While the conclusions of the Rio +20 Summit were generally positive, they were was not as ambitious as the Environment Minister would have desired.
The summit came to an end yesterday with the adoption of a declaration titled “The Future We Want”.
It registered a number of achievements:
· The need for sustainable development with an inclusive green economy being the central pathway towards achieving this.
· The need for urgent action to tackle unsustainable patterns of production and consumption.
· The right to clean water and sanitation, the need to address land degradation, and to achieve healthy oceans and tackle marine litter.
· Agreement on strengthening the functions of the current UN Environment Programme and on initiating a High Level Forum on sustainable development governance.
· Commitment towards a decision on negotiations on an implementing agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas, as an important step for the protection of marine biodiversity.
· Agreement to launch a process on sustainable development goals, primarily driven as an inter-governmental process.
The Rio +20 declaration was welcomed by the EU, which noted, however, that a number of ambitions it had pursued during negotiation were not fully achieved.
The summit fell short of expectations on defining specific timeframes for sustainable development goals, as well as on establishing a high level representative for sustainable development and future generations, a proposal supported by Malta and other countries as well as by members of civil society.
In his intervention, Dr de Marco stressed the importance of the “blue” economy and need to protect the oceans and seas, which for island states like Malta, were more than a source of economic livelihood.
He said more value had to be given to marine protected areas and marine reserves to halt the loss of biodiversity and to ensure the sustainable use of marine resources.
Dr de Marco said he wished that a higher level of commitment was achieved at the summit and warned that “without a strong inter-governmental stewardship for sustainable development, our commitments today risk remaining hollow”.
The minister urged the summit to heed the warnings of civil society and major groups. He said: “They have too often seen the proverbial writing on the wall before the political class has. The establishment of sustainable development goals, accompanied by targets and indicators, is an opportunity for us to provide those deliverables.”
On poverty, Dr de Marco said this was three dimensional problem which needed to be tackled holistically on the environmental, social and economic fronts.
He said that, as could be expected, the summit produced mixed results. While its outcome was generally positive, it was not as ambitious as he would have desired.
“It demonstrates a broad consensus amongst the global international community on a wide set of issues. It is, however, expected that such a complex international negotiation process involving so many parties would tend to produce mixed results. These results should nevertheless drive us to be more ambitious in our approach to pursuing sustainable future for our country, the wider Mediterranean region, and ultimately – at the global level”.
The summit was attended by representatives from 193 countries, members of the United Nations and brought together over 50,000 delegates from to reaffirm political commitment towards sustainable development.
Rio summit conclusions should be debated in Parliament - PL spokesman
The conclusions reached in the Rio + 20 Summit on sustainable development should be debated in a plenary sitting in Parliament.
PL spokesman Leo Brincat said in a statement the debate should be held on dates agreed with the whips of both sides and with the approval of the House Business Committee, without the need for a vote.
He said this was to objectively analyse what was really agreed at the summit and see how the conclusions reached were expected to meet future challenges and opportunities.