{"id":708,"date":"2011-09-15T13:53:02","date_gmt":"2011-09-15T13:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/earthsummit2012.stakeholderforum.org\/2011\/09\/15\/guest-article-3-the-challenges-for-rio20\/"},"modified":"2011-09-15T13:53:02","modified_gmt":"2011-09-15T13:53:02","slug":"guest-article-3-the-challenges-for-rio20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/earthsummit2012.stakeholderforum.org\/index.php\/guest-article-3-the-challenges-for-rio20\/","title":{"rendered":"The Challenges for Rio+20"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\">by: Sha Zukang, Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Sustainable  Development, Under-Secretary-General of Economic and Social Affairs<\/p>\n<p>The Rio+20 Conference is now less than a year away. Rio+20  presents a unique opportunity for countries of the world to come  together to respond to the multiple economic, social and environmental  crises afflicting humanity by resolving to shift boldly to a greener and  more socially inclusive pathway towards growth and development.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Major  milestones along the way to the Conference include five regional  preparatory meetings, and numerous dedicated events hosted by  governments, UN system agencies and major groups. Intense political  negotiations in the first two quarters of 2012 on the draft will help  bridge gaps, identify common ground and move member States toward a  focused, forward-looking and action-oriented outcome document.<\/p>\n<p>In  addition to a green economy in the context of sustainable development  and poverty eradication, and the institutional framework for sustainable  development, member States and other stakeholders have so far  identified a number of critical emerging challenges for Rio+20 to  address, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>green jobs and social inclusion;<\/li>\n<li>energy access, efficiency and sustainability;<\/li>\n<li>food security and sustainable agriculture;<\/li>\n<li>sound water management;<\/li>\n<li>management of the oceans; and<\/li>\n<li>improved resilience and disaster preparedness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Climate  change cuts across all of these areas, as well as being a high priority  in its own right. Another cross-cutting priority that is particularly  relevant for developing countries is the means of implementation,  including technology, financing and capacity building.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Green jobs and social inclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In  countries both rich and poor, social exclusion remains an unmet  challenge. Recurrent economic and financial crises and mounting public  and private debts threaten the gains of past decades in social safety  nets and the ability of both public and private actors to create jobs.  Job creation is a big challenge facing all countries today. Unemployment  is a scourge not only for those without work, but for their families.<\/p>\n<p>Rio+20  is not just about the environment. It is also about social development.  Rio+20 is a summit about people\u2019s lives and livelihoods. It is a summit  about action to create more jobs, better jobs and more green jobs. At  Rio, Governments need to share lessons on what policies related to a  green economy can help to create jobs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Energy access and energy security<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Energy  security and energy independence are pressing priorities for all  countries. At the same time, energy poverty is still widespread in  Africa and South Asia. Some 1.4 billion people lack access to  electricity, and almost twice that many continue to rely on biomass for  cooking.<\/p>\n<p>There is a proposal to launch at Rio+20 a global  initiative for universal energy access by 2030. Ambitious goals for  energy efficiency and renewable energy are also part of the package. If  the international community can endorse such an initiative it would be a  milestone. This offers a genuine win-win proposal that would bring  environment and development benefits together.<\/p>\n<p>This package of  energy goals is the first concrete step in moving the world\u2019s  sustainable development planning horizon from 2015 to 2030. Other  sectors must follow suit in the coming months.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Food security<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Even  with the great advances of the Green Revolution, nearly one billion  people are still hungry or undernourished. Now, farmers around the world  experiment with integrated soil, water and plant management methods.  These methods blend modern science and traditional knowledge.<\/p>\n<p>At  Rio+20, we should aim to accelerate an \u201cevergreen revolution.\u201d This  revolution will meet the growing global food demand while protecting  soils, water and biodiversity. This is the way of the future.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sound water management<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Water  is essential to life and is the lifeblood of farmers. It has long been  taken for granted. This must change. Rising demand is running up against  greater scarcity. In many places, desertification and drought are  becoming more severe. This is happening even as flooding takes a heavy  toll on lives and livelihoods.<\/p>\n<p>The risk of conflict over scarce  water looms large, as does the challenge of coping with water stress.  