Brussels; 04/06/2012 (Agence Europe) - A fortnight away from the UN Rio+20 conference on sustainable development (Rio de Janeiro, 20-22 June), the negotiations which are supposed to lead to a roadmap and a calendar for a green and inclusive economy are almost at a standstill, and the risk of failure looms large - much to the annoyance of Janez Potocnik, European Commissioner for the Environment. Disappointed at the slowness of the talks at the additional preparatory session which has just finished in New York without any concrete commitment, he urges all parties to do all in their power to guarantee the success of this conference. The last preparatory session is planned for 14 and 15 June in Rio, and the negotiators have already left it up to the heads of state to settle the key questions like environmental governance (making UNEP a real worldwide environment agency is causing a clash between the United States and the emerging countries) and the creation of new indicators of wealth. More generally, developing countries, emerging countries and NGOs fear that the green economy could be the name given to a new green protectionism and feeds their mistrust towards a new model which would serve the interests of rich countries and their industries more than those of the poorest countries.
In a statement published on Sunday 3 June, the commissioner speaks of his disappointment, reiterates the commitment of the EU to contribute to the success of Rio+20 and reminds everyone of the stakes of the negotiations for the generations to come. “I had hoped that more actors would have spent the last weeks reflecting more urgently on the issues. … We call for a strong engagement by all parties and notably the host country which will have a particular role in securing a success for the conference. Without that, the chances of success in Rio will be limited. There will be no added value for the summit if we get entangled in procedures or just good intentions. We all need to wake up to the reality of the situation facing the world and to take concrete steps to deal with it”, he said.
He added: “Sustainable development and an inclusive green economy have a massive potential to turn the environmental challenges into economic opportunities and to reduce social inequities. But to go from potential to reality we need direction and tangible milestones. Not only future generations will suffer from our inability to agree on actions needed to cope with the problems of finite resources, unsustainable development and mass poverty. Let's not waste our chance to choose the kind of future we want - while we still can.” (AN/transl.fl)