Rio+20: What it means for Aid for Trade and ITC
by Amanda McKee
Tuesday, 16 Apr. 2013
(Originally posted on 11 August 2012)
The Rio+20 Conference was the largest conference ever convened in the
history of the United Nations: roughly 44,000 conference badges were
issued, including to representatives from 191 countries; 500 official
side events were held; and approximately 3,000 unofficial events were
organized in parallel to the conference throughout Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil.
The official result of the conference was a 53-page “outcome document”, entitled ‘The Future We Want’.
While trade is only explicitly mentioned in a handful of paragraphs,
the principles of sustainable development mentioned throughout the
outcome document have broad implications for the Aid for Trade (A4T)
Agenda. In today’s blog post we share our thoughts on what ‘The Future
We Want’ means for ITC and its work.
The Rio+20 outcome document has relevance for the Aid for Trade Agenda in four areas:
- the role of the UN in promoting sustainable development;
- the importance of assisting developing countries in seizing new green export opportunities;
- the benefits of engaging the private sector in sustainability practices; and
- the links between trade and sustainable development.
Each of these is discussed below.
The role of the UN in promoting sustainable development
Rio+20 outcome?
The outcome document recognizes the role of the UN in promoting
sustainable development and calls on the UN system to mainstream
sustainable development (social, economic and environmental) into its
operational activities. It also calls on the UN system to improve the
sustainable management of its facilities. Furthermore, in the outcome
document Member states put in place a process to create a new set of
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to succeed the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGS) in 2015.
What does this mean for A4T and ITC?
Since 2005, ITC has already been mainstreaming sustainable
development into its trade promotion activities through Aid for Trade
and its targeting of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Aid for
Trade seeks to ensure that export growth translates into poverty
reduction and environmental protection as well as economic growth. The
SDGs (which will be agreed on by the end of 2013) will play an important
role in defining the post-2015 development agenda and ultimately guide
ITC’s future activities.
With respect to the sustainable management of UN facilities this
point is important in ensuring the ITC Secretariat ‘walks the talk’ in
promoting sustainability. ITC is fully engaged in promoting sustainability through its compliance with the UN’s Greening the Blue
initiative. These efforts have focused on reducing the climate
footprint of the UN’s buildings, facilities and travel. In expanding on
these efforts, issues such as water use and waste generation/disposal
will also be targeted.
Supporting green economy policies
Rio+20 outcome?
Green economy was a central topic for discussion at Rio+20. During
the negotiations many developing countries expressed concern that green
economy policies would create new trade barriers. In the final outcome
document, no specific commitments were made; although Member states
recognized the “importance” of green economy as a “tool for achieving
sustainable development” It outcome document noted the importance of
differences in national circumstances and sustainable development
priorities.
What does this mean for A4T and ITC?
The
outcome document invites the UN to support developing countries upon
request to achieve sustainable development, including through the
sharing of best practices in applying green economy policies. This
signals the growing importance of ITC’s work in helping exporters in
developing countries to capture green trade opportunities. In Rio, ITC and partners held a number of side events,
presenting on the potential trade opportunities for developing
countries in the transition to a green economy. In fall 2012 ITC, UNEP
and ICTSD will present a final report outlining green trade opportunities that
exist for developing countries, including enabling conditions to assist
developing countries to harness these opportunities.
Importance of engaging the private sector
Rio+20 outcome?
The outcome document recognizes that the private sector makes a
valuable contribution to economic growth, reducing poverty and promoting
sustainable development. It invites business and industry to develop
strategies that integrate green economy policies and encourages them to
integrate sustainability into their reporting cycles. The UN system is
asked to support the private sector in this regard.
What does this mean for A4T and ITC?
ITC has a strong comparative advantage when engaging with the private
sector, including assisting them to build up competitiveness and
improve their sustainability. For example, through our Trade and Environment Programme,
ITC is working with the horticulture sector in Kenya to assist
exporters to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in line with new
carbon standards in export markets. ITC’s Standards Map provides
users with information enabling them to analyse and compare information
on more than 70 voluntary standards operating in over 200 countries,
ultimately assisting enterprises to understand integrate sustainability
into their practices.
Rio +20 and Trade
Rio+20 outcome?
The outcome document urges Member states to refrain from applying
unilateral trade measures that are not in accordance with international
law and that will impede development, particularly in developing
countries. Furthermore, it reaffirms that green economy policies should
not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a
disguised restriction on international trade.
The text highlights particular examples where trade provides an
opportunity to promote sustainable industries, including sustainable
tourism. The text calls for enhanced support and capacity building in
developing countries for sustainable tourism activities.
Finally, the outcome document lists trade as a ‘means of
implementation’ for a sustainable future, reaffirming the critical role
that a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable
multilateral trading system can play in stimulating economic growth and
development worldwide. Trade distorting subsidies and environmental
goods and services are highlighted as areas where governments remain
focused on achieving progress. Furthermore, Members of the WTO are urged
to redouble efforts on the Doha Development Agenda.
What does this mean for A4T and ITC?
‘The Future We Want’ outcome document echoes language first put forward in Principle 12 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992), upholding the importance of an open and transparent trading system.
Trade is listed as a means of implementation alongside: finance,
technology, capacity-building and registry of commitments. These means
of implementation are seen as indispensable for translating sustainable
development commitments into outcomes. In this respect, international
trade is perceived as an integral part of the solution, and not as a
part of the problem.
Despite the lack of concrete goals or commitments, “The Future We
Want” document has important implications for the Aid for Trade Agenda,
highlighting the positive links between trade and sustainable
development, as well as the importance of assisting developing countries
in seizing new export opportunities. ITC and the Aid for Trade
community should be encouraged by this outcome to continue their efforts
in integrating sustainable development objectives into trade-related
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