With a home-grown commitment to "sustainable development", the wealthy countries of the European Union are in an ideal position to show leadership at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg later this year - and to ensure that real change takes place afterwards.
Jan Pronk, Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment in the Netherlands, is playing an important role in the preparatory process for the Summit, including chairing the panel on poverty and sustainable development at the European regional ministerial meeting.
Key concepts and terms mentioned in this interview are explained at the end of the article.
Can the EU Strategy for Sustainable Development create an alternative development model?
Jan Pronk: It certainly can. First of all because it will help to put our own house in order. Seriously tackling your own social, economic and environmental problems creates a basis for being a credible partner in international negotiations. In that respect the EU’s ambition to become "the most competitive, innovating, resource efficient and environmentally friendly economy in the world" is an important ambition.
In the field of environment, far-reaching measures need to be taken to detach economic growth from environmental pressure. This is needed to safeguard our environment and to reduce the unequal proportion that the EU now consumes of world’s ecological capital.
But this is not the only challenge because achieving this ambition might decrease the development perspectives of developing countries. This is a possibility if we import less natural resources on the one hand and on the other discourage the economic diversification of these countries by maintaining high import tariffs. And it might also leave a much larger "footprint" of waste and pollution elsewhere if Europe has stopped environmentally unsound production at home. We will therefore seriously have to take into account the social and ecological consequences of this ambition.
What role will the EU structural indicators play in supporting a more sustainable development strategy in Europe
Jan Pronk: I think the indicators are crucial. For the first time now we are able at a spring Summit (in Barcelona) to evaluate the progress in all pillars of sustainable development. So this is an important step forward to evaluate how well we are doing. I do think however that further steps are needed. First of all we will need indicators that link the three pillars. And secondly we need indicators that tell us something about the environmental, health and social impacts related to economic activities of the EU outside the EU-region.
Some NGOs have questioned whether the EU can deliver on sustainable development given today’s context of globalisation and the market ideology. How would you respond to this? Should the role of civil society and social partners be strengthened?
Jan Pronk: The EU can certainly deliver on sustainable development and should do so to make globalisation more equitable and work for sustainable development. The "Everything but arms" initiative of the EU and the EU’s commitment to increase ODA (overseas development assistance) are good examples. And of course there is a forthcoming Communication on the external dimension of the sustainable development strategy which I find very crucial for a credible contribution of the EU to Sustainable Development.
In this process of making globalisation work for sustainable development there is obviously a role to play for civil society. Business is strongly involved in promoting greater transparency and accountability on their contribution to sustainable development. The Global Compact and the Global Reporting Initiative are examples of this. This could provide a basis for other members of civil society to enter into dialogue on this contribution. And of course more generally speaking the need for public information and participation is an important issue for the EU. The EU therefore strongly promotes the Aarhus Convention in international meetings like the WSSD.
What were the main results of the panel on poverty and sustainable development which you chaired at the Regional Ministerial Meeting for the World Summit on Sustainable Development at the end of last year?
Jan Pronk: In my view, it was the strong recognition that there is a need to define and commit ourselves to tangible actions. In that respect I felt a great willingness to contribute to a Global Deal or Global Partnership. I also sensed a growing awareness that besides the importance of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) there is a need for a broader look at the issue of financing the necessary actions.
What do you see as the main differences between the EU-position and that of European non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the lead-up to the Summit in Johannesburg?
Jan Pronk: I don’t want to focus on the differences that there might be although I feel they should be there as NGOs challenge governments to take far reaching actions. But I feel that many of the issues that have been raised by NGOs are echoed in the different regional preparatory meetings. And we now face a common challenge to define the concrete measures that help us to overcome the implementation gap and will contribute to the overarching Millennium Declaration Goals.
What are likely to be the main advantages and difficulties of negotiating on behalf of 15 Member States in Johannesburg?
Jan Pronk: This is a challenge for the Danish presidency that will then chair the EU. The preparations in the EU thus far have however led to a deepened common understanding of the main areas and issues at the Summit. On this basis, with political guidance, I am sure we will be able to find a credible EU-contribution to the WSSD.
Interview completed during February 2002.
