New York, 25 October 2007 – The General Assembly will consider reforms to the United Nation’s environmental governance framework for the first time in the 62nd Session this Friday, 26 October at 3 pm.

Continuing Consultations on Options Paper

Consultations on the issue were mandated by the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document, and the delegations of Mexico and Switzerland served as Co-chairs of the process beginning in early 2006 (60th GA). At the end of the 61st Session, Member States had reviewed an “Options Paper” prepared by the Co-chairs in June 2007, and they offered preliminary responses, but no decisions were reached before the Session ended.

On 4 October, GA President Srgjan Kerim re-appointed the same two ambassadors, Claude Heller (Mexico) and Peter Maurer (Switzerland), to facilitate consultations in this Session. The informal consultations he will convene on Friday will be an additional opportunity for delegations to respond to the paper.

Previous Reactions

In the last meeting (10 September), the following opinions reportedly were expressed (click here for a complete summary of the meeting from the Center for UN Reform Education). Most statements responded to the paper’s “Building Blocks” to strengthening the environmental governance framework, while a few delved into the “broader transformation” of the system beyond its “present legal status,” which could include establishing a UN Environmental Organization.

Australia and the US did not see a need for a significant overhaul of the system;

Japan would prefer a “step-by-step” approach, not convinced of the merits of bigger changes;

Russia preferred the practical steps that the Building Blocks provided;

The G-77 did not rule out discussions on the broader transformation but wanted them to be integrated with discussions on the Building Blocks;

The EU and France supported more ambitious reform efforts, including upgrading the UN Environmental Programme into a specialized agency;

The G-77 and China stressed that the UN’s environmental activities should not be dealt with in isolation from the other “pillars” of sustainable development and that the implementation of capacity-building agreements remained disappointing; and

Some reservations were expressed about the specific timelines proposed in the Options Paper (G77, China, India, and Iran).

Proposed Timeline

In the options paper, the Co-chairs proposed that delegations make a decision on strengthening environmental governance before December 2007, followed by an agreement on terms for the negotiation of broader transformations in environmental governance before the end of the 62nd Session (September 2008). The negotiations on broader transformation would begin by the beginning of the 63rd Session (September 2008)

Documents

Letter from GA President on Co-Chairs for Environmental Governance (Mexico and Switzerland) (4 October)

Center for UN Reform Education — Update: Growing Momentum in GA to Strengthen Int'l Environmental Governance - Member States Respond to Options Paper (11 September)

UNEP - Negotiating and Implementing MEAs: A Handbook for NGOs (October 2007)

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