should be used and produced in ways that do not lead to significant adverse
effects on human health and the environment. The regime should take account of
the Global Chemicals Outlook currently under preparation by UNEP and work
underway on financing options for assisting developing countries to meet the
challenge of a globalising chemicals and waste industry. The regime should
include criteria to identify chemicals and substances of global concern, as
well as a framework for assessing substances.

All these challenges will require
unprecedented level of scientific and technological cooperation
at the global level, and a mechanism for global science and research cooperation
on societal challenges of global importance (e.g. resource constraints, climate
change, oceans) should be put in motion.

4.3.
Providing economic instruments and financing and
investing in human capital

Rio+20 should encourage countries, in
particular industrialised and emerging economies, to develop domestic and
regional carbon emission trading schemes with a view to reducing
emissions at least cost, and as building blocks of a future international
carbon market. Such instruments may also play an important role in generating
innovative finance.

In addition, Rio+20 should launch a coordinated set of actions by countries to
identify and phase out environmentally harmful subsidies,
accompanied by targets and deadlines. The G20 commitment to address
fossil fuels subsidies could serve as one specific example. Such an initiative
would make use of guidelines and good practice examples of how harmful subsidies
have been successfully removed in the past.

To direct and leverage funds for the green
economy, Rio+20 should recommend to consolidate
and strengthen existing financing strategies and facilities, or
establish new public-private financing schemes as needed.
Development organisations (such as UNDP) and International Financial
Institutions (such as the World Bank and other multilateral development banks,
the European Investment Bank, the Global Environment Facility), should play a
strong role, with a commitment to establish green economy financing strategies
that can lead to demonstrable results. Private banks, insurance companies and
pension funds should also play their part. An important focus of these
financing facilities and schemes should be to assist Least Developed Countries
as well as SMEs.

In developing countries, Official Development Aid (ODA) will continue
to represent a significant source of investment. The EU
remains committed to raise the volume of aid to 0.7% of Gross National Income
(GNI) by 2015; currently the EU accounts for about 58%
of global aid. ODA will continue to be available and can help implement
national and regional green economy strategies of partner countries, in the
context of their national development plans. In this context, programmes such
as EU SWITCH, which has been promoting sustainable consumption and production
practices in Asia, could be established as part of global action on sustainable
consumption and production.

Rio+20 should establish green skills
training programmes in priority areas such as energy, agriculture,
construction, natural resource management, waste and recycling. As the transition to a green economy will create jobs and replace
others, the re-skilling of the existing workforce will be needed. This
could include schemes to protect workers interests, providing social
protection, and formalising informal work, for example building on the
"just transition" work of the ILO. Youth training programmes are also
needed. These should support the school-to-work
transition with specific training, and encourage national curricula in
secondary education to include green skills.

4.4.
Improving governance

Better and more efficient global governance
in needed to accelerate global action towards a greener and more sustainable
economy, and to eradicate poverty. This should provide opportunities to for all
stakeholders to participate and contribute.

There are several options to strengthen
sustainable development governance within the UN. One is to reinforce
the role of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on sustainable
development, with equal weight given to the economic, social and environment
pillars. An alternative approach would be to upgrade the UN Commission on
Sustainable Development (CSD) to a more permanent body with extended functions.
Such efforts should be geared up to ensure that all relevant UN bodies place a much
stronger emphasis on sustainable development. In a number of cases improvements
can be made within current mandates.

Building on the recommendations of the UNEP
Nairobi-Helsinki process aimed at strengthening international
environmental governance, UNEP needs to be reinforced. This
could be achieved in several ways: i) enhancing UNEP within its current
mandate; ii) strengthening UNEP with new tasks and responsibilities; iii) the
creation of a global multi-lateral environmental organisation, for example by transforming
UNEP into a UN Specialized Agency (such as the ILO). The latter option, which
would entail the adoption of a legally binding treaty, would be the most
promising way forward to improve international environmental governance and
make progress towards global sustainable development. At the same time it is
clear that all options have advantages and disadvantages, and will have to be
further discussed.

As part of the strengthening of
international environmental governance, the work on streamlining and
reinforcing the MEA system needs to be accelerated. While respecting the
autonomy of different MEAs, their administration can be susbstantially
streamlined, and overlaps reduced – thus creating a better platform for
securing coherent and focused political oversight and leadership, and
furthering favourable conditions for green growth.

Reinforced capacity building for the
environment is needed within the UN. This
should include strengthening environmental expertise and green economy
awareness within UN country teams to promote mainstreaming in country
programmes, increasing the range of expertise in UN/UNEP regional offices, and
developing a system-wide framework for capacity building for MEA implementation.
The capacity to monitor the global environment should also be strengthened.

As businesses are the engines of the
economy, Rio+20 must strengthen the engagement of the private sector.
Business and civil society needs to play important roles in the variety of partnerships
and schemes proposed in this Communication, such as on water,
energy, food commodities, forests, and financing.

5.
Moving forward

While progress towards sustainable
development has been made in some areas since the 1992 Rio
de Janeiro Summit, we are still facing major global
environmental, economic and social challenges. This Communication sets out the
Commission's initial views as part of the preparatory process leading up to
Rio+20.

Rio+20 is a significant opportunity to
advance sustainable development across the world. However, it must not simply
result in statements of good intent – tangible actions are needed to ensure
that Rio+20 will be a major milestone in enabling the transition to the green
economy and better governance. The EU is open to discussions with all countries
and players on how to further shape this agenda in the build-up to Rio+20. All
countries and players have to work together to make sure that the outcomes of
Rio+20 can meet our global challenges. Together, we need to ensure tangible,
effective action that can have real impact across the world.

Annex

The Europe 2020 Strategy: Targets and Flagship

Headline Targets

(1) 75 % of the population aged 20-64
should be employed;

(2) 3% of the EU's GDP should be invested
in R&D;

(3) the "20/20/20" climate/energy
targets for a 20% reduction greenhouse gas emissions, 20% share of renewable
energy and 20% energy efficiency improvement should be met (including an
increase to 30% of greenhouse gas emissions reduction if the conditions are
right);

(4) the share of early school leavers
should be under 10% and at least 40% of the younger generation should have a
tertiary degree;

(5) 20 million less people should be at
risk of poverty.

Flagship initiatives

(1) "Innovation
Union" to improve framework conditions and
access to finance for research and innovation so as to ensure that innovative
ideas can be turned into products and services that create growth and jobs;

(2) "Youth
on the move" to enhance the performance of education systems and
to facilitate the entry of young people to the labour market;

(3) "A digital agenda for
Europe" to speed
up the roll-out of high-speed internet and reap the benefits of a digital
single market for households and firms;

(4) "Resource
efficient Europe" to help decouple economic growth from the use of
resources, support the shift towards a low carbon economy, increase the use of
renewable energy sources, modernise our transport sector and promote energy
efficiency;

(5) "An
industrial policy for the globalisation era" to improve the
business environment, notably for SMEs, and to support the development of a
strong and sustainable industrial base able to compete globally;

(6) "An agenda for new skills
and jobs" to modernise labour markets and
empower people by developing their of skills throughout the lifecycle with a
view to increase labour participation and better match labour supply and
demand, including through labour mobility;

(7) "European
platform against poverty" to ensure social and territorial
cohesion such that the benefits of growth and jobs are widely shared and people
experiencing poverty and social exclusion are enabled to live in dignity and
take an active part in society.

[1]               www.uncsd2012.org

[2]               http://ec.europa.eu/environment/consultations/un_2012.htm.

[3]               The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity for
Business – "TEEB for Business"