Key terms in the sustainable development process
EU Strategy on Sustainable Development - Agreed at the EU Council meeting in Gothenburg in June 2001, this strategy "invites Member States to draw up their own national development strategies" and "underscores the importance of consulting widely with all relevant stakeholders". The four priority areas are climate change, transport, public health and natural resources. Progress in achieving sustainable development on the basis of these indicators are to be presented to the Spring European Council meeting in Barcelona.
Lisbon Process - In March 2000, the Council meeting of the Portuguese EU presidency set itself a new strategic goal: "to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion." The economic and social aspects of this strategy were evaluated for the first time with the help of indicators in Stockholm in March 2001. The EU sustainable development strategy added the environmental dimension to the Lisbon strategy.
Indicators - At the Spring Council meeting in Stockholm, figures for 28 structural indicators (e.g. relating to employment, innovation, economic reform, social cohesion) and seven general indicators (e.g. GDP per capita, inflation rate) were presented. In October 2001, the European Commission adopted a Communication with new indicators to reflect the environmental aspects of sustainable development agreed in Gothenburg. They are greenhouse gas emissions; energy intensity of the economy; volume of transport (tonnes and passenger km) relative to DG); modal split of transport; urban air quality, and municipal waste. Eight previous indicators were dropped.
Further indicators will be presented at the Spring Council meeting in Barcelona in March 2002, including indicators for exposure to air pollution, emissions of ozone precursor substances, and exposure and consumption of toxic chemicals. The Commission has proposed using an infectious disease indicator. The European Environment Bureau, with the support of EPHA, has proposed the disability-adjusted life years (DALYS) indicator favoured by WHO. Rather than measuring health on the basis of morbidity or mortality rates, DALYS provide an indication of longer, quality lives. EPHA considers that an indicator of socio-economic equity ("inequalities") is also needed.
Everything but Arms is an EU initiative to grant duty-free and quota-free access to imports from the 48 least-developed countries (LDCs). In January 2002, the original proposal was modified in response to pressure from farm lobbies.
Communication on External Dimensions of Sustainable Development was produced at the joint initiative of DG Environment and DG Development. It focuses on the following strategic objectives: Increased global equity and an effective global partnership for sustainable development; better integration of environment and development at the international level; adoption of environmental and development targets to revitalise and provide focus to the Rio process and more effective action at national level with stronger international monitoring. It recommends that the following issues be addressed at Johannesburg: the protection of the natural resource base of economic development; integration of environmental protection and poverty eradication; sustainable globalisation, and enhancing good governance and participation nationally and internationally.
Global Compact - The Compact asks companies to act on nine principles drawn from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ILO’s Fundamental Principles on Rights at Work and the Rio Principles on Environment and Development in their own corporate domains. Companies that have signed up include Aventis, Novartis, Unilever, Dupont and Volvo.
Global Reporting Initiative - The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) was established in late 1997 with the mission of developing globally applicable guidelines for reporting on the economic, environmental, and social performance, initially for corporations and eventually for any business, governmental, or non-governmental organisation (NGO). Convened by the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES) in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the GRI incorporates the active participation of corporations, NGOs, accountancy organisations, business associations, and other stakeholders from around the world.
Aarhus Convention - The UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters was adopted on 25th June 1998 in the Danish city of Aarhus at the Fourth Ministerial Conference in the "Environment for Europe" process. The Aarhus Convention is an environmental agreement that links environmental rights and human rights. It acknowledges that we owe an obligation to future generations. It establishes that sustainable development can be achieved only through the involvement of all stakeholders. It links government accountability and environmental protection. It focuses on interactions between the public and public authorities in a democratic context and forges a new process for public participation in the negotiation and implementation of international agreements.
Global Deal is a proposal by international and European agencies and organisations calling for a tripartite programme of action for the implementation of the achievements of the World Summit on Sustainable Development.
Global Partnership is aimed at increasing international funding on HIV/Aids. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan launched the initiative in May 2001 saying that spending on HIV/Aids prevention and care in middle and low income countries needed to rise by US$7-10 billion per year.
Millennium Declaration Goals - In September 2000, the United Nations defined its development goals for the new millennium. Targets for 2015 include halving extreme poverty in the world; the reduction of maternal mortality by three-quarters, and the reduction of under-5s mortality by two-thirds (from 1990 levels). It also called for increased access to primary health care information and services.