Closer international cooperation will be needed to avert conflict.  Rio+20 offers an opportunity for forward-looking action on integrated  water resource management.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The challenge of urbanization<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Cities  are concentrations of human energy and creativity. They are both the  source of sustainable development problems and the laboratories for  solving them. Most of the developing world\u2019s population will live in  cities and towns by 2020. Three-quarters of the developed world\u2019s  population already does. This means that urban planners and managers,  transport planners, real estate developers, architects and engineers all  have a crucial role in shaping a sustainable planet.<\/p>\n<p>It is  estimated that buildings alone account for roughly 15 percent of global  greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Add transport and the manufacturing of  building materials, and the number rises to the 20-25 percent range.<\/p>\n<p>Next  June, the world\u2019s mayors and local authorities need to come to Rio to  scale up successful experiences and set more ambitious goals.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Marine resources<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The  world\u2019s oceans are too heavily exploited and too little managed. The  dire state of many fisheries is hard evidence. Many would like to see  forceful actions agreed at Rio to accelerate implementation of chapter  17 of Agenda 21 on protection of the oceans. This is long overdue.  Rio+20 must be as much about the blue economy, which is an integral part  of the green economy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Enhancing disaster preparedness<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Significant  environmental changes are already upon us, often affecting vast areas  at a time. Natural disasters occur more frequently and their impacts are  becoming more severe. Many economies and societies are under stress.  They must adapt to difficult circumstances.<\/p>\n<p>Building resilience is  crucial. We need earth observation and early warning systems. Also  crucial are enhanced prevention and preparedness. At Rio+20, governments  and others could commit to work together more closely to strengthen  international management of natural disasters and support resilience  building efforts in vulnerable developing countries.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Means of implementation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To  effectively meet these new and emerging challenges, developing  countries will need international support. Technology cooperation,  capacity development and finance will be crucial. The biggest challenges  and opportunities are clearly in the fast-growing economies of the  developing world. Scalable green technologies will need to be deployed  widely in the developing economies. This will provide them the  opportunity to leap-frog to a greener path to development than was taken  by wealthier countries.<\/p>\n<p>To acquire technologies to build greener  infrastructure and industries, finance will be needed. Much of the  financing for building greener economies will be mobilized by developing  countries themselves. But, international financial support will be  needed to move towards greener development, especially in the least  developed countries (LDCs).<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps Rio+20 will launch a new  public and private financing initiative, like a global green economy  fund. At a time of fiscal tightening and growing debt worldwide, Rio+20  must prove a showcase for creative and innovative solutions for  development finance that go beyond the classic methods of the past.<\/p>\n<p>Combined,  these challenges represent a tall agenda for world leaders at Rio. But,  humanity stands at a crossroads. Nature waits for no one, and nature\u2019s  warning signs are flashing. Sustainable development is the only path  that allows all of humanity to share a decent life on this, one planet.<\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\">Article originally published at <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/uncsd.iisd.org\/guest-articles\/the-challenges-for-rio20\/\" rel=\"noopener\">uncsd.iisd.org<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by: Sha Zukang, Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, Under-Secretary-General of Economic and Social Affairs The Rio+20 Conference is now less than a year away. Rio+20 presents a unique opportunity for countries&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/earthsummit2012.stakeholderforum.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/earthsummit2012.stakeholderforum.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/earthsummit2012.stakeholderforum.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earthsummit2012.stakeholderforum.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earthsummit2012.stakeholderforum.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/earthsummit2012.stakeholderforum.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/earthsummit2012.stakeholderforum.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earthsummit2012.stakeholderforum.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earthsummit2012.stakeholderforum.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}