Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-09-25-Speech-3-008"
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"en.20020925.1.3-008"2
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"Mr President, thank you for your very friendly welcome. The World Summit in Johannesburg took place from 26 August to 4 September 2002. There was a very high level of participation from parliaments, NGOs and trade and industry. The Danish Presidency – the Danish Minister for the Environment – attached great importance to remaining in close contact with participants from the European Parliament. I believe a number of you present here will be able to confirm this.
In addition, there is an agreement to establish a ten-year framework programme for sustainable production and consumption which tackles the crucial problem of the separation of economic growth from deterioration of the environment.
The most difficult negotiations conducted were without doubt those concerning the target for sustainable energy. No practical target, with a deadline for achieving it, was adopted due to opposition from the USA, Japan and the OPEC countries in particular, but we did obtain an objective of increasing the global proportion of sustainable energy at the earliest possible date. What is worthy of note, however, is that we succeeded in gaining substantial acknowledgement of the advantages of sustainable energy at an international summit for the first time. This is the greatest pronouncement adopted to date in this area. Furthermore, in cooperation with a number of other countries, the EU submitted a declaration to continue working on this issue.
These goals and objectives from Johannesburg together with the Millennium Goals provide a concrete agenda for our work on national, regional and international efforts over the coming 10-15 years.
The assurances on trade and subsidies given at Doha to increase market access for developing countries and support the phasing out of subsidies which distort trade were confirmed. Johannesburg placed greater political focus on the actual WTO process and its significance for developing countries. We now have a great duty to live up to these expectations in the forthcoming negotiations.
The agreements reached at Monterrey on financing for development and the significance of good governance in attracting investment and funding were affirmed. Those donors that had promised new funding in Monterrey confirmed this. Moreover, a number of EU countries took the initiative at the summit jointly to procure further voluntary contributions of approx. USD 80 million in order to increase the Global Environmental Facility to a level of USD 3 000 million, the original target for the top-up.
Finally, we were able to establish that the social dimension is to be promoted and that the consensus achieved previously on the role, rights and equality of women is to be adhered to. The EU submitted a declaration on this, since the issue of the role of women was not given as strong a position as we would have liked.
Importance was attached to the national responsibility for good governance, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. We succeeded in establishing that the national sustainability strategies – which may be formulated as poverty strategies – must be ready for implementation in 2005. I would also add that indigenous peoples were also mentioned in the declaration.
With regard to partnerships, the ground was prepared for greater interaction between the public sector, private organisations and private businesses in the implementation of the goals set. In addition, the EU launched two new ambitious initiatives within the priority areas of water and energy, namely ‘Water for Life’ and ‘Sustainable Energy for Poverty Reduction’.
I agree with Parliament that the crucial thing is implementing this, turning words into deeds. Johannesburg created the momentum for more effective implementation of the agenda on sustainable development. The private sector will be more involved. There was a clear message from business that in their investments and production they accept their responsibility for local communities and the environment.
International follow-up will be carried out under the auspices of the UN. This is an important issue on which we must continue working. The World Bank and the World Trade Organisation should also be involved.
I would like to compliment Parliament on Mr Lannoye’s report, which was adopted in April and was an important document in the whole process. We faced a great challenge. As a leading player, we had to encourage the viewpoints established at the previous Council meetings of Environment, Development and Foreign Ministers in Seville. We had to achieve a good outcome and obtain the greatest possible influence, and that was not a particularly easy task in view of the many viewpoints and divergent interests with which we are all familiar.
These words must be turned into deeds. The Presidency attaches great importance to effective follow-up of both the internal and the global dimension of the EU’s obligations for bringing about sustainable development. In this context we have a particular duty to follow up our own initiatives in respect of water and energy.
Finally, I would like to mention that yesterday the ASEM Summit was held between 25 European and Asian Heads of State and Government. In preparation for this summit I presided over a conference of Finance Ministers from these countries last Thursday and I am pleased to report that much of the agenda that we have discussed here was discussed with our Asian partners, and that it was decided to initiate a series of preparatory activities between the EU and Asia so that we can ensure that progress is made in Cancún and elsewhere where the WTO process is to be continued. Lastly, I would like to say that it is important that, when we talk about these things, we in Europe realise that, although we may be major players, we need partners who want the same things as us. And both I and Commissioner Pascal Lamy are very pleased that we got as far as we did with our Asian colleagues last week and yesterday. I therefore believe there is reason for a hint of optimism as regards the opportunity to make further substantial progress in the year ahead.
As you know, the decision to hold the summit was taken by the UN General Assembly in autumn 2000, the same year in which the Millennium Summit adopted the eight Millennium Goals for reducing poverty by 2015. The mandate from the General Assembly for Johannesburg included identifying new challenges and opportunities for sustainable development, as well as policies and means of supporting developing countries and countries with transitional economies in their efforts.
In parallel with the lead-up to Johannesburg, two other international conferences were held at ministerial level: the WTO’s ministerial conference in Doha in November 2001, which adopted the agenda for the negotiating round on trade and development, and the Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey in March, at which an historic agreement was entered into on funding and good governance. At the same time, for the first time in many years, new and substantial promises of aid were given by the rich countries. From 2006 onwards these assurances will increase the total aid volume by around 25% annually.
Within the EU, we greatly desired to establish development targets in a number of areas that were not covered by the Millennium Goals or by previous agreements. We wanted to insist on the results achieved previously with respect to human rights, workers’ rights, equality and good governance, and we wanted to ensure effective follow-up.
In a number of aspects these desires were satisfied, and I will now mention the most significant of these.
As regards globalisation, we attached importance to reflecting the positive opportunities that exist as a result of globalisation and to emphasising the social dimension and corporate responsibility.
We were able to define the combating of poverty as crucial for sustainable development in a context that encompasses not only increasing prosperity but also access to clean drinking water, sanitation, energy, better health and equality.
We were able to establish a number of practical objectives, with deadlines for achieving them, within the areas of poverty, health, the environment and natural resources. One of the most important of these is the objective of halving the number of people without access to basic sanitation by 2015. This should be seen as a supplement to the Millennium Goal of halving the number of people without access to clean drinking water by 2015. Other targets adopted were restoring and regulating fish stocks at sustainable levels by 2015, ensuring absolutely minimal risk and harmful effects on health and the environment from the production of chemicals by 2020 and substantially reducing the loss of biodiversity by 2010."@en1
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