CSOs from around the world in DPI/NGO Bonn Conference agree on 17 Sustainable Development goals to take to Rio+20

DRAFT SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

To achieve the goals of Rio + 20 in an ambitious, time-bound and accountable manner, we call upon governments in accordance with human rights, the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities to adopt the following draft Sustainable Development Goals together with the sub-goals, reasons and clarifications relating to each goal:

The goals below are aspirational. While some of these are based on commitments already made by governments and other stakeholders, others are proposed on the basis of advanced thinking among civil society organizations.

SDG1 – SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION: By 2020, consistent with the Biodiversity Strategic Plan adopted at the 10th meeting of the conference of the parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP10), the human ecological footprint is reduced so that it remains within the Earth’s biological carrying capacity. In accordance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities we call on nations and populations engaged in wasteful overconsumption to reduce their impacts and help increase the consumption of vital goods and services for impoverished nations and peoples so they can enjoy reasonably high standards of living that provide equitable access to health care, decent work opportunities and education.

By 2020, governments should promote production processes reflect the best available technologies for eco-efficiency, recycling, remanufacturing, reuse of waste materials, product durability and longevity. Wasteful practices such as planned obsolescence are identified and eliminated. Public procurement standards and incentives reward leading corporations that share and disseminate best green practices worldwide. By 2020, the majority of the world’s goods and services are procured by governments from sources certified by objective third parties as sustainably produced.

This goal is tied to the preparation and implementation of sustainability or green economy roadmaps, that consider and address commonly agreed sustainability principles, adopt sustainable development goals in critical areas, and implement governance reforms to foster the transition to a green economy and to improve the institutional framework for sustainable development.

Further, establish a set of Millennium Consumption Goals for the period 2012-2020 towards creating an intergenerational and internationally shared right to equitable consumption opportunities and ensuring quality of life and wellbeing of all people by 2020, while eradicating all kinds and levels of poverty, respecting animal welfare and embedding sufficiency based sustainable economies.

SDG2 – SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS, YOUTH & EDUCATION: By 2015, nations commit to the principle of sustainable livelihoods as a right for all people and implement monetary and fiscal policies to encourage full and decent work. By 2020, biodiversity and ecosystem service considerations are mainstreamed within existing rural development platforms and initiatives to conserve sustainable livelihoods in indigenous and local communities that depend on natural capital for survival.

By 2015, governments incorporate within development frameworks as a priority, investments in the education, health and employment of young people, who constitute a large proportion of the population of developing countries and face disproportionate levels of poverty, unemployment, gender discrimination and ill health. Governments should support comprehensive policies, youth participation and multisectoral programmes that empower present and future generations to fully and freely exercise their human rights, fulfill their aspirations and be productive citizens.

By 2030, national governments reorient all national aims and objectives towards achieving sustainable societies and will mainstream sustainable development into national educational policies and curricula.

By 2020, consistent with the Biodiversity Strategic Plan adopted at CBD COP10, governments ensure that people are aware of the values of biodiversity and the step they can take to conserve and use it sustainably.

SDG3 -CLIMATE SUSTAINABILITY: By 2050, governments should have reached clear pathways towards climate sustainability that regulates the global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees C. Emissions of greenhouse gases should be reduced to 25% of 1990 levels by 2020, 40% by 2030, 60% by 2040 and 80% by 2050. Carbon taxes and tariffs should be in place to incentivize low-carbon development and manufacturing, finance GHG emissions reduction projects, REDD+ and other offset mechanisms, and green infrastructure solutions to help vulnerable communities adapt to climate change.

Developed countries, as the main cause of climate change, in assuming their historical responsibility, must recognize and honor their climate debt in all of its dimensions as the basis for a just, effective, and scientific solution to climate change. The above goal shall include the equitable sharing of remaining atmospheric space, considering past use and consumption and mid and long-term emission reduction targets that are in line with what the science requires.

SDG4 – CLEAN ENERGY: By 2030, at least 50% of the world’s energy supply comes from renewable sources. By 2020 energy demand is reduced through efficiency and conservation by at least 20%. By 2030 energy poverty is eliminated by providing universal access to modern energy services from renewable sources.

SDG5 – BIODIVERSITY: Governments are urged to honor their commitments to implementing the Biodiversity Strategic People, in particular those related to the Green Economy such asTarget 2: “By 2020, at the latest, biodiversity values have been integrated into national and local development and poverty reduction strategies and planning processes and are being incorporated into national accounting, as appropriate, and reporting systems”; and Target 3: “By 2020, at the latest, incentives, including subsidies, harmful to biodiversity are eliminated, phased out or reformed in order to minimize or avoid negative impacts.” We urge governments to support investments in natural infrastructure and ecological restoration and to facilitate the development of markets that value the regulatory services provided by ecosystems.

SDG6 –WATER: By 2030, governments will achieve universal availability of an acceptable quantity and quality of water for health, livelihoods, ecosystems and production, adequate sanitation, coupled with an acceptable level of water-related risks to people, environments and economies.

This goal is over and above the achievement of the MDGs and other internationally agreed development goals. The right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation shall be recognized as a human right and it shall be the responsibility of all states to respect such right. As an interim goal, by 2015 the proportion of people unable to reach or afford safe drinking water, and without access to basic sanitation, shall be halved as agreed in the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable development (“Johannesburg Plan of Implementation”).

By 2020, local, municipal and national governments and all stakeholders commit to achieve the following intermediate targets:

– 20% increase in total food supply-chain efficiency – reducing losses and waste from field to fork;
– 20% increase in water efficiency in agriculture – more nutrition and crop per drop;
– 20% increase in water use efficiency in energy production – more kWh per drop;
– 20% increase in the quantity of water reused;
– 20% decrease in water pollution;

SDG7 – HEALTHY SEAS AND OCEANS (BLUE ECONOMY): By 2020, consistent with the Biodiversity Strategic Plan, governments establish at least 10% coastal and marine areas. By 2030, oceanic dead zones will be recovered by reducing nitrogen runoff from land by 50% or more. By 2020, Marine Protected Areas will be established in at least 25% of each Exclusive Economic Zone (“EEZ”) and the high seas in representative networks capable of restoring minimum viable populations of all at-risk stocks, protecting marine biological diversity, and maximizing benefits to commercial and subsistence fishers in surrounding waters. By 2015, the use of bottom trawling, dynamite fishing, electro-fishing, poisons and other unsustainable practices will be eliminated. By 2030, reverse the decline of fish stocks and create sustainable and diverse and abundant fish stocks, supported by healthy habitat to provide for the needs of all users, and by 2015, ban the practice of shark finning.

We also make the following policy recommendations: (a) reduce plastic pollution in the oceans, including by banning or taxing single-use plastics, supporting the use of recycled plastics in new products, and holding manufacturers responsible for plastics through their entire life cycle; (b) establish an international monitoring network for ocean acidification to enable the identification of vulnerable regions and industries and to provide an early warning system for industries already experiencing harm; (c) designate the high seas of the Central Arctic Ocean as a zone for international scientific cooperation, where extractive and polluting activities are suspended until we have a better understanding of the area and the potential effects of such activities; and (d) schedule, as a matter of urgency, an intergovernmental conference to address the multiplying threats to ocean areas beyond the jurisdiction of individual nations.

SDG8 – HEALTHY FORESTS: All remaining frontier forests are protected from conversion and degradation by 2020, consistent with the Biodiversity Strategic Plan adopted at COP10, with a well-resourced and equably governed REDD+ mechanism in place to reward developing countries for protection and sustainable management of their forests, not only for carbon capture and storage but for their wider ecological services. A policy of no net loss of forestland, globally and nationally, is also achieved by 2020. At that time, all new forest areas cleared will be offset by ecologically sound restoration of forests in nearby areas. Restoration of over 150 million hectares of cleared or degraded forest landscapes is achieved by 2020, with the creation of millions of new jobs and enhanced livelihoods, improved security and adaptation to climate change.

Reduce deforestation emissions by key corporations and their supply chains committing to avoid the purchase of products that cause deforestation, such as soy or cattle from deforested lands in the Brazilian Amazon, palm oil from deforested agricultural land in Indonesia, or illegal wood and wood products throughout the world.

Additionally, for stakeholders everywhere to undertake and/or participate in large-scale, environmentally and socially responsible reforestation efforts.

Measures proposed under CDM must be carefully examined by the communities depending on forests for their subsistence, as we see that they favor already important land-grabbing and the destruction of their livelihoods.

At Rio+20, we call on governments to pledge concrete and systematic support and promotion of multi stakeholder managed forest certification systems, in all parts of the world, with particular emphasis on tropical rainforests.

SDG9 – SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE: By 2030, global agricultural production is transformed from industrial to sustainable. Chemical inputs, herbicides, and pesticides are largely replaced with organic and biological alternatives. Interspersed natural areas are protected and restored as source of pollination, pest control and soil fertility. Food for export is secondary to food for local consumption. Cultivated crop strains are diversified, as are production techniques and the mix of agricultural producers. Best management practices reduce erosion by 90% and nitrogen runoff by 50% or more. Local ecological knowledge of indigenous, traditional, and local communities is utilized to identify resilient crops and cultivation practices that provide maximum protection against climate change.

This goal should also include sustainable and humane food systems that provide healthy food to meet current food needs while maintaining healthy ecosystems, farmer resilience, and ensures high animal health and welfare that can also provide food for generations to come with minimal negative impact to the environment, through agro-ecological farming systems. We consider the right to keep the own seeds as an important issue of farming.

A sustainable and humane food system should promote food sovereignty of communities, empower small-scale food producers in food and agricultural governance, and also encourage local production and distribution infrastructures with equal opportunities for men and women farmers and makes nutritious food available, accessible, and affordable to all, while at the same time providing sustainable livelihoods to producers through the payment of fair prices for their products. Sustainable food systems must be based on food sovereignty and the right for small-scale peasants, women’s groups and local communities to plant, exchange their seed and knowledge.

Give strong and increasing support to small scale farming, producing healthy foods through targeted research, extension services and enabling conditions, and wherever possible, vegetarian diets, and to ensure womens’ property and inheritance rights.

Support the important role and special needs of women in agriculture.

SDG10 – GREEN CITIES: By 2030, cities have developed and are implementing action plans to address transport, public health and environmental needs in a harmonious and integrated way. By 2030, local to national government policies fosters compact, mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented, urban development that minimizes energy use and maximizes residential health and that reflects the concept of a society for all ages. All new buildings meet green building standards by 2030. By 2030, city transport needs are or remain predominantly met by mass transport, walking and bicycling. Quality of life is also improved for residents by 2030, providing access to green buildings with urban rooftop gardens, clean water, clean energy, waste management systems and sustainable transportation. By 2030, urban areas with significant storm water pollution issues reduce impervious surface area by 30% below 2012 levels.

SDG11 – SUBSIDIES AND INVESTMENT: By 2020, consistent with the Biodiversity Strategic Plan adopted at CBD COP10, at the latest, harmful incentives, including subsidies, for fossil fuel production, unsustainable agricultural, fisheries and forest practices, and those harmful to biodiversity, are eliminated, phased out or redirected to promote renewable energy, sustainable practices and the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. By 2015, governments commit to a minimum investment of 2% of GDP per year to foster the transition to a green economy, taking into account national socio-economic conditions.

SDG12 – NEW INDICATORS OF PROGRESS: By 2020 nations supplement or replace GDP with a new measure of sustainable economic welfare based on best available information at that time. Economic performance and the forecasted effects of policy changes will be measured by this new metric. We encourage a process of continuous improvement and refinement of the new measure over time and an international process to set standards and make available common methods and data sources. We also encourage the adoption of several other headline indicators of environmental, economic and social sustainability to provide a measure of progress towards the green economy transition, improved well-being and achievement of sustainable development goals.

SDG13 – ACCESS TO INFORMATION: By 2022, governments will enact and implement Freedom of Information laws giving people the right to obtain accurate and truthful information held by their government, especially on the environment. Governments will actively make available useful, accurate and truthful well-publicized data and information in appropriate formats, including on the internet. These laws should include whistleblower protection and should extend to information disclosure by corporations.

SDG14 – PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: By 2022, governments will include mandatory public participation in (a) major development project approvals and environmental impact assessment procedures, (b) drafting of national level sustainable development policies, laws and regulations and (c) administrative decisions such as pollution permitting.

SDG15 – ACCESS TO REDRESS AND REMEDY: By 2022, governments will adopt laws ensuring effective access to judicial and administrative proceedings concerning sustainable development, including redress and remedy. In particular, they will ensure that the costs of such proceedings are reasonable and affordable to affected people and that access to such proceedings is available through expansion of legal standing and other means to interested people and organizations.

SDG16 – ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE FOR THE POOR AND MARGINALIZED: By 2022, governments will adopt laws that obligate government agencies to take appropriate measures to provide information and engage affected people living in poverty, women and other disadvantaged groups when making sustainable development decisions.

SDG17 – BASIC HEALTH: By 2015, to support attainment of the health MDGs, and to contribute to health, well-being and sustainable development, ensure universal access to basic health care and services, wherever feasible free at the point of use for women and children, and including sexual and reproductive health, and thus strengthen the resilience of people and communities to the consequences of climate change and environmental degradation.

We endorse the finalization of a global mercury treaty by February 2013 that will aggressively limit the global use and trade in mercury and reduce global mercury emissions.

We recommend a ban the export of mercury and the mining of mercury for export and secure the agreement by chlor-alkali and mining companies not to place mercury into commerce and take responsibility for ensuring its safe management.

Create new partnerships around the responsible sourcing or raw materials for production and the regulation of specific harmful chemicals.

Calling on governments to foster sustainable health systems as an indispensable condition for sustainable development of societies through provision of essential health services, promotion of healthy lifestyles, and production of healthy cross sectorial public policies.

Further strengthening the World Health Organization in this process.

Calling on Governments to address social determinants of health as a means of reducing global health inequities through acknowledging that all policies affect health. Health equity is paramount towards sustainable societies.

Calling on governments to make direct and relevant interventions to improve young peoples’ health ensuring their role as agents of change for a sustainable society.

For more information on the conference declaration click